The Backyard Ultra Individual World Championship 2025 held recently in Tennessee made oddly compelling viewing via the YouTube stream. Seemingly there wasn’t a lot going on, with the footage fixed at times on an empty woodland track for what seemed like an eternity until a runner slowly came into view for a few seconds before disappearing out of sight again. But it was a slow burner, with the plot gradually unfolding scene by scene, building slowly but surely to a crescendo.
For a journeyman backyard competitor such as myself, it was a fascinating and unique opportunity to see the 75 best backyarders on the planet in action. On top of that were the frequent commentary sessions and interviews with the movers and shakers in the backyard world adding depth and insight to the coverage.
The event lasted for 114 hours, yes that’s not a typo. That’s four days and 18 hours. A lot of minutes (6,840 to be precise) for the stream to fill and a lot of minutes for the competitors to keep clocking up the loops. I can’t say that I watched every minute of the coverage, unlike the competitors I managed some proper sleep, but as the hours ticked by and the number of remaining runners slowly dwindled, I found myself tuning in with greater and greater frequency. Some of the names such as Phil Gore and Harvey Lewis were already familiar due to their previous backyard exploits, but others gradually etched themselves into my consciousness as the race wore on.
Here are a few observations from my backyard-a-thon.
Just Like a Regular Backyard Event(?)
Normally the world championship of a sporting event has a very different vibe to the more provincial equivalents. Not this event though! The start area and rest area at first glance looked just like any other backyard ultra event, with a reassuring lack of commercialisation. The course had a familiar feel to it too, mainly a few undulating paths in the woods. Even the usual camaraderie amongst the athletes was there, despite what was at stake. The athletes came across as just ‘regular’ runners, just the types of people you would meet at your local backyard ultra.
However, as the event progressed, subtle but significant differences began to surface, setting this championship apart from local backyard ultras. Obviously, the standard of the runners stood out once we were into day two. A few glimpses of what was going on inside the rest areas made it abundantly clear that these runners intended to be around for a long time. The sheer volume of clothing, food and drink and the sophistication of the chairs and bedding made it look more like a long glamping weekend rather than somewhere to rest and recover for a few minutes at a time. The overseas athletes must have incurred a few excess baggage charges on their way to Tennessee!
It Takes Two (Or More)
I went to bed on Wednesday night when the completed loop count had just passed 100, with seven runners remaining. At that point it seemed inevitable that Phil Gore’s world record of 119 loops would be broken.
On Thursday morning, even before getting out of bed, I checked the live leaderboard and was surprised to see that the race was done. Something that seemed like it would run on for the best part of another day was suddenly over. The end can come suddenly, with attrition rates speeding up after all that time. Unless there at least two runners still standing, that’s it, we never know what the winner could have achieved.
Hiding in Plain Sight
I’ve competed in quite a few backyard ultras, where my view of what is going on is limited to ten yards in front of me and ten yards behind me, along with conversing with those in close proximity in the rest area. I never get the opportunity to interact with some of the runners. Watching the world championships meant that for the first time I could see the big picture of everything that was taking place.
It still didn’t make it any easier though to form a clear view as to who was most likely to win. For a typical fixed-distance ultra race, the leaders are obvious. In a backyard event, the winner is not so clear. They are not necessarily the one putting in the fastest loop times; in fact, it is highly likely that they are not. The winner will be hiding in plain sight, somewhere in amongst the pack, occasionally putting in a fast loop to maximise their rest time and maybe to make a statement to their closest competitors. Phil Gore, the eventual winner, ran loops ranging in times from 35 to 57 minutes. His average loop times was 46 minutes 42 seconds, certainly one of the faster runners but not by a factor that was stand-out or that indicated that he was odds-on to be the last one standing.
A Lot of Loops, A Lot of Words
The streamed coverage across the 114 hours of the race (at least the hours that I tuned into) remained fresh throughout, covering many diverse aspects of backyard running. Coverage included various check-ins with Laz, discussions around the logistics of sourcing equipment on a tight budget, and interviews with crew and competitors during breaks. The variety seemed almost as endless as the race itself.
The backyard ultra concept is simple on one level but on another level it is full of complexities and dimensions that can be explored and discussed for hours. The global running community is only just starting to get tuned into the backyard wavelength.
Not Done Yet
Early on Wednesday morning I saw the Japanese runner Kazuhiro Kawahata completing a loop, probably around loop 97. He had three minutes to play with before the next loop started. He looked shattered and was unsteady on his feet. As soon as he crossed the finish line, his crew member steered him by the arm to his tent where he laid down on his bed and put a towel over his face. It seemed inevitable that his race was run.
Two minutes later, Kazuhiro was back on his feet, looking fully revived and ready to take on the next loop, a truly Lazarus-like recovery. Kazuhiro went on to complete 106 loops, the fifth highest loop count, a perfect demonstration of the tenacity and resilience needed at this level.
Many other competitors suffered either during or after the event. Sarah Perry, having smashed the female world record, suffered a back injury but still managed 95 loops. Harvey Lewis took a tumble and broke two ribs, bit kept going for a further 12 loops (and ended up in hospital with further complications). Phil Gore ran through a niggle in his right leg, but ended up with soft tissue damage around the ankle joint and needed the aid of crutches for a couple of weeks.
We now have a two-year wait until the next individual world championship takes place. Given the exponential speed at which the event is developing, it seems highly likely that records will be broken before then. It will be fascinating to see how all that plays out, in the meantime we can enjoy the team world championship in 2026.
If you would like personalised guidance or expert tips for your backyard ultra training, please email me at ian@backyardultra.coach.