Mom Confessions

"The runner Jasmin Paris became on Friday the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, an extreme footrace that requires participants in rural Tennessee to navigate 100 miles of rugged terrain in no more than 60 hours.

Paris, 40, of Midlothian, Scotland, finished the race with one minute and 39 seconds to spare, making her one of only 20 people to complete the Barkley since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989. She was one of five to finish this year, out of 40 entrants.

At the end of the run, Paris sank to the ground in front of a yellow gate that marks the start and finish of the event, which consists of five roughly 20-mile laps.

“The final minutes were so intense, after all that effort it came down to a sprint uphill, with every fiber of my body screaming at me to stop,” Paris said in an email."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/23/us/b ... paris.html

I am curious of the terrain and what’s involved. I’ve run 100 miles in 24 hour race, but I’m sure this was very different than running on a dirt trail behind a high school if it’s that difficult to beat. Terrain definitely makes an impact on time and endurance.

Olioxenfree wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 9:05 pm I am curious of the terrain and what’s involved. I’ve run 100 miles in 24 hour race, but I’m sure this was very different than running on a dirt trail behind a high school if it’s that difficult to beat. Terrain definitely makes an impact on time and endurance.

I think the 60,000 ft ascent and descent through a lot of untrailed terrain probably is what makes it particularly difficult.

"Paris, 40, of Midlothian, Scotland, finished the race with one minute and 39 seconds to spare, making her one of only 20 people to complete the Barkley since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989. She was one of five to finish this year, out of 40 entrants." It's pretty amazing.

I live in NE Alabama. The terrain isn’t all that different from East TN, so I can imagine the difficulty. In the article Della posted, it states that if completed the race is the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest twice. That’s insane. Congratulations to her!