Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Backyard ultra
Form of ultramarathon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The backyard ultra or last one standing is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run the distance of 6.706 kilometres (4.167 mi) in less than one hour. They must repeat this every hour until only one person completes a full lap - the last one standing. [1]
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (June 2025) |
The backyard ultra format has gained a reputation for its grueling and unpredictable nature, as well as the camaraderie among participants. Challenges include sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and varying weather conditions.
Remove ads
History
Backyard ultras are the invention of Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell,[2] who is also one of the founders and race directors of the Barkley Marathons.
The original backyard ultra is Big's Backyard Ultra, which is held on Cantrell's property in Bell Buckle, Tennessee and is named after his dog.[3][4][5] Today, Big's is an invitational race where the top competitors participate based on wins in a bracket of the various American and international backyard ultras.[2]
Remove ads
Description
Exactly one hour after a backyard ultra's first starting time, the competitors must run 4.167 miles (6.706 km) within a one-hour window to finish. These laps are repeated hourly. The race is won when a single runner successfully completes a lap alone.[6] This runner is marked as the winner and only finisher, with all other runners receiving a "DNF" (Did Not Finish). If no competitor manages one more lap than the others, then all athletes receive a DNF and there is no winner. The total distance run by a competitor who completes 24 laps is exactly 100 miles. The runner who completes the second-most laps in a race is often referred to as the "assist".[7]
Remove ads
Records
Summarize
Perspective
Phil Gore (Australia) holds the world record of 119 loops (495.8 miles (797.9 km)), assisted by Sam Harvey (New Zealand) at the Dead Cow Gully event in Queensland, Australia on 26 June 2025.[8] [9]
The female world record for a backyard ultra performance is 87 laps (362.5 miles (583 km)) set by Meg Eckert at the 2024 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship in Tennessee.[10]
Milestone performances - Men
Milestone backyard ultra performances, including world records (WR).
Milestone performances - Women
Milestone backyard ultra performances, including women's world records (WWR).
Remove ads
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads