Ashley Paulson, a 44-year-old from St. George, Utah, just rewrote the record books in southern Nevada, clocking a blistering 12 hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds for 100 miles at the Jackpot 100 in Henderson on Friday. Circling Cornerstone Park 84 times on a USATF-certified loop, she chopped more than 17 minutes off the previous women's world mark.
According to iRunFar, the Jackpot 100 doubled as the USA Track & Field 100-mile Road National Championships, drawing an elite field to a short-loop course built for fast splits. Cool conditions at Cornerstone Park helped set the stage, and Paulson took full advantage, averaging roughly 7:21 per mile and winning the race by more than two hours, as detailed by Runner's World.
How The Record Unfolded
Paulson went out hard from the opening lap, grabbing control of the race early and never really letting it go. As the miles stacked up and fatigue set in, she shifted from attack mode to damage control, managing that early cushion with the kind of precision you only get from years of racing long.
Bre Carter, a longtime friend who was there to see the final laps, told KSL that watching Paulson "chip away the miles" was "palpable," the tension building as the clock ticked toward history. Event founder Jamil Coury called the performance "a leap forward for the women's 100-mile world record," a jump that instantly had ultrarunning fans doing the math on just how fast the women's field is moving.
Paulson's Road Here, And The Bigger Picture
Paulson is no stranger to extreme mileage. She is a veteran endurance racer with victories at Badwater and other marquee ultramarathons, and she has shifted from a professional triathlon career into road and trail ultras in recent years. Runner's World and other outlets note she served a six-month anti-doping sanction in 2015 after testing positive for ostarine, a chapter of her past that continues to surface in coverage of her results.
That context has followed her, but so has her reputation for going all in on race day. The Jackpot run slots neatly into that pattern, a high-risk, high-reward pace that, this time, held all the way through the final lap.
Next Steps For The Record Books
The stopwatch might be settled, but the paperwork is not. Officials and reporters say Paulson's mark still has to go through the usual review before it can be ratified as an official world best, a standard process for headline-grabbing performances.
iRunFar explains that governing bodies typically ratify these kinds of results after verifying course certification and other technical details. The previous women's record, 12:37:04 by Caitriona Jennings at the Tunnel Hill 100 in November 2025, was documented by Athletics Ireland.
Whatever the final ruling from the record-keepers, Paulson's run is yet another signal that the women's 100-mile standard is moving fast, as athletes specifically target quick, certified courses. In St. George and across ultrarunning circles, her 84-lap clinic around Cornerstone Park has quickly become the story everyone is talking about.
