Belgians Ivo Steyaert and Merijn Geerts smash Backyard Ultra world record with 831.5 km in just over five days

Since October 17, 67 national teams of fifteen athletes each have been fighting for the Backyard Ultra world title, every team running in its own country on a course of its choosing. Each runner had to string together as many laps as possible, one yard (6.7 km) every hour. Teams then added up everyone's laps, and that total set the ranking. Belgium's Ivo Steyaert and Merijn Geerts each ran 124 laps of 6.7 km in 124 hours, a colossal 831.5 km.

This 2026 edition will go down in the history of a still-young discipline, whose first team World Championships took place in 2020. For one thing, Belgium's Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert broke the individual world record side by side, completing 124 laps (in 124 hours) on the Belgian course laid out on the Beverdonk estate in Retie, in northern Belgium. That's nearly 831 km in a little over five days. The previous record belonged to Australia's Phil Gore, with 119 laps. Despite the grit of these two leaders, Belgium finished third in the team standings with 1,058 laps.

The 2026 team title goes to the United States, carried by Mark Dowdle, the team's top performer with 107 laps, and Jon Nola, with 106. The Americans win with 1,120 laps, ahead of Australia on 1,069. The Australians showed impressive depth: their best runner didn't go past 87 laps, while the other 14 teammates all logged between 40 and 86.

Personal bests but no podium for France

France keeps progressing, even if it misses the podium in 2026. The French squad finished sixth at these Worlds, with several personal bests along the way. Christophe Baud first of all set a new PB with 101 laps. He ran alongside Julien Pierlot, who hit 100 laps for the first time on the course at Bacqueville-en-Caux, in Normandy.

Sonia Poutrel, the only woman on the team, set a new French women's record of 68 laps, while Sébastien Despas and Maxime Le Meitour also broke their personal bests (72 laps).

The French team's starting ambition was clear: go for the podium. But it was quickly revised. Three team members, Benjamin Rascalou, Fabrice Puaud and Ronan Pierre dropped out early, in the first half of the race. The conditions didn't help. Typical Normandy weather, with rain, wind and cold nights, turned the grassy sections of the course into mud. The camp even had to move into a hard shelter, too small for all fifteen French runners, while the tents stayed up outside.

Against that backdrop, the final duel between Julien Pierlot and Christophe Baud will be the highlight of this edition. The two men ran as a pair, helping each other through long hours. Christophe, the more experienced of the two (a recent finisher of the Tor des Géants in just over 100 hours), tried to pull Julien Pierlot, from Reims, as far as possible. Together they passed the 400-mile mark after four days of racing.

On Sunday evening, Julien Pierlot reached 100 laps, becoming the 22nd person in the world to join this very exclusive club. Rather than carry on, he chose to stop and share the moment with his family, handing the win, and with it the French champion title, to Christophe Baud, who qualifies for Big's Backyard 2027 (the individual world championships) and sets a new personal best with 101 laps. Despite all these feats, France finishes well off the podium, with a combined 889 laps.

Final standings