Race record smashed at world-renowned ultra

Widely considered one of the most challenging ultra races in the world, the Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra is a biennial event that is described as a ‘one of a kind’.

This year’s race took place on October 19, outside Bell Buckle, Tennessee - the traditional setting for the competition.

The Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, or Big's Backyard Ultra, presents a unique type of endurance race for individuals and teams, in which participants run a 4.167-mile loop per hour. This amounts to running 100 miles for each full day of the race.

The course takes runners through the woods by day, and along paved roads in the dark. Each runner is given no more than one hour to finish the loop - a cycle that continues until only one person or team is still left in contention, hence the accolades for Last Man/Woman Standing and Last Team Standing.

This year, Team Belgium won the Last Team Standing award with a distance of 458.33 miles, outlasting 60 other teams. In the individual category, Scott Snell won the Last Man Standing prize, having covered 366.66 miles. Arguably, the standout performance, however, was by superstar ultra runner Meg Eckert. The cross-country coach and high school teacher delivered a knockout performance, winning the women’s race and coming second overall, breaking the women’s world record. She completed 362.5 miles, which surpassed the former record held by Jennifer Russo, who had managed 308.3 miles.

If you’re looking at completing an ultra, reach out to online ultra marathon coach Maximum Mileage Coaching for top running tips.