Last Friday saw two exceptional events, oddly almost overlapping in timing. Jasmin Paris, a 40-year-old veterinarian from Scotland, became the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons and Kate Middleton, the 42-year-old Princess of Wales, announced to the world she was receiving chemotherapy to treat a cancer diagnosis, ending weeks of online speculation about her health and whereabouts. The intersection of these two things has me thinking about how we understand women’s health and our capacity to endure.
Along with a good portion of the global running community, I was held rapt as the Barkley unfolded over its 60-hour timeline. A fan and follower of this eccentric race for years, I declared on X/Twitter before the start that I was Team #smalleuropeanwoman — a nickname Jasmin’s carried since the 2023 Barkley edition. I was hoping to see her complete the challenge on her third attempt.
In a year blessed with an optimal start time and astonishingly good weather, Jasmin had the benefit of experience, the collaboration of a group of veteran Barkers, including her coach, and an undeniable confidence in her own ability while she was on the course.
What shouldn’t have surprised me was some of the commentary that came after her result. With no more than 40 runners each year, the Barkley does not have a women’s race and a men’s race, but that didn’t stop I Run Far from framing Jasmin’s accomplishment that way. As 1 of only 20 people to complete the Barkley in its 38-year history, the achievement stands alongside those of the other 19 finishers on equal footing.
That might seem at odds with the focus on her being the first woman to finish that took over social media — to the point that the other four finishers’ achievements faded in the noise of celebration — but those finishers, along with the running community, were as invested in this outcome, in part because race director Lazurus ‘Laz’ Lake once famously declared the Barkley ‘too hard’ for a woman to complete.
John Kelly, a three-time Barkley finisher — including this year — used his blog to answer that question in 2018. A data scientist by profession, John argued it was inevitable that a woman would finish the Barkley one day. And in a show of sportsmanship, Jared Campbell waited at the gate in camp between the fourth and fifth loops — what is known as ‘interloopal’ time — for Jasmin to be ready to tackle the final push, offering her the choice of direction.
Runners leave on the fifth loop in alternating directions to preclude teaming up and the clockwise route is acknowledged as the ‘easier’ path. Jared’s statement, ‘If you want clockwise, it’s all yours’ was as much a demonstration of his character as it was that he, and everyone else, saw the potential for history in the making. He wrote about it in his first Instagram post following the race.
But what does this all have to do with Kate Middleton?
As Jasmin’s race was playing out via X/Twitter, the networks were getting ready to broadcast the pre-recorded announcement from the Princess of Wales that she is receiving chemotherapy for a cancer diagnosis discovered following abdominal surgery. I took a break from the Barkley coverage and watched as it streamed directly from the Wales’ account on X/Twitter.
Over the last two months, Kate’s whereabouts have been the subject of online and media speculation that ranged from an impending divorce to drastic plastic surgery. It’s been a marathon of its own proportions and one that has only been put to rest by revealing her health status publicly. As Kate spoke directly to the camera, sitting alone on a garden bench, I was struck by a sense that she felt it necessary to be the one conveying the news, claiming an autonomy she has not had thus far.
To endure public scrutiny and harassment by the media, while trying to navigate how to manage a cancer diagnosis, surgery, and treatment choices, can only be overwhelming. It is an intense experience for the average person. I know that from personal experience. Guilty of sharing a few memes about the Palace’s inept public relations regarding her status, as soon as the news was clear, I felt only empathy for Kate, imagining how she has struggled to balance a difficult diagnosis, sharing that news with her family and close friends, and being accountable as a public figure. Though I’m sure the timing of the announcement was not by choice, I was impressed she took command of her story. Because, at the end of the day, that is what it is, her story to tell.
The thread that ties these two women’s stories together goes beyond the serendipity of the timing. Their stories are both theirs to tell. Jasmin has set an example for all women runners, and she did it — intentionally — without the support of sponsors. Kate has become the voice for her diagnosis and her health. Try as they might, the Palace PR team will be challenged to take control of the narrative from her again.
Both women have shown us what reservoirs of endurance look like. I do hope the net of both their stories is that, as Jared Campbell so eloquently phrased it, it has ‘reprogrammed our perception of limits.’
Running from hysteria 
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