British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris is first woman to finish Barkley Marathons

Jasmin Paris, photographed in 2019, has written her name into the Barkley Marathons history books. Photograph: Felicity McCabe/The Guardian

The British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris has become the first woman ever to finish the notorious Barkley Marathons race in Tennessee.

The 40-year-old was one of five runners to complete this year’s event, which is made up of five punishing 20-mile loops around Frozen Head State Park in the east of the US state. Paris’s finishing time was 59 hours, 58 minutes and 21 seconds – 99 seconds inside the 60-hour cut-off.