At 44, She Just Smashed the 100-Mile World Record — 'Dreams Come True if You Keep Fighting'

At 44 years old, ultrarunner Ashley Paulson has rewritten the record books, setting a new women's world record for 100 miles at the Jackpot 100 Mile Ultra in Henderson, Nevada on February 21, 2026. Paulson crossed the finish line in an astonishing 12 hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds — maintaining an average pace of 7:21 per mile across the entire 100-mile distance. She knocked 17 minutes off the previous record of 12:37:04, set by Ireland's Caitriona Jennings at the Tunnel Hill 100 Miler last November. Running in pink Nike Alphaflys that matched her signature pink ponytail, Paulson didn't just break the record — she dominated the field, finishing more than two hours ahead of the next woman. She was second overall, behind only men's winner Rajpaul Pannu (11:38:56). 'Honestly, it doesn't feel real,' Paulson said in a post-race interview. 'I'm like, has this really happened? I worked so hard for it, but it came, it happened. Dreams come true, you just gotta keep fighting for it and show up, put in the work, then execute.' The USATF-certified road course consists of a 1.19-mile loop, which 100-mile athletes complete 84 times. Paulson covered the first 50 miles in just under six hours and held on to record pace through the grueling second half despite a positive split. Paulson's journey to ultrarunning greatness has been anything but conventional. A professional triathlete in her 30s, she has run more than 130 marathons in her career. In 2020, she qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials, placing 44th in 2:40:07. Three years later, she made headlines winning the notoriously brutal Badwater 135 ultramarathon outright — a 135-mile race through Death Valley in extreme heat — with a time of 21:44:35, nearly 2.5 hours faster than the previous women's course record. Now, at an age when many athletes are slowing down, Paulson is running faster and farther than ever. Her 100-mile world record proves that peak performance doesn't have an expiry date — and that showing up, putting in the work, and refusing to quit can turn dreams into reality. The Jackpot 100 also served as the USATF 100 Mile Championships, adding an official national title to Paulson's record-breaking night in the Nevada desert.