The creator provides a historical overview of the Backyard Ultra-marathon, starting with its creation by Gary Cantrell and its unique rules. They then chronologically detail the sport's rise in popularity by highlighting record-breaking performances from key athletes like Maggie Guterl, Courtney Dauwalter, Harvey Lewis, and Phil Gore, before focusing on the recent emergence of newcomer Mark Dowdle. The video concludes by announcing the upcoming 2026 World Team Championships and asking the audience for their predictions on the winner.
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Who are you most excited to see compete this year at world championships ?!
2026 was THE YEAR for Backyard Ultra.
The BYU format was created by Gary Cantrell. Since its conception in 2011, it has slowly become a key part of the sport of ultrarunning.
Maggie Guterl became the first woman to win Big’s Backyard Ultra outright, Courtney Dauwalter became the second woman to win the following year, then Harvey Lewis ran 450 miles, and then Phil Gore pushed the world record to nearly 500 miles- with an even longer unofficial record this year.
And in 2026, Mark Dowdle emerged as one of the biggest surprises in the sport, winning Go One More Ultra and Last Soul Ultra against some of the most established names in backyard racing.
On October 17, runners from around the world will compete in the Backyard Ultra World Team Championships, with Team USA racing at Big’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee.
Who’s watching?
Video credits:
Opening footage of the BPN go one more ultra from @bpnsupps
Gary Cantrell footage from @runsingletrack “The Finisher” doc
Harvey Lewis footage from @harveylewisultrarunner instagram
Phil Gore footage from @thesearch.au and @phil.gore.ultrarunner on Instagram
Mark Dowdle footage from @rappid.runs, @bpnsupps, @harveylewisultrarunner, @mark.dowdle and @kimgottwald
On Instagram
Scattered footage from the “Just One More Lap” documentary that is featured on YouTube
Big’s Backyard Ultra footage from the @bigdogbackyardultra and the livestream
#BackyardUltra #Ultrarunning #trailrunning
Transcript
2026 was the year of the Backyard Ultra. The Backyard Ultra was created by Gary Cantrell, better known as the creator of the Barclay Marathons. In 2011, he introduced Big Good Backyard in Tennessee. The concept was simple. Runners must complete a 4.167 mile loop every hour on the hour, which accumulates to 100 miles every twenty four hours. If you fail to finish a loop in time, you're eliminated. The race has only one winner, the last person standing. Over the next decade, backyard ultras began to attract some of the biggest names in ultra running. tier, Maggie Gutrell became the first woman to win bigs outright, and the following year, Courtney Better won The US competition after running 283 miles. Harvey Lewis became one the sport's most recognizable athletes, then Australian runner Phil Gore pushed the world record to nearly 496 miles in 2025. But in 2026, a relatively unknown runner named Mark Dowdle caused an upset in the backyard scene. In April, he won BPN No one more Ultra in Texas, completing 73 yards and outlasting Harvey Lewis. Then in August, he traveled to Germany for the last sole Ultra, where he outlasted a tier better competitors to win with 94 yards. The race attracted enormous attention online. And no, on October 17, the best backyard ultra runners from around the world will compete in the twenty twenty six backyard ultra worse tier championships. Race begins at 7AM central tier, and with no predetermined finish, it could last for days. Will you be watching, and who do you see winning this year at the worse team championships?
