Sports · Running & Athletics · 10 hrs ago
Belgian Runners Set Backyard Ultra Record With 124 Laps Each
Belgian runners Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert each completed 124 laps at the 2026 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championships.
The pair covered 516.7 miles over more than five days, setting a new individual record.
They beat the previous record by five laps, surpassing Australian Phil Gore’s 119 laps from 2025.
Backyard ultras send runners onto a 4.167-mile loop every hour, and the race continues until runners drop out or miss a start.
Geerts and Steyaert chose to finish together, so neither was declared the last runner standing under the rules.
The event involved teams from 67 countries, with each country’s ranking based on its runners’ combined laps.
The United States won the team contest, while Australia placed second and Belgium third.
Belgian runners Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert each completed 124 laps to set a backyard ultra record.
They covered 516.7 miles (831.5 kilometers) over more than five days at the 2026 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championships.
Their total surpassed the previous record of 119 laps, set by Australia’s Phil Gore in 2025, by five laps.
Geerts and Steyaert finished the 124th lap together and did not start the next one, so neither was declared the winner.
Belgium placed third in the team championships, behind the United States and Australia.
- Who
- Belgian runners Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert.
- What
- Each completed 124 laps, setting a backyard ultra record.
- When
- The championships started on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time. The record came after more than five days of running.
- Where
- At the 2026 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championships. The location is not stated.
- Why
- They ran to complete as many laps as possible; their 124 laps broke the previous record of 119.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Phil Gore set the previous backyard ultra record of 119 laps at the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra in Australia.
The Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championships began at 7 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time.
Geerts and Steyaert completed 124 laps together and did not start the next lap.
- Record laps
- 124 each
- Distance
- 516.7 miles (831.5 kilometers)
- Previous record
- 119 laps, set by Phil Gore in 2025
- Belgium’s team standing
- Third, with 1,058 yards
- Championship start
- October 17, 2026, at 7 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time