JASMIN PARIS TO RACE BARKLEY MARATHONS

INOV8 ambassador Jasmin Paris will race Barkley Marathons, the world’s most notorious 100-mile ultramarathon.

Since its inception in 1986 only 15 runners – all men – have reached the finish line in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, USA.

Once again this year – on a date being kept secret to discourage spectators from attending – 40 chosen participants will attempt to self-navigate their way around a brutally-tough, unmarked lapped course, all set amid steep-sloped, thick mountain woodland.

And while the course can change year-to-year, it tends to be a total of five laps (run in alternating directions), each being approximately 20 miles in distance and including about 12,000ft of ascent.

Runners tear pages out of hidden books as they go and return them to enigmatic race creator & director Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell, otherwise known as ‘Laz’, at the end of each lap. He will be waiting at the yellow gate made iconic by the 2014 Netflix documentary Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.

One of this year’s 40 starters will be Jasmin, who holds multiple ultra marathon records, including that of the 268-mile Spine Race. It will Jasmin’s first attempt at the Barkley Marathons, three years after fellow INOV8 ambassador Nicky Spinks was one of the last two women standing at the 2019 event.

Jasmin – a full-time vet/researcher and mum of two young children – has done most of her training close to home in the Pentland Hills, Scotland, with 4am starts and winter storms making sessions even tougher.

Usually staged late March / early April, we await to see what the 2022 Barkley Marathons will hold. In the meantime, read our new Q&As with both Jasmin and Laz.



Jasmin Paris Q&A – Barkley Marathons 2022

Hi Jasmin. Barkley Marathons - how are you feeling about the challenge ahead?

A mixture of excitement and nerves. I know it’s going to be very hard, possibly impossible, but at the same time that’s what makes me want to run it.

What attracted you to enter and will it be your first-time racing in the US?

I spent a year working in the US (as a Veterinary Intern in Minnesota in 2009/10), and I raced a couple of times then, but just small events that I could get to without a car. So yes, this will be my first time targeting a US event, which in itself wasn’t a straightforward decision since I’ve been trying to limit flying to races where possible. But Barkley Marathons is a truly unique challenge, and the idea of running it has been growing on me for the last few years. Sometime last summer I suddenly knew I wanted to see what I could do there.

Jasmin on her way to winning the 2021 Ultra Tour Monte Rosa. Photo: Liz Bailey.


It's been well documented that no woman has ever finished Barkley Marathons. How do you feel about this, and does it provide further motivation?

It’s more about seeing what I can do myself, whether I have what it takes to complete it. I think that will come down to my mindset, as much as my physical capabilities.

Spine Race - the 268-mile event Jasmin won outright, setting a new course record.


What advice have you been given about Barkley Marathons?

This is a tricky one, since there is a certain mystery surrounding the Barkley, and I’ve been a bit uncertain how much discussion is acceptable beforehand, regarding route and tactics. I’ve certainly made use of the many blogs and documentaries/films/videos available from previous participants including Nicky, and the books that have been published about the race. I heard mentioned that 9 hours 30 mins is the longest the first lap should take if one wants to stand a chance of finishing, so I guess I’m aiming for that!

What do you feel will be the single biggest challenge you’ll face?

If there’s anything I’ve established about Barkley Marathons, it’s that there is no single aspect that makes it hard, rather it’s the combination of things; navigation, weather, ascent (which is huge), terrain, distance, tiredness.

One thing that will be very different from other events I’ve done is that I will be totally alone – racers have no tracker or phone, no way of alerting anyone if they are lost or injured. That leaves little margin for error. I don’t know how much that will influence my decision making, especially now that I’m a mother. I think usually people try to run together as a pair or three, I hope that may be possible for me too.

Jasmin running solo through another night on the Spine Race.


How have you been training for the unique challenges posed by Barkley Marathons?

In some ways, the weather we’ve had in the last two months has been quite helpful. I’ve done almost all my training in the early morning (my longest weekend runs started at 4am, to be done before lunchtime), and many of those weekend sessions have taken place in winter storms.

Wanting to get maximum ascent but being unable to run anywhere exposed (due to the risk of being blown away), has forced me into doing hill reps up and down the safest stretches of hillside. On one morning, this involved 22 ascents of Castlelaw (a hill in the Pentlands), accumulating 5,500m (18,000ft) ascent in 7 hours. It was hard to stay motivated on those reps in the dark, with wind and hail blowing horizontally into my face. But the thought of how much harder Barkley was going to be kept me going. In turn, I hope that once I get out there, I can draw on all that training, and remind myself of the sacrifices I made to be there.

Thanks to my family (my brother Vaclav, and my mum Alena), I’ve also had a couple of very useful practice ‘Barkley Marathons’, complete with forest navigation, books/magazines to collect pages from, and terrible terrain.

