The Last Person Standing
Backyard Ultras
Every hour. Every runner. One winner. A 4.1667-mile loop repeated until only one remains. Everyone else is DNF.
Standard loop: 4.1667 miWorld record: 119 loops (Phil Gore, AUS)US record: 98 loops (Jon Noll)400+ affiliated events
How it works →Road to Big's 2026
Team World Championship · October 17, 2026
Bell Buckle, Tennessee. 75+ nations. 15 runners per team.
View race →Team USA // At-Large Qualifiers
Road to 15
Best single-loop counts in the Aug 2025 – Aug 2026 qualifying window. The top 9 at-large finishers fill the remaining USA spots after 6 Silver Ticket auto-qualifiers.
| Rk | Athlete | Loops | Miles | Race | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvey Lewis | 111 | 462.5 | Big Dog's Backyard Ultra | 2025 |
| 2 | Megan Eckert | 92 | 383.3 | Big Dog's Backyard Ultra | 2025 |
| 3 | Mark Dowdle | 73 | 304.2 | BPN Go One More Ultra | 2026 |
| 4 | Dave Kwiatkowski | 63 | 262.5 | Capital Backyard Ultra | 2026 |
US Calendar 2026
Where it happens
New to Backyards?
How a backyard ultra runs
One 4.1667-mile loop, every hour, on the hour. Miss the corral by a second and you're out. Last person standing wins — everyone else is officially DNF.
Read the full explainer