Belgium’s Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert ran 124 yards, about 831 km, at the Backyard Ultra World Team Championships in Retie, Belgium, in October 2026, five more than the world record. Both stopped on yard 125, so neither won, and the run hadn’t been officially confirmed as a record at the time of writing. Until it is, the last ratified backyard ultra world record is 119 yards, about 798 km, set by Australia’s Phil Gore at Dead Cow Gully in Queensland in June 2025. The women’s world record is 95 yards, about 637 km, set by Britain’s Sarah Perry at Big’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee in October 2025. A 123-yard run by Russia’s Dmitry Klimov in June 2026 was voided and doesn’t count.
- New world best (awaiting confirmation): 124 yards (831.49 km), Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert, Belgium, World Team Championships, Retie, October 2026
- Men’s and overall (last ratified): 119 yards (797.97 km), Phil Gore, Australia, Dead Cow Gully, June 2025
- Women’s: 95 yards (637.03 km), Sarah Perry, UK, Big’s Backyard Ultra, October 2025
- One yard: 4.167 miles (6.7056 km), started on the hour, every hour
- Not recognised: Dmitry Klimov’s 123 and Vera Chekalina’s 96, Biotropika, Russia, June 2026
How a backyard ultra record works
A backyard ultra has no finish line. Runners start a 4.167-mile (6.7056 km) loop, a “yard”, at the top of every hour, and anyone who doesn’t finish inside the hour or isn’t at the next start is out. The distance is chosen so that 24 yards make exactly 100 miles. The race goes on until one runner is left, who must then complete one more yard alone to win. Everyone else is recorded as a DNF.
That last rule shapes the record. You can only reach 119 yards if someone else lasts 118 with you, so every record needs a rival who can nearly match it. Gore’s solo Project 168, 152 yards with nobody else racing, is why solo efforts don’t count.
The format was invented by Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, co-founder of the Barkley Marathons, for Big’s Backyard Ultra on his property in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, first held in 2011. Our guide covers how a backyard ultra works in more detail.
The men’s world record: 119 yards
Phil Gore, a Perth firefighter, ran 119 yards at Dead Cow Gully in Queensland in June 2025: 119 hours, the best part of five days. New Zealand’s Sam Harvey was the last runner left with him. It was Gore’s second world record at the same event: he had run 102 yards there in 2023.
Four months later he won Big’s Backyard Ultra, the individual world championship, with 114 yards.
How the record has grown
The record has gone from 101 to 119 yards in less than three years, broken by runners from Belgium, Australia, the US and Poland, and to 124 if the Belgians’ 2026 run is confirmed.
| Yards | Runner, event and date |
|---|---|
| 124 (831.49 km) | Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert (Belgium), World Team Championships, Retie, October 2026 (awaiting confirmation) |
| 119 (797.97 km) | Phil Gore (Australia), Dead Cow Gully, June 2025 |
| 116 (777.85 km) | Łukasz Wróbel (Poland), Legends, Retie, Belgium, May 2025 |
| 110 (737.62 km) | Merijn Geerts, Ivo Steyaert and Frank Gielen (Belgium), World Team Championships, October 2024 |
| 108 (724.20 km) | Harvey Lewis (USA), Big’s Backyard Ultra, October 2023 |
| 102 (683.97 km) | Phil Gore (Australia), Dead Cow Gully, June 2023 |
| 101 (677.27 km) | Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert (Belgium), World Team Championships, October 2022 |
Wróbel’s 116 came after a two-day duel with Belgium’s Jan Vandekerckhove, who stopped after 115, Marathon Handbook reported. Lewis’s 108 at Big’s in 2023 was the first time anyone passed 700 km.
Progression from Wikipedia’s backyard ultra records, checked against race reports. Distances are yards multiplied by 6.7056 km.
The women’s world record: 95 yards
Sarah Perry of the UK ran 95 yards at Big’s Backyard Ultra in October 2025, with American Meg Eckert lasting 92, the second-longest run by a woman. The previous women’s record was Eckert’s own 87, set at the 2024 World Team Championships. Perry ran for the UK team at the 2026 World Team Championships.
| Yards | Runner, event and date |
|---|---|
| 95 (637.03 km) | Sarah Perry (UK), Big’s Backyard Ultra, October 2025 |
| 87 (583.39 km) | Meg Eckert (USA), World Team Championships, October 2024 |
Why Dmitry Klimov’s 123 yards doesn’t count
In June 2026, Russia’s Dmitry Klimov ran 123 yards (about 825 km) at the Biotropika Backyard Ultra in the Leningrad Region, and Vera Chekalina ran 96, which would have been a women’s record. About two weeks later Lazarus Lake announced that none of the event’s results would be recognised, Marathon Handbook reported. Footage showed people who weren’t competing out on the course with runners, which counts as outside assistance, and The Running Channel reported an unauthorised water station halfway round the loop as well.
Some record lists online still show Klimov’s 123. The last ratified records are Gore’s 119 and Perry’s 95; Geerts and Steyaert’s 124 (below) is awaiting confirmation.
Did the record fall at the 2026 team championships?
Very likely, though it isn’t confirmed yet. Belgium’s Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert, who set the record together with 101 in 2022 and shared the 110 in 2024, ran 124 yards side by side on their home course at Retie. They were the last two runners left in the world, and both stopped on yard 125. Under the rules that means neither won Belgium’s race, but each completed 124 yards, five more than Gore’s 119.
Outlets including Canadian Running and iRunFar have reported it as a world record, but it hadn’t been officially confirmed when we last checked. We’ll update this page when it is. In the team race, Belgium took bronze with 1,058 yards behind the USA (1,120) and Australia (1,069), racing at Kembla Grange, NSW. Full standings in our World Team Championships results.
What more than five days without a finish line does to a body, and the other limits endurance athletes hit, is in our guide to how far the human body can go.
Backyard ultra world record FAQ
What is the backyard ultra world record?
Belgium’s Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert ran 124 yards, about 831 km, at the 2026 World Team Championships, which is awaiting official confirmation. The last ratified record is 119 yards, about 798 km, by Phil Gore of Australia at Dead Cow Gully in Queensland in June 2025.
What is the women’s backyard ultra world record?
95 yards, about 637 km, by Sarah Perry of the UK at Big’s Backyard Ultra in October 2025.
Is the backyard ultra record 123 yards?
No. Dmitry Klimov ran 123 at Biotropika in Russia in June 2026, but the results were voided because of outside assistance on the course, so it doesn’t count. Geerts and Steyaert’s 124 in October 2026 is the first run past it.
How far is one yard in a backyard ultra?
4.167 miles, or 6.7056 km. Twenty-four yards is exactly 100 miles.
The 2026 World Team Championships are on our October events calendar.
