In partnership with

Over the next four or five (or six!) days, an ultra running world record is likely to come under serious threat at the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra, an event being held in South-East Queensland.

If that sounds like hyperbole, it’s worth bearing in mind it’s happened before. In 2023, in a race for the ages, West Australian Phil Gore set a new world record of 102 yards. Since then, the bar has been raised multiple times, with the new world record of 116 yards set last month by Pole Lukasz Wrobel at the Legends Backyard Belgium event.

Some of the world’s top backyarders will be at Dead Cow - four men who have cracked triple figures. But I’m getting ahead of myself - before I get into the ins and outs of this weekend’s race, first a little context for those of you wondering what the hell a “backyard ultra” is, and what kind of a record in measured in “yards”.

The man who first came up with the concept of a backyard ultra is Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the architect of the Barkley Marathons, one of the most interesting and quirky athletic events on the planet.

A backyard ultra is a race with no pre-determined end point. It has only one finisher - who is the winner. Everyone else is officially accorded “did not finish” status.

The format is simple. When the race starts, all competitors have one hour to complete a 6.7k course - that’s one yard. At the start of hour two, the process repeats - one hour to complete the second 6.7k loop. And the race continues - a brand new starting line, and a brand new, ever-shrinking field, on the hour every hour - until there is only one runner able to complete a loop.

Now if you’re doing the maths, you’ll realise you don’t need to be quick to run 6.7k in an hour - it’s a pretty pedestrian pace. But doing it hour after hour after hour all day, then all night, then all day, then all night… You don’t need to be a genius to figure out this format is at least as big a mental challenge as it is a physical one.

While we’re on the subject of maths, let’s pause for a minute to really think about what these athletes are achieving. To reach three figures in a backyard ultra, you have to run on the hour, every hour for more than four days.

And 100 times around a 6.7k course … that’s 670 kilometres. Now imagine you run each yard at around 7 minute per kilometre pace. That’s comfortable for most, equating to a 35 minute Parkrun. That leaves you 13 minutes every hour to eat, sleep, change your sweaty socks, put on layers, take off layers, warm up, cool down, go to the toilet and do whatever else you need to do.

No wonder former Big’s winner and ultra running legend Courtney Dauwalter has described running during the later stages of a backyard ultra as being in “the robot zone”. Because it’s beyond the capability of most humans!

Brought to you by Lazarus Lake

Cantrell says he first came up with the idea of a "last man standing” format decades ago. The first running of “Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra”, named after Cantrell’s dog but now known simply as Big’s Backyard or Big’s, was in 2011 when the winner recorded 18 yards.

It’s called a backyard ultra, because the course is in Cantrell’s backyard on his farm in his hometown of Bell Buckle in Tennessee. There’s science behind the 6.7k length of each yard - it’s the distance a runner would need to complete to chalk up 100 miles in a 24-hour period (4.16667 miles to be more precise).

These days Big’s is an invitation-only event and remains the spiritual home of backyard ultra racing. Unlike the Barkleys it has an official website which offers encouragement to those thinking about organising a backyard ultra. Cantrell’s even codified the rules to ensure everyone who toes the line is, well, toeing the line.

This page sums up one of the beautiful things about this format - the competitors are all in it together. It’s not a case of the elites way out in front and the back-of-the-packers literally miles behind. On the hour, every hour you all start together.

And because the pace is gentle, it lends itself to conversation. American Harvey Lewis is backyard royalty, having won Big’s in 2023 by completing 108 yards. He’s sixth on the all-time list. But Harvey also likes a chat and he’s known for hanging with the back-of-the-packers killing time on the early loops.

Big guns set to fire

Lewis will be back at Dead Cow this weekend, just as he was in 2023 when Phil Gore broke the world record. The drama of that event - and it was dramatic - was captured in the documentary “Breaking Point”. Lewis was the second-last man to drop that year, and the man who pushed Gore to the record by completing 101 yards, Kiwi Sam Harvey, is also back.

They’ll be joined by Belgium’s Merijn Geerts who has a personal best of 110 yards, tied for third on the all-time list. Only 12 runners have ever reached triple figures in a backyard, and four of them will be at Dead Cow.

Local Ryan Crawford, who’s best is 95 yards, and Spain’s Oriol Antoli Sarrau, with a PB of 89 yards, will also be there to ensure the race goes deep. Very deep.

Why Dead Cow?

Dead Cow Gully is held on a 1,600 acre working cattle property near Nanango in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, a 2.5 hour drive from Brisbane. The property’s been in the family of race director Tim Walsh since 1877. It’s a stunning setting for an epic race.

The event’s website explains how the race got its name: “Dead Cow Gully is named for the unfortunate beast that lost its footing close to the creek’s edge and was discovered a week later tangled in some protruding tree roots – two metres above the creek bed.” Competitors run through the gully as part of the 6.7k loop.

Walsh has done a great job of ensuring the event evokes the true nature of the property from head to tail. On arrival, each runner is given a cattle tag to hang on a wall at race HQ. As runners drop, they remove the tag. Eventually, there is just one tag left.

The race trophies are also unique. They are made from old fence posts on the property. On the event Facebook page, Walsh says: “The fence posts are about 80 years old. The trees were about 50 to 60 years old when cut down, so your trophy is about 130 to 140 years old (1885).”

The race precinct is also shaping up to be a lively affair at Dead Cow. While the days can be warm at Nanango, the winter nights are frosty, so there will be plenty of opportunities for campfire yarning amongst support crews and competitors who’ve dropped.

And the colour orange will be prominent, because the folks from the Trail Snails podcast will be out in force, having identified this as the team’s A-race for the year. They’ve been previewing the event in earnest over the past month, with plenty of helpful - and some not so helpful - advice.

They’re also looking to introduce some innovations to the sport, like the concept of a nominated “fragrance loop”. It’s shaping up to be just one of a bunch of highlights at Dead Cow Gully.

Upcoming Events

There are way too many events for me to list everything that’s happening around the country, but here is a selection of upcoming races (with a bias towards South East Queensland).

The Running Calendar website is a great source if you want a comprehensive understanding of what’s available around Australia.