3: Jasmin Paris - Record Breaking Fell Runner

Jasmin Paris is a mother-of-two, long distance fell runner, small animal vet and research scientist, who was launched into the media spotlight in January 2019 when she won the 268-mile Montane Spine race outright, breaking the overall record by 12 hours, and beating her nearest rival by 15 hours.

Jasmin was born in Manchester in 1983, and brought up between the Peak District, UK, and Šumava, Czech Republic. She studied veterinary science at Liverpool University (2002-2008), including an intercalated year of Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, London. From 2009-2010 Jasmin completed a rotating internship at the University of Minnesota, USA, before returning to Edinburgh University to start a residency in Small Animal Medicine, ultimately gaining European Diplomate status in 2014.

Although very active outdoors throughout childhood, it was not until 2008, whilst working for a year as a small animal vet in Glossop that she started fell running. In 2015, Jasmin finished first lady and second overall at the infamous Dragon’s Back race, and the same year she won the British Fellrunning Championship for the first time. In 2016, she gained international recognition by winning the Skyrunning Extreme Series, and the same year she broke records for the three classic UK 24-hour hill challenges. In 2017, Jasmin gave birth to her daughter Rowan. She returned to racing by winning
the British Fellrunning Championship in 2018, and thereafter the Spine in 2019. Her second child, Bryn, was born in 2020.

Between 2015 and 2019, Jasmin completed a PhD studying the role of the RNA-methylation reader protein YTHDF2 in acute myeloid leukaemia. She is currently working as a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Photo credit: Jon Gay

Opening and closing music - 'Go Not Gently' - by audionautix.com.