The Barkley Marathons is one of the toughest, oddest sports events in the world, and as of this week, only 20 people have ever successfully crossed the finish line
Not many people have heard of the Barkley Marathons before this week, but that has changed since Jasmin Paris, 40, became the first woman to finish the notoriously tough ultramarathon.
The race is held in Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee in the United States, over a changing off-trail course that consists of five loops totalling over 160km (100 miles), with a cumulative elevation gain of more than 18288 metres—or the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice from sea level. The extreme difficulty of the race is underscored by the fact that, as of 2024, the full 160-km race has been completed under the cutoff time by only 20 runners.
Now that short roster includes, for the first time, a woman. Paris has been a star in the ultrarunning circuit for years now, albeit a relatively low-key one, after racking up a series of wins in national and international competitions. Her success at the Barkley Marathons is now attracting worldwide admiration, not just from her peers, but from a wider audience who are getting to know the extraordinary athlete—and the quirky event that she just conquered—for the first time.
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Everything about the Barkley Marathons was designed to make things really hard for its runners
Just finishing the race alone—never mind finishing it before cutoff—is a badge of honour for any runner. Even entering the race itself requires undergoing a quirky, secretive process that certainly isn’t designed to encourage participants.
The race was dreamt up by Gary Cantrell, who got the idea in 1977, when he heard the news about the prison escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin who killed Martin Luther King, Jr. Evading authorities and traveling over rough terrain, Ray covered less than 20km in 54.5 hours. Cantrell, then an accounting student at the Middle Tennessee State University and a marathon runner, was gripped by the idea of creating tougher and tougher race courses, and was determined to design one that would defeat everyone who attempted it.
The first Barkley race was held in 1986, and covered only about 80 to 90km for the first few years. The modern 160-km course length was adopted in 1989, and was first finished within the cutoff time of under 60 hours in 1995 by Mark Williams from the United Kingdom.
Today, only 35 runners are admitted into each race, after filling up an entry application that includes an essay titled “Why I should be allowed to run in the Barkley”, which is then emailed to a very private email address (the race itself does not have a website). Successful entrants are welcomed with a “condolences letter” telling them they are about to undergo a “very bad thing.” Race bib number one is given to the person judged least likely to finish even one loop.
The course itself consists of an unmarked loop that runners must complete five times. A course map is given at the beginning, but runners are only allowed to copy it onto their own maps. Any form of GPS is not allowed. Runners who complete three loops are said to have completed the “fun run” version.