Ashley Paulson Sets 100-Mile World Record
American ultrarunner Ashley Paulson set a new women's 100-mile world record at the 2026 Jackpot 100 Mile, completing the distance in 12:19:34. Her achievement marks a new standard in endurance running and showcases the heights of human performance in ultramarathon competition.
- Paulson's average pace was a blistering 7 minutes and 21 seconds per mile over the 100-mile distance. - She broke the previous world record of 12:37:04, set by Ireland's Caitriona Jennings in 2025, by more than 17 minutes. - The Jackpot 100 Mile was held at Cornerstone Park in Henderson, Nevada, and the course consisted of runners completing 84 laps around a 1.1-mile certified loop. - This event also served as the USA Track & Field (USATF) 100 Mile National Championships. - The record is pending official ratification by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), the global governing body for ultrarunning. - This is the first world record for the 44-year-old Paulson, who also holds the women's course record for the prestigious Badwater 135 Mile race. - Paulson has a history with the Jackpot 100 course, having won the event in 2024 but not finishing in 2025. - In 2015, Paulson served a six-month sanction after testing positive for a banned substance, which she attributed to a contaminated supplement.
