What I learnt about women while on a running retreat

And just how fast is Jasmin Paris at running downhill?

I can confirm it’s true. I have witnessed it with my very own eyes. Jasmin Paris is incredibly rapid at running downhill. Even on lumpy moorland.

It is a truly incredible feat to behold and seeing it first hand explains just how she managed to become the first woman in history to complete the Barkley Marathons.

And if you don’t know who - or what - I am talking about, you’re probably reading the wrong newsletter.

Last month I attended a running retreat in Dartmoor organised my Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans, Way of the Runner and The Rise of the Ultrarunner (all fantastic books).

Running from Friday through to Monday the Way of the Runner Retreat is a mixture of trail running, talks and amazing food all set within in the heart of the Dartmoor National Park.

I had been to the retreat back in November 2023 when the guest of honour was Damian Hall. I’d had a wonderful time and even managed to convince Damian to become my coach. So when it was announced that Jasmin Paris would be gracing the moors, I jumped at the chance to run wild with her.

And I wasn’t disappointed. Jasmin hung out with us mere running mortals all weekend sharing stories of Barkley Marathons, which revealed her humble but steely determination. Running alongside her on the various hilly trails was like watching poetry in literal motion. While I was huffing and puffing breathlessly up the inclines she chatted away to other runners, her lungs barely affected.

And while my arms flapped around to balance me as I tried to peg it down hill, she roared past, arms relaxed, like a graceful Cheetah catching its dinner.

What was also remarkable about the weekend, was being in the company of so many women. Out of the group of 31, just seven were men, which was a rare situation indeed. At the previous Damian Hall retreat the spilt had been more 60/40 (men to women) and certainly within the world of trail running, the vast amount of participants (around 80%) are men.

Being amongst this diverse bunch of women was heart warming, and gave me pause for reflection. I came away with these five ruminations:

Women are interested in ultra running

One argument I often hear (mostly from men) is that women aren’t as interested in ultra running as men. The bravado surrounding the world of extreme distances and brutal challenges does not appeal to the fairer sex. Women don’t have as much testosterone and don’t feel the need to prove themselves in distances over a marathon (so the argument goes). I beg to differ. Nearly all the women I met in Dartmoor were ultra runners. It often comes hand-in-hand with trail running, and it was a self-selecting group, but there was definitely an appetite for 50k, 100k, 100-mile and multi-day races. Almost every woman I spoke to had been ultra running for several years from those in their 20s to women in their 50s. To say women are not interested in ultra running is just not true.

Women are inspired by female role models

I don’t want to take credit for it but… back in 2023 when I had been on the Damian Hall retreat Adharanand asked for feedback. I had loved the weekend but my one observation was that it was very male orientated. It was hosted by a man, the star guest was a man, the Dartmoor guide was a man and the person giving the movement workshop was a man. I told Adharanand he needed to address the balance. Taking the feedback on board- (or perhaps he was already thinking the same thing) he started looking for a female guest of honour. He lucked out when Jasmin Paris said yes. And the retreat was all the better for it (he also enlisted a local female runner to help with guided runs).

Every single woman at that retreat was there because of Jasmin Paris. They wanted to meet her, learn from her and run with her. It was a very different vibe to the Damian Hall retreat. Everyone wanted a selfie with Jasmin. Everyone wanted Jasmin to sign a photo, book or magazine for themselves, their daughter or their female friend. And she was very gracious with her time, happily posing and signing away. She was bombarded with questions all weekend and candidly answered them. There was no veneer, no ego, no holding back.

Damian Hall was equally lovely - and has just as many records / wins to his name as Jasmin - but it just wasn’t the same. The thing that makes Jasmin remarkable is that she is a woman breaking barriers. She won the Spine Race while expressing breast milk. She finished Barkley when it was said no woman could. She has blazed a remarkable trail and women love her for that. She is the reason they continue to sign up for races dominated by men. Women are inspired by female role models.

Women raise each other up rather than compete

While men compete over world records and Fastest Known Times, women are simply custodians of these records before handing them over to someone else. During the pandemic Damian Hall and John Kelly competed over the FKT along the Pennine Way - trying to beat each other’s records. While they are friends they are also ‘frenemies’ each wanting to hold the record.

Discussing this with women in Dartmoor we noticed a pattern. When a woman wants to break a world record they turn to the woman who set it. Mimi Anderson was happy to give Sophie Power advice on how to break her Guinness World Record of the fastest crossing on foot across Ireland.

Over the Dartmoor weekend I saw women constantly giving each other support, encouraging one another up the steep inclines, or waiting at turning points to allow those behind to catch up. They discussed menopause symptoms and how to handle them, and chatted about their favourite races. At no point did I hear anyone ask ‘what time did you do?’ There were no boasts about London Marathon times or stories of how tough Comrades race in South Africa is (both which happened at the previous male dominated retreat). Instead the women were interested in learning from one another. Even the fastest women in the group were incredibly modest and keen to hear the stories of others rather than share their own.

(Some) Men still resent women prioritising themselves

I nearly choked on my delicious lentil curry when I heard one man lamenting his wife’s interest in races. “I don’t mind her running in races, but it’s the two hour drive there and back - and the four hours running - that I mind. I love my children but it’s a long time to be looking after them on my own.” Or something to that effect. It’s a good job I wasn’t sitting next to him as my fork may have ended up embedded somewhere other than my rice.

It was refreshing to hear a woman retort: “I went to a training camp in Lanzarote for a week and my husband was quite happy to look after the kids. We take it in turns to do our races and trips away.” We need more men like the latter and to challenge the former. It is not OK for men to resent women prioritising themselves. Partners need to be allies - who enable women in sport - rather than guilt trip them into avoiding it. A relationship should be equitable with each partner enabled to follow their interests and nurture their wellbeing.

Things can be made accessible to women

There was a big range of abilities on this retreat. From those who could only comfortable run a few kilometres to women like Jasmin Paris who train to compete with professional (i.e paid) elite runners over hundreds of miles. Yet no-one ever felt excluded or that they couldn’t take part. There were always three or four guides meaning each route could be split into different paces. And everyone was happy to stop and wait for everyone to regroup. On the long Sunday run there was the option of 8k, 16k or 25k, and when someone had enough at 4k they had a guide to take them back.

It is perfectly possible to cater for an array of abilities with a little planning and forethought. This is something we need to see more of in races particularly when it comes to cut offs and female only spaces.

Adharanand does a fantastic job of making everyone feel inclusive and his retreats are just that - a place to relax, rather than a training camp. Many of the women there had been to several of his retreats which shows he must be getting it right.

If you are curious about the retreats take a look at the calendar here: https://thewayoftherunner.com/

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Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. If you have any running news for me, let me know! Send feedback to lilycanter@yahoo.co.uk or suggest topics you’d like me to cover.