124 yards: Geerts and Steyaert share a new backyard ultra world record

Five days, two runners, one shared record

Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert set a new backyard ultra world record on 22 October 2026, completing 124 loops each at the Belgian race of the World Team Championship in Retie. That is roughly 831.5 km (516.7 miles) per runner, spread across more than five days of hourly starts.

The pair went five loops beyond the previous record of 119, set by Australia’s Phil Gore at Dead Cow Gully in June 2025. Those extra loops added another 33.5 km (20.8 miles) to a distance that was already difficult to picture.

Then they stopped together. Neither started lap 125, leaving a shared world record and no individual winner of the Belgian race.

What 124 yards actually means

In a backyard ultra, a “yard” is a loop of 6.7056 km, or 4 miles 880 feet. Runners must finish it in less than an hour and be ready to start again when the next hour begins. Twenty-four loops make 100 miles.

The 2026 championship began on Saturday 17 October. By the time Geerts and Steyaert declined the next start on Thursday, the race had reached five days and four hours. That includes the gaps between laps. It does not mean they spent 124 hours continuously running.

Those gaps are all a runner has for eating, changing kit and resting. A quicker loop buys more time in the chair, but asks for more effort on the course. Every hour brings that choice around again.

Why a world record can end without a winner

Backyard rules require the winner to complete one more yard than anyone else. If the final runners stop on the same total, there is no winner. Their completed yards still count, even though both are technically recorded as DNF.

Geerts and Steyaert each completed 124, so neither met that winning condition. Calling them joint winners would miss what happened. They share the distance record; the Belgian race ended without a last runner standing.

Big’s Backyard Ultra: official rules

The United States wins the team championship

The world team title is decided by adding every runner’s completed yards. Countries race on their own courses, starting at the same moment, with up to 15 athletes contributing to each national score.

The United States finished with 1,120 yards, ahead of Australia on 1,069 and Belgium on 1,058. Mark Dowdle won the US race at Big’s in Tennessee with 107 yards. Jon Noll provided the assist, the final competitor to stop before the winner, with 106.

2026 World Team Championship podium
Place	Country	Combined yards
1	United States	1,120
2	Australia	1,069
3	Belgium	1,058

A familiar partnership, a longer distance

This was the pair’s third shared record at the team championships. In 2022, Geerts and Steyaert reached 101 yards and did not start the next loop. In 2024, they and fellow Belgian Frank Gielen stopped together after 110.

Their latest performance adds 14 loops to that 2024 total. It also shows how much the format depends on another runner: once only one athlete remains, there is just one winning loop available. Continuing towards a bigger record requires someone else to keep starting too.

Getting to know backyard racing

If this result is your introduction to backyard ultras, start with the hourly loop. The distance is fixed; the number of times someone can return for it is open. Our Big’s guide explains the rules, the difference between team and individual championships, and how runners qualify.

Read the Big’s Backyard Ultra guide

Sources & further reading

Results checked on 24 October 2026. Distances are rounded from the official yard length. The championship dashboard notes that results may change as officials check them.

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