The numbers that stand
Backyard Ultra Records
World records, Big's champions, and notable firsts. Updated as records fall.
World records
The assist is the runner who completes one fewer loop than the winner. Because the format allows only one winner, the second-place finisher is classified as a DNF, but the assist is still tracked as a record category in its own right.
Notable firsts
The inaugural Big Dog's Backyard Ultra was held in Bell Buckle, Tennessee in October 2011. Englund completed 18 loops to win the format's first world championship event, with Dave Carver as the assist on 17.
Guterl became the first woman to win an outright backyard ultra world championship, completing 60 loops at Big's 2019, outlasting the entire men's field in the process.
At the 2022 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships in Belgium, Geerts and Steyaert completed 101 loops (420 miles), the first time two runners had broken the 100-loop barrier in the sport's history. The pair mutually chose to stop rather than continue competing against each other.
Big's champions
Big Dog's Backyard Ultra is held each October in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, at the farm of Lazarus Lake. It is widely considered the de facto individual world championship of the backyard ultra format.
| Year | Winner | Loops | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Phil Gore World Champion | 114 | Ivo Steyaert |
| 2024 | Scott Snell | 88 | Megan Eckert |
| 2023 | Harvey Lewis | 108 | Ihor Verys |
| 2022 | Piotr Chadovich | 76 | Harvey Lewis |
| 2021 | Harvey Lewis | 85 | Chris Roberts |
| 2020 | Courtney Dauwalter | 68 | Harvey Lewis |
| 2019 | Maggie Guterl First female winner | 60 | Will Hayward |
| 2018 | Johan Steene | 68 | Courtney Dauwalter |
| 2017 | Guillaume Calmettes | 59 | Harvey Lewis |
| 2016 | Babak Rastgoufard | 29 | Bob Hearn |
| 2015 | Race not held | ||
| 2014 | Jeremy Ebel | 49 | Johan Steene |
| 2013 | Tim Englund | 35 | Keith Knipling |
| 2012 | Joe Fejes | 28 | Marcy Beard |
| 2011 | Tim Englund Inaugural | 18 | Dave Carver |
Phil Gore won the 2025 world championship with 114 loops. This is not the outright world record: Gore had already run 119 loops at Dead Cow Gully, Queensland in June 2025. Tim Englund (2011, 2013) and Harvey Lewis (2021, 2023) each hold two Big's titles.
Highest loop counts by event
The ten highest winning loop counts ever recorded at a single backyard ultra event, across all races worldwide.
| Event | Loops | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra (AUS) | 119 WR | June 2025 |
| Legends Backyard Ultra (BEL) | 116 | April 2025 |
| Legends Backyard Ultra (BEL) | 114 | April 2026 |
| Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, World Team Championships (USA) | 114 | October 2025 |
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championships (BEL) | 110 | October 2024 |
| Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, World Team Championships (USA) | 108 | October 2023 |
| Biotropika Ultra Trail (RUS) | 106 | July 2025 |
| Australian Backyard Masters (AUS) | 102 | June 2023 |
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championships (BEL) | 101 | October 2022 |
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championships (AUS) | 96 | October 2024 |
Source: DUV Statistics database. The World Team Championships rotate host country each year.