INTERVIEW – This 40-year-old Scottish woman is a veterinarian and mother of two children. She is also the first woman to have completed the Barkley, the legendary ultra-trail race renowned as one of the toughest in the world.
On March 23, in the forest of Frozen Head Park in Tennessee (United States), Jasmin Paris made history. The 40-year-old Scot is the first woman to complete the Barkley, one of the toughest ultra-trail races in the world. 160 kilometers run in 59 hours and 58 minutes, with an elevation gain of around 20,000 meters. All this, off the beaten track, without GPS or contact with the outside world. The feat would be enough in itself, but it would be a shame not to mention that Jasmin Paris is also a veterinarian, works at the University of Edinburgh and is the mother of two children aged 3 and 6.
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This race completes his extensive track record of recent years. Since her early twenties, Jasmin Paris has had a string of performances: double British champion in hill running, double Scottish champion in hill running… she also established a new women’s record in the ultramarathon of the Spine Race in 2019, finishing 430 kilometers in 83 hours and 12 minutes. And this while she was still breastfeeding her daughter, barely a year old. How is his daily life organized, between his job as a veterinarian, his training and his two children? How does she train for such events? How does she manage to surpass herself physically and mentally? Jasmin Paris confided in Madame Figaro.
Madame Figaro .- In 2019, images of you expressing your milk while running made the rounds in the British newspapers…
Jasmin Paris.- And yet, it was nothing extraordinary. I was still feeding my daughter, so I had to pump at checkpoints between each loop of the course to avoid contracting mastitis. It was just part of my to-do list: restock my food, get the map for the new part of the route…and use my breast pump. The big challenge for me was above all being far from my daughter. It was the first time I left her for more than one night.
How do you balance parenthood, work and training?
It’s a real juggling exercise. I train six days a week. On working days, I wake up at 5 a.m. and run between 5:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. On weekends I train longer, on average 3 to 5 hours a day. I leave very early in the morning so that I can spend the day with my children afterwards. Running is my only time to enjoy the outdoors without having to think about work, kids and everything else. Running also makes me a better mother, it makes me happier and more patient with my children. It’s also what allows me to be more focused and more efficient at work, to get home as quickly as possible and be able to find them. In this sense, my sports training complements my daily life.
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They also allow you to achieve feats. How did you feel finishing the legendary Barkley race?
An incredible feeling of pride and accomplishment. The Barkley is the most difficult event I have ever experienced, I had been preparing for it for three years. On my first try, I completed three 32-kilometer loops; on the second try, I wasn’t fast enough to finish the fourth loop. This time I wanted to go all the way. I proved that a woman could finish the race, which some people said was impossible. I feel like I’ve won for women around the world.
The Barkley is the hardest event I have ever experienced
Jasmine Paris
A pride worthy of the challenge…
Absolutely. The Barkley is an accumulation of challenges. To succeed, you must cover the 160 kilometers in less than 60 hours and each of the five 32-kilometer loops in less than 12 hours. The elevation also involves more climbing than any other race I know. So you have to run all the time. Add to this the difficulty of finding your way in the forest, off trails, using only a map, GPS and telephones being prohibited. You must constantly be fully concentrated so as not to get lost.
Konrad Rawlik
Without ever sleeping?
No, we don’t have time. The lack of sleep didn’t really bother me, I just started having hallucinations after the second night without sleep, I was seeing animals instead of piles of leaves and branches. But I was prepared for it, one of the longest training sessions in the previous months had lasted almost 9 hours; I had climbed 4,700 meters in altitude by going up and down the same hill several times in the middle of the night. It was raining hard and snowing in the heights. It was good mental training.
You seem to have the ability to ignore the signals sent by your body during such a sporting performance…
It’s true. During the last loop of the Barkley, I developed tendinitis in my left leg, it was very painful. I actively forced myself to ignore it and continue running at pace. I was so pressed for time that I couldn’t afford to limp.
What were you thinking throughout the ordeal?
When I run such long distances, I break them down into parts in my head so that each goal seems achievable. At the start of the race, I don’t think about the five times 32 kilometers that I will cover, I only think about finishing the first loop. And throughout the test, I focus on my desire to succeed. This desire is strong enough to push me to surpass myself. This is how I have always operated. If I have a goal, then I commit to it and dedicate myself fully to achieving it and being at the best of my abilities.
When I run such long distances, I break them down into parts in my head so that each goal seems achievable.
Jasmine Paris
What motivates you?
Pleasure is the key. My love for mountain landscapes is the main reason why I run ultra-trails, in fact, I never listen to music. I love hearing the birds singing, the sound of the wind on the leaves… The mountains simply bring me joy and I am always happier when I come back.
