By Coach Natalie Brunson

March is Women's History Month and what a month it was! From Lululemon #further project to the historic finish of Jasmin Paris at the Barkley Marathon as the first woman to finish the race EVER! With only 90 seconds to spare no less.

Given all the excitement of last month, I can't help but think about other notable events in the history of running. The first is the original marathon. Is anyone aware I studied Classical History in College? (Nerd Alert) Next are the events that allowed women to finally be able to run in marathons, most notably The Boston Marathon.

Of course, we all know that Philippides was the first marathon runner but in reality, he was the first ultra-marathon runner. Everyone pays attention to his last run to let Athens know Greece had prevailed. His preceding runs which are also very relevant are largely ignored. Philippides was employed as a “day runner” which is essentially a courier without a bike. This fellow inspired both the Marathon and the Spartathalon but is not credited with inspiring the ultramarathon but maybe he should be. You see in the preceding days he ran from Marathon Greece to Sparta to ask for help because the Persians had landed on Greek shores. The Spartans were known to be quite formidable they trained from childhood to be the best fighters, so of course you would go to them in time of trouble. They were not the most sociable bunch, so they didn't want to get involved. As luck would have it they were engaged in a religious festival at the time and so had a very convenient excuse to decline. He ran about 240 km (150 mi) in two days and then ran back. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) to the battlefield near Marathon and back to Athens to announce the victory over the Persians (no easy feat) so essentially he ran 350 miles in like 5 days. All this to say that Camille Heron obviously could beat him because she ran 568.40 miles in 6 days!!!!

The accomplishments of all of these women athletes are so crazy to me because it was only 54 years ago women were not allowed to run marathons because it was mistakenly believed that long-distance running could cause infertility. It is important to note that Katherine Switzer entered the Boston Marathon in 1967 with only her initials to not let on she was a woman. During the race officials tried to have her dragged off the course. She finished with an approximate time of 4 hours and 20 minutes. In 1972 Boston officially established a women's race. With all of the publicity of Katherine's attempt to run Boston the actual first female to run in that race is often overlooked. In 1966 Bobbi Gibb attempted to enter the race officially and was rejected. She bandited the race by entering one of the corrals mid-pack she finished ahead of ⅔ of the runners with a time of 3:21:40 but she was not an official entrant. In 2023 around 35% of marathon runners are women and approximately 23% of women are ultramarathoners.

In March of 2024, five people finished the Barkley Marathon which in itself is historic. In the previous 37 years, there have only been 17 finishers but it's women's history month lets focus on Jasmin Paris who is the first one to do so! Her timing is impeccable 59:58:21. This was Jasmin's third attempt at this race. Jasmine is a mother of two, who is employed as a veterinarian and has recently come off a knee injury. Knowing she had all this to navigate during her training makes her accomplishment even more impressive. Some professional runners have endless time to train because it's their job and entire life although this is more common for road running. For a person with regular family and work responsibilities, this feat is simply unbelievable.

Image Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13235557/jasmin-paris-barkely-marathon-phd-vet-record-breaker.html

Now on to Lululemon further. I am so pleased to see such a diverse group of athletes push their limits and go further than they have before. In six days they all set personal records.

Montana Farrah-Seaton (Age: 27): Ultrarunner, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Model 315.8 miles
Stefanie Flippin (Age: 34): Coach and Ultrarunner, BIPOC Advocate, Doctor 112.1 miles
Camille Herron (Age: 42): Ultrarunner, World Record Holder 568.4 miles
Kayla Jeter (Age: 34): Runner, Strength & Wellness Coach 234.3 miles
Xiaomeng Jia (Age: 38): Marathon Runner, Entrepreneur 300.5 miles
Yoon Young Kang (Age: 44): Ultrarunner, Judo Black Belt, Joy Seeker 313.3 miles
Vriko Kwok (Age: 32): Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athlete, Runner, Entrepreneur 188.5 miles
Mirna Valerio (Age: 48): Ultrarunner, Author, Adventurer 142.6 miles
Devon Yanko (Age: 41): Ultrarunner, Coach & Mentor, Food Entrepreneur 313.3 miles
Leah Yingling (Age: 32): Ultrarunner, Biomedical Engineer, Women’s Advocate 399.9 miles

In 6 days Camille broke 13 records.

48h American Road Record
Women’s 300 mile World Record
Women’s 500k World Record
Women’s 72 HHour World Record
Women’s 600k World Record
Women’s 400 Mile World Record
Women’s 96 Hour World Record
700k World Record
800k World Record
Women’s 500 Mile World Record
Women’s 120 Hour World Record
Women’s 144 Hour World Record
Women’s 900k World Record

This is incredibly impressive even for an athlete of this caliber, it is simply outstanding. It goes to show we simply do not yet know what the human body is capable of. Oh and for anyone wondering I’m sure her knees are fine. (I had to throw that one in)

It amazes me every day that the world of ultrarunning keeps pushing limits and going farther every day. I remember when 8 miles was enough and a simple 50k was the goal, now anything goes! How far do you think you could run in 6 days?

Find out more about the lululemon further here:

https://corporate.lululemon.com/media/press-releases/2024/03-05-2024-190015999

My podcast of the month:

https://trailsociety.libsyn.com/