Mar/Apr 2024: Paris beats 60-hour cutoff

First of all, an apology … Regular readers of this esteemed newsletter will probably already know about the Barkley Marathon. The editorial team at FinishTime is a bit fixated on the American off-road ultra marathon, but we were determined this year to ignore the event after faithfully reporting on it for three years in a row – after all, we do try and give the readers something different as much as possible.

Well, sorry. That plan went flying into the dense Tennessee bush when Jasmin Paris completed the 100-mile tail run in a time of 59 hours, 58 minutes and 21 seconds – just 99 seconds inside the 60-hour cut-off. 

You may wonder why we find her 22,5-minutes-per-kilometre trail run newsworthy?

The Barkley Marathon is surely the world's toughest ultra and Paris is the first – and so far only – woman to finish the gruelling five-lap ultra-marathon trail run since the event began using the current course in 1989.

In fact, in the 37-year history of the event, a total of just 21 people have finished the event, including Paris. Last year she became just the second woman to start the fourth lap (at this event, three laps, or 96km, is considered to be the "Fun Run" of this gruelling race).

The 40-year-old senior veterinary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh stumbled across the line and told the Guardian: "It’s not the fact that it’s 100 miles that’s the problem – it’s about the terrain."

She suffered from sleep monsters (hallucinations from a combination of sleep deprivation and exhaustion) and said she saw "quite a lot of people in black macintoshes."

The event is somewhat quirky, with an essay needed to get an entry (if you can even find the email address for the event that does not have a website). The first and third loops are run clockwise, while the second and fourth loops are run anticlockwise. The first finisher of the fourth loop gets to decide which direction runners go on the last loop.

The race traditionally begins somewhat appropriately on the weekend nearest April Fools' Day with an entry fee of just $1.60 – plus a licence plate for Barkley "virgins". There is no official start time. Those who make it to Frozen Head State Park campground on the correct date are notified one hour beforehand by the sound of a conch shell horn – and the race officially begins when the race director lights a cigarette (nothing else – other than runners charging off into the bush – signals the start).

The Barkley course was created by Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and Karl Henn after they read about the escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr, from nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

When they discovered he had only managed to travel 13km in 60 hours before he was caught, Cantrell is said to have commented he could have run 100 miles in the time, and set about creating the race.

So, as much as we find Gerda Steyn's record-breaking win at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon to be incredibly special and newsworthy, it pales when compared to Jasmin Paris' historic 59:58:21 for 100 miles in the dense Tennessee bush. Sorry Gerda!

The FinishTime sporting calendars below come with a warning to check with the event organisers to ensure events have not been postponed or cancelled.

More event information, a regularly updated events calendar and results of all events timed by FinishTime can be found at www.finishtime.co.za and all results of events timed by FinishTime at results.finishtime.co.za

DURBAN CITY MARATHON: March 24, 2024

Gerda Steyn confirmed her status as South Africa’s top long distance athlete when she won the 2024 Two Oceans ultra-marathon in a record time, while Onalenna Khonkhobe made it a South African double when he won in 3:09:30.

CAPE TOWN CYCLE TOUR: March 10, 2024

The 46th Cape Town Cycle Tour, the biggest timed bike race in the world, was held on Sunday, 10 March 2024. Primarily, the Cycle Tour provides a glorious day out for tens of thousands of cyclists, no matter the weather. 

COMRADES MARATHON: June 9, 2024

The Comrades Marathon is the world's largest and oldest ultra-marathon. The 88km event attracts up to 23 000 entrants each year to compete in a tough run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. The 2024 run will be the first up-run since Covid disrupted the event in 2019.