Sarah Perry set an incredible Backyard Ultra women’s world record of 95 laps.
At the 2025 Big’s Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships in Tennessee, USA, Sarah Perry broke the previous world record of 87 laps set by American Megan Eckert last year.
Backyard Ultras are quickly gaining popularity around the world. They include runners who complete a 4,167-mile loop every hour. As the hours and days pass, runners drop out due to exhaustion and injury until only one, the winner, is left standing.
Sarah, an INOV8-sponsored athlete, also set a UK record, beating Matt Blackburn’s previous best, which also stood at 87 laps.
A total of 72 runners, each representing their country, started the race at the World Championships in Tennessee. The four-mile loop ran over a mix of trails and roads.
Perry was one of four women to qualify for the championship. After the titanic battle, she was the last woman standing, her nearest rival having completed 92 laps before retiring.
The Cumbrian rider continued for three more laps, retiring shortly after lap 95 with back pain.
95 revolutions equals 395 miles, almost the same as the distance between London and Edinburgh.
In total, Perry raced for 95 hours (almost four full days). During that time he slept very little, only sleeping in the tent between several turns.
When the 34-year-old retired, nine runners remained. The eventual winner was Australia’s Phil Gore with 114 laps, just five laps short of his own men’s world record.
Perry said: “I have mixed emotions. I am very disappointed that my back went when everything else was working so well. I had it in my legs and in my head when I hit 100 laps, which I was really fixated on, but it’s extreme running.
“It’s going to take some time to process it all. I just need to catch up on sleep and then process what I’ve achieved.”
Prior to the race, Perry’s best result was a Backyard Ultra of 59 laps achieved in 2024. It was a UK women’s record at the time.
Perry was accompanied by his partner Luke, who he lives with in Cumbria near the falls in the Lake District, where Perry does most of his training. She works as an adult education math teacher.
Sarah Perry’s latest race stats.
95 laps (women’s world record)
395.83 miles (637.032 km)
Average lap time: 51:13
Last lap time: 57:38
Image Credits. INOV8 / Jacob Zocherman and INOV8 / Ryan Edy