Ideally, I’d have done more forest navigation practice at night, but that would have required more travelling (most of the forests close to home are plantation, I tried that, and they are literally impenetrable), and I am also a full-time vet/researcher and mum of two young children, and there simply weren’t enough hours in the week.

Pushing boundaries and breaking records at the 2019 Spine Race.


What do you make of Laz and all the quirks he instils into Barkley Marathons?

From what I’ve seen and heard of Laz, I have a lot of respect for him, I think he understands ultrarunning in the purest sense, he knows what people come to Barkley for, and what they take away.

As for the race quirks, I think they are mainly there to add to the uncertainty, accentuating the mental challenge of the race, as well as for his/follower entertainment value. I’ll try to focus on running, and not let them become too much of a distraction.

Are there any experiences from your 2019 Spine Race win that you’ll call on to help at Barkley Marathons?

I know Barkley will be significantly harder, but since both are non-stop races, I think the Spine sleep tactics and ‘night-time navigation whilst hallucinating’ will probably be useful experiences to call on.

Jasmin and the ROCLITE G 275 shoes that saw her to Spine Race victory, in 83hrs 12mins.


How will you look to use the time spent with your support crew in between laps?

I’m so glad that my husband Konrad is coming to crew me, he’s the best person to have around when things get tough in the mountains. We’ll chat business instructions beforehand (kit, navigation, food), and I’ll trust him to work out the emotional support, whether that’s a hug, or a push back out onto the trail.

Another huge ascent on the PTL (the longest race as part of the UTMB festival).


You’re now a mum of two (aged 4 years and 20 months respectively) with the youngest having just finished weaning. How will you find being away from them and will it help motivate you?

Yes, we’ll be leaving the children with my parents while we make the US trip. Knowing how much everyone is investing to make this race possible for me will be a huge incentive to give it my all. Given how much I’m likely to miss the children, it’s probably a good thing that they won’t be travelling with us – this way I’ll know that I can’t see them any sooner by pulling out, so I may as well continue racing.

I successfully night-weaned Bryn a month ago, which was the big challenge. He’s now just having occasional (1-2x per day) very short feeds during the day, which are more of a comfort thing. Since it’s so little now, I don’t expect to need to express any milk during the race like I did at Spine Race, but I’ll probably pack a breast pump for the trip, just in case.

Jasmin relaxes with her children after Ultra Tour Monte Rosa. Photo: Konrad Rawlik.


Laz Lake Q&A – Barkley Marathons 2022

No-one has completed the Barkley Marathons in 5 years and no woman ever. Do you expect both of these to change this year?

Completing the Barkley is like trying to type what I want in the face of software determined to format it for me. More seriously, I don’t really have an outright expectation. We have a really strong field, with several runners who have put in the failures needed to be fully prepared, so I think we have some people who could finish. And some who will finish.... but will it be this year? There are so many unknowns, starting with the weather and continuing all the way through to some new parts on the course. I don’t think you can ever ‘expect’ a finish. It is going to play out how it plays out.

In terms of a woman finishing – the math hasn’t changed. Women’s records fall about 10% behind men’s records across pretty much every event. Also to be considered is that their results in weight/jump events lag by about 15%. Both are important because running (and running ‘fast’) is required to make up time lost on the monster climbs, and the course demands a lot of strength to do the monster climbs. You can figure that the physiological disadvantage is somewhere in between maybe 12% or 13%.

If you take the men’s times from those that have finished the Barkley, none of them would be under the 60 hours if you add even 10%.

Does this mean no woman can do it? I don’t think so. But it is going to take an outlier among outliers. On the plus side for women, men don’t have a monopoly on desire or the ability to go beyond what seems possible. And we have a field full of women outliers.

Plus, there are some significant course changes… maybe it is a little more in reach this year. Probably not, but maybe. You never know for sure until the course is submitted to the real test.

So maybe a woman will finish in 2022, but the odds are not good.

The enigmatic Laz Lake, the race creator and director of Barkley Marathons. Photo: Summit Fever Media.


What would be your best piece of advice for Jasmin ahead of the 2022 event?

The same advice as for everyone – come loaded for bear, never give up, never back down, and keep that needle as close to the red line as you can without blowing your motor.

What is it that makes Barkley Marathons so special?

What makes it special is that it is stripped down to the bare essentials. Man, without all the electronic aids and coddling, against the wilderness. You fail or succeed by your own wits and will... but probably you will fail.

Laz asks that every first-timer brings a vehicle registration plate to the event. Photo: Summit Fever Media.


Read more:

* A-Z of Barkley Marathons

* Last Women Standing: Barkley Marathons 2019 - Nicky Spinks Film

* Nicky Spinks Reflects On Barkley Marathons

* Inspirational Running Films

*Check out our range of ultramarathon shoes, running clothes and running packs. For Barkley Marathons, many runners wear shoes with aggressive outsoles – like the MUDCLAW G 260 V2 – that grip tight over off-trail terrain.