Belgian pair run 124 hours to break the backyard ultra world record, but there is no winner

Two Belgian runners in their fifties have set a new backyard ultra world record, but neither of them won. Merijn Geerts, 52, and Ivo Steyaert, 56, completed 124 laps together, or "yards", at the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship in Retie, Belgium. That is five days and four hours of running, about 831 kilometres. Neither man started the 125th lap, so the Belgian race ended without a winner. Both runners now share the world record. The team title went to the United States.

How a backyard ultra works

The format is simple, but very hard to finish. Each lap, called a yard, is 4.167 miles, or about 6.7 km. Runners must start a new lap at the top of every hour. Anyone who does not finish a lap within the hour, or does not start the next one, is out. The last person still running wins. The second-to-last runner is called the "assist". If the last two stop together, as the Belgians did, there is no winner.

The team world championship began on Saturday 17 October. It uses a satellite format: each country holds its own race on home soil at the same time, and every runner's laps count toward the national total. Runners from 67 countries took part, and Trailhead Media counted 989 starters.

Breaking Phil Gore's record

The old official record was 119 yards. Australia's Phil Gore set it at the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra in Queensland in June 2025. Marathon Handbook reported that Dmitry Klimov had reached 123 yards at a race in Russia this summer, but that result was voided after video showed people who were not competitors on the course.

Geerts and Steyaert had come close before. They ran 101 yards at this event in 2022 and 110 in 2024, according to Canadian Running. This time they ran every lap side by side until they finally stopped on Thursday 22 October. Belgian team-mate Bert Verbist, quoted by Marathon Handbook, said the pair were extraordinarily strong mentally and closely in tune with each other.

Team USA take the world title

The national standings are decided by combining the yards run by up to 15 runners per country. The United States won with 1,120 yards. Mark Dowdle was the last American standing on 107 yards, and Jon Noll was his assist on 106. Australia were second with 1,069 yards and Belgium third with 1,058.

Japan finished fourth with 1,038 yards, the best result by an Asian nation. Trailhead Media reported that six Japanese runners went past 70 laps. Britain were fifth with 939 yards, and Canada set a national best of 830 yards to finish ninth. In total, all the runners in the event completed 32,827 yards between them.

Key takeaways

• Belgium's Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert ran 124 yards, about 831 km, to set a new backyard ultra world record.
• They stopped together, so the Belgian race had no winner and the two men share the record.
• The previous official record was Phil Gore's 119 yards from June 2025.
• The United States won the team title with 1,120 yards, ahead of Australia and Belgium.
• Japan were fourth, the best Asian finish, with 1,038 yards.

FAQ

What is the backyard ultra world record? The record is now 124 yards, shared by Belgium's Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert. They set it at the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship, which ended on 22 October.

Why was there no winner in the Belgian race? A backyard ultra is won by the last runner to complete a lap alone. Geerts and Steyaert finished lap 124 together and neither started lap 125, so nobody outlasted the other.

Which country won the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship? The United States won with 1,120 yards. Australia finished second with 1,069 and Belgium third with 1,058.

Sources: Trailhead Media (UltraSignup), Marathon Handbook, Canadian Running Magazine