5 amazing female runners you've probably never heard of
You’ve got to have been living under a stinking pile of running socks to have not heard of Jasmin Paris in recent weeks. She’s the amazing athlete who became the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee, a course so hard that only 17 people have completed it since it began in 1986. Even it’s race director Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell goadingly said no woman could ever complete it (before later admitting that his money was on Jasmin to be the first). Finishing with just 99 seconds to spare, Jasmin made worldwide headlines. And it wasn’t the first time. Back in 2019 she shattered the brutal 268-mile Spine Race record by 12 hours, all whilst breastfeeding her 14-month-old baby Rowan. This sparked debate about whether women were faster than men in the long run and secured her name in running folklore.
Jasmin’s recent barrier breaking achievement was truly inspirational, and even brought a tear to my usually unwavering eye. But I’m not here today to tell you about Jasmin. Her story is well documented. What I want to share is some of the lesser known stories of women I personally admire. They are all runners doing remarkable things whilst going about their everyday lives as employees, business women and mothers. They all have grit, determination and self-belief that all women can aspire to. To them running matters, and plays a symbolic role in their life whether it’s standing up to bullies, fighting chronic pain, or testing their limits.
So without further ado, here are five amazing female runners you have probably never heard of.
1. Vriko Kwok
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Vriko for the South China Morning Post and I can honestly say she is the nicest runner I have ever chatted to. She was one of 10 athletes selected for the Lululemon FURTHER challenge which took place in Palm Springs, California in March. Each of the women were supported to run their furthest ever distance in six days. Vriko, who is an entrepreneur from Hong Kong, was the only non-runner. A year before the event she had not even run a single kilometre. She had been bullied her whole life for being “fat” and as such hated running. So aiming to run 50km a day for six days was a huge target.
But not only did she have the mammoth task of running an ultramarathon every day, she had to do it alongside the world’s best ultra runner. Imagine being told you would be running loops next to Camille Herron, a woman who has broken pretty much every endurance record in the world. She now holds the world records for 24 hours, 48 hours, 300 miles, 400 miles, 500 miles and six days. But Vriko believed she could do it and committed herself to the challenge.
Training 30 hours per week at the peak of her programme because she is “a slow runner” meant getting up at 4am everyday to fit it in around work. Meanwhile all the other women in the Lululemon challenge were accomplished ultra runners. Undeterred, Vriko fully embraced her imposter syndrome, bonded with her teammates and ran 303.313km. What an athlete.
2. Helen Ryvar
Helen is what I would call a true grafter. At the time of writing she has been running a half marathon for 719 consecutive days and is on track for her 1,000 day target. Helen originally set out to run 150 halfs, before finding she could just not kick the habit despite trying on several occasions.
I don’t like to make a big deal out of whether a runner is a mother or not, as we don’t identify male athletes this way, but in Helen’s case it really is relevant. She is a single mum of three, and works full time as a cleaner. And yet she has been getting up at 4am every day for the past two years to run a half marathon. Her kids are old enough to be left at home on their own but I’m sure the mental load in that household is heavily weighted on Helen’s shoulders.
Yet running has become part of her daily routine and she has miraculously avoided injury, maybe thanks to her physical day job. But she is also acutely aware of setting an example to her children that anything is possible, and you don’t need to be a doctor or a CEO (common amongst high performing endurance athletes) to do something remarkable. Helen says she will stop her streak at 1,000 half marathons but I’m not so sure.
3. Frankie Butler
When I spoke to Frankie on the telephone for a Runner’s World article it was clear she was in constant pain. She had to keep catching her breath and concentrate incredibly hard to push aside the debilitating agony she was feeling. When she described her condition, complex regional pain syndrome, in all honesty I didn’t understand how she could bear to live with it. And I think at times she has wondered this herself.
Following a hockey accident and reconstructive surgery on her ankle her pain receptors were mangled. This means her body replays the pain of surgery on a loop every day. There is nothing physically wrong with her ankle anymore but the nerves continue to send out the wrong signals. She can’t even expose her foot to the air because it is too painful and she can't put weight on it or wear certain shoes.
But this hasn’t prevented her from seeking the thrill of running across the hockey pitch. She started by racing offroad in her wheelchair and progressed to running with crutches. When she runs it’s the only time she’s not in pain, she told me, something I can’t even begin to imagine. But she is not going to let anything stop her. Now a volcanologist she is planning geological adventures around the world.
4. Eleanor Baverstock
I see Ellie running everywhere. I drive to the shops and there she is running through the streets. I go for a run through the villages, miles away from home and she pops up, whizzing past me with a huge smile. I volunteer at a race and there she is finishing first female without breaking a sweat. Many times I have told friends I should stop following her on Strava because she is just so darn good it makes me sick. The problem is Ellie is lovely and has a remarkable back story.
A decade ago at just age 18 she was on her death bed with a severe eating disorder. Initially she used running to control her weight but over time it became her recovery. With the help of therapy she began to put on weight and had a change in mindset. She realised in order to run well she needed a fully fueled body. This led to dramatic performance improvements and a positive relationship with food.
A lazy argument would be to say she has swapped one addiction for another, she does run 80+ miles most weeks, but that’s not the case. She is the strongest, healthiest and happiest version of herself and is absolutely smashing it. In her first 100 mile race she was second female. Last year she won her first 50 mile race outright, beating all male and female competitors. She has a championship place at London Marathon having run 2:52:48 last year. Whilst the other runners are gurning and gasping around her Ellie always looks so relaxed and happy, something we should all aspire to.
5. Alice Moore
Alice is a planner. She set her sights on the gruelling 198km Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge and gave herself five years to reach it (inspired by the first female to complete the event in 2019). Her planning went so well that on her first attempt she finished first female. But it wasn’t by chance. She had meticulously calculated the distances and races she need to complete before she was ready to even apply for the HK4TUC.
Another nice touch about Alice’s story is that she wrote her training plan for the race on the back of a Cathay Pacific menu on the flight home from her honeymoon. She stuck rigidly to the schedule so when it came to the actual race she was completely ready and had no pain, flare ups or logistical issues. She ran confidently for 63 hours, 58 minutes and 47 seconds, pegging it down a mountain to get to a ferry crossing with just a minute to spare. And what did she use for fuelling? Percy Pigs and cheese and pickle sandwiches of course!
What’s also remarkable is that she has only been running for six years. She practically went from couch to ultra marathon.
The list above is a personal one, and based on women I have come across in my work as a journalist. But I hope it goes to show that ordinary woman are achieving extraordinary things without being professional athletes. They all started by just putting one foot in front of the other, and believing in themselves.
If you want to nominate a female runner for inclusion in the newsletter then please get in touch! Email lilycanter@yahoo.co.uk