Big's Backyard Ultra

{{Short description|Long-distance running event}}

{{Infobox recurring event

| status = Active

| genre = Trail racing

| frequency = Annually

| date = October

| location = Bell Buckle, Tennessee, U.S.

| first = 2011

| founder_name = Lazarus Lake

}}

Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, often simply referred to as Big's Backyard Ultra, is the original backyard ultra, invented by Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell of Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Participants run a 4.167-mile loop every hour, and are eliminated if they fail to complete a loop in an hour. The path of the loop is on trails during the day and along a road after dark. The distance of each loop is equal to 100 divided by 24, so that a competitor runs 100 miles for a full day of competition. There is no predefined finish. The winner is the competitor who completes a loop that no other competitors complete. If no competitor outlasts every other competitor, there is no winner.{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Goulding |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/56720358 |title=Big Dog's Backyard Ultra: The toughest, weirdest race you've never heard of |publisher=BBC Sport |date=21 April 2021 |access-date=23 April 2021 }}

Past results

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
Year

!Winner {{cite web |title=Backyard Stats |accessdate=March 28, 2020 |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hl2gndtqp6JzjgUjAKrEomg-8EpgwSGbuygP6e2Yy74/edit?fbclid=IwAR1gA4d7mo-TDW9A9g0V4Jov1yQEwQoZDe9OcpXRt3AR6Tse2TVuDrTn3yI#gid=623371301}}

!Laps

!Assist

!Notes

2011

|align=left|Tim Englund

|18

|align=left|Dave Carver

|

2012

|align=left|Joe Fejes

|28

|align=left|Marcy Beard

|

2013

|align=left|Tim Englund

|35

|align=left|Keith Knipling

|

2014

|align=left|(no winner)

|49

|align=left|Johan Steene / Jeremy Ebel

|align=left|Both runners dropped out after 49 loops.{{efn|name=Note1|When Steene dropped out to catch his flight back to Sweden, Ebel chose to drop out as well.{{cite news |last1=Pearson |first1=Andy |title=Big's Backyard Ultra: A Race With No End |url=https://trailrunnermag.com/people/culture/bigs-backyard-ultra-a-race-with-no-end.html |work=Trail Runner magazine |date=October 25, 2017 |access-date=March 28, 2020}}}}

2015

|align=left|(race not held)

|

|align=left|

|

2016

|align=left|Babak Rastgoufard

|29

|align=left|Andy Pearson

|

2017

|align=left|Guillaume Calmettes

|59

|align=left|Harvey Lewis

|

2018

|align=left|Johan Steene{{Cite web |title=Big's Backyard Ultra, 10/20/2018-10/25/2018 |url=https://my.raceresult.com/110552/#0_F5FB0C |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=my.raceresult.com |language=en}}

|68

|align=left|Courtney Dauwalter

|

2019

|align=left|Maggie Guterl{{Cite web |title=Big's Backyard Ultra, 10/19/2019-10/25/2019 |url=https://my.raceresult.com/139372/#0_F5FB0C |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=my.raceresult.com |language=en}}

|60

|align=left|William Hayward

|align=left|First female winner.

2020

|align=left|Courtney Dauwalter{{Cite web |title=Big's Backyard Ultra, 10/17/2020-10/23/2020 |url=https://my.raceresult.com/160934/#0_B3DC1F |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=my.raceresult.com |language=en}}

|68

|align=left|Harvey Lewis

|align=left|U.S. winner.{{efn|name=Note2|In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic precluded international competitors from travelling to Tennessee, so the race was replaced by satellite events in various countries. The world title winner was Karel Sabbe in Belgium, with 76 laps.}}

2021

|align=left|Harvey Lewis{{Cite web|last=Potter|first=Alex|date=2021-10-20|title=Harvey Lewis is the Last Person Standing at the 2021 Big Dog's Backyard Ultra|url=https://www.irunfar.com/harvey-lewis-is-the-last-person-standing-at-the-2021-big-dogs-backyard-ultra|access-date=2021-10-20|website=iRunFar}}

|85

|align=left|Chris Roberts

|

2022

|align=left| Piotr Chadovich{{cite web |last1=Mock |first1=Justin |title=This Week In Running: October 24, 2022 |url=https://www.irunfar.com/this-week-in-running-october-24-2022 |website=irunfar.com |access-date=25 October 2022 |date=October 24, 2022}}

|76

|align=left|Harvey Lewis

|

2023

|align=left|Harvey Lewis{{Cite web |title=Big's Backyard Ultra, 10/21/2023-10/25/2023 |url=https://my.raceresult.com/266852/#0_B3DC1F |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=my.raceresult.com |language=en}}

|108

|align=left|Ihor Verys

|align=left|World record.{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Sarah |date=2023-10-25 |title=2023 Big Dog's Backyard Ultra Results: Harvey Lewis Wins After 108 Hours, 450 Miles of Running |url=https://www.irunfar.com/2023-big-dogs-backyard-ultra-results |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=iRunFar |language=en}}

2024

|align=left|Scott Snell{{Cite web |title=Big's Backyard Ultra, 10/19/2024-10/22/2024 |url=https://my.raceresult.com/312915/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=my.raceresult.com}}

|88

|align=left|Megan Eckert

|align=left|Female world record.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-08 |title=Superstar Meg Eckert Crushes Ultra Running Race with World-Record |url=https://www.si.com/onsi/adventure/latest-news/superstar-meg-eckert-crushes-ultra-running-race-with-world-record#:~:text=By%20running%20362.5%20miles,%20Eckert,participant%20by%20over%20160%20miles.&text=US%20Team-member%20Harvey%20Lewis,finisher,%20commented%20on%20Eckert's%20accomplishment. |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Adventure On SI |language=en-US}}

{{notelist}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}