• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Brutal rules of sadistic torture race which UK runner became first woman to complete

Home> News> US News

Published 14:33 25 Mar 2024 GMT

Brutal rules of sadistic torture race which UK runner became first woman to complete

From start to finish, the race is a tough slog

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson

Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Gary Robbins/Ultrarunningdestinations

Topics: Sport, US News, Weird, Good News

Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson

Advert

Advert

Advert

A UK runner has become the first woman to finish the gruelling Barkley Marathon.

The hellish marathon is 100 miles long with 60,000 feet of ascents and descents, which is the equivalent of going up and down Mount Everest twice.

British contender Jasmin Paris has become the first woman to cross the finish line, doing so with just under 100 seconds to spare.

Paris, 40, successfully completed the five loops around Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee on Friday.

Advert

Although she collapsed at the finish line, Paris told BBC News that she was 'overjoyed' with her accomplishment.

Would you sign up for this?
Gary Robbins/Facebook

She told the BBC: "I only had like a few minutes to get up that hill. So I ended up sprinting at the end of the end of 60 hours of burning through the forest, which felt really hard."

So, we know it's not for the faint of heart.

But what does the race entail and how do you get involved?

The application process

Applicants need to send over a form to the director of Barkley Marathon, Gary Cantrell.

Advert

Simple enough start, right?

Well, it is made trickier by the fact there's no physical or email address listed on the marathon's website.

Out of the thousand that manage to get through, 40 receive a personal letter from Cantrell.

Not so much wishing them luck as it's a letter of condolences.

Why?

Advert

Because certain runners have been chosen as 'human sacrifice'.

Nobody would be under any illusions about what they're getting themselves into.

This could be you... do with that what you will.
Gary Robbins/Facebook

Successful applicants have to seal their place in the race, by sending in $1.60, a license plate from their home state or country, a specific piece of clothing or one pack of Camel cigarettes.

How the marathon starts

Before the marathon, runners are presented with a cake that reads: 'Good luck, morons'.

Advert

Runners aren't told when the race is beginning, and are kept on high alert from noon to night.

They only get the go-ahead to start running once a race official lights a cigarette.

In fairness, they get an hours warning - when a conch sounds.

The course

The Tennessee running route is unmarked, leaving contestants to fend for themselves with a map and compass.

Advert

The competitors have 60 hours to complete the grueling task.

To prove they've completed each of the loops, runners must find hidden books at various points and rip off a page that corresponds with their bib number.

Finishing the marathon

Since the race began in 1986, only 17 out 1,000 participants have successfully finished the race within 60 hours.

Although other women have completed the Barkley Fun Run, which is three loops under 40 hours, Paris is the only one to have completed the fourth loop.

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Man horrified to discover his new home is actually someone else's Airbnb

    Ben Echianu, from Manchester, branded the woman whom he believes posed as a landlord as 'heartless'

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Christian Horner releases statement after being sacked by Red Bull after 20 years

    Horner shared a lengthy statement on social media

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Donald Trump shuts down reporter who asked Jeffrey Epstein question following release of CCTV footage

    It seems the US President deems the topic to be no longer up for discussion

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Cardiologist who had heart attack warns people to not 'make same mistake' over little-known warning sign

    The irony isn't lost on Dr William Wilson

    News
  • British woman who was first to ever complete 'sadistic torture race' explained everything she experienced
  • Every runner fails to finish 'sadistic torture race' that only 20 people have ever completed
  • UK runner becomes first woman to complete sadistic torture race with rules designed to make sure you don't
  • 'Sadistic torture race' that only 20 people have ever finished has started for 2025