PHIL GORE BREAKS BACKYARD ULTRA WORLD RECORD WITH 119 LOOPS
An Australian ultra-running legend just rewrote history.
Australia’s own Phil Gore (Tarkine Elite) has shattered the Backyard Ultra world record, completing an astonishing 119 loops at the Dead Cow Gully event in Queensland. That’s 119 consecutive 6.7km laps — one per hour — covering nearly 800km with no sleep, no margin for error, and no finish line until all others have fallen.
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Gore wasn’t alone in this pursuit of madness. New Zealander Sam Harvey, equally relentless, matched Phil step-for-step for an epic stretch, pushing both athletes deep into the outer edges of human endurance. The previous world record (108 loops) fell hours before either of them even considered stopping.
In the end, it was Gore who emerged as the last man standing, as Harvey was forced to withdraw after 118 loops — a feat that still tied him for second place all-time in Backyard Ultra history. With no competitors remaining, Gore completed Loop 119 solo, securing his name atop the global leaderboard.
He did it all in the Tarkine Autopilot, safe to say, it passed the ultimate stress test.
The Stats:
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Distance: ~796.3km
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Time: Nearly 5 full days
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Sleep: Basically none
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Calories burned: Unthinkable
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World record: Officially broken
This wasn’t just about two men. Crews played an essential role — cooking, massaging, psyching up, and holding shattered bodies together between loops. Volunteers, race organisers, and the running community transformed Dead Cow Gully into the global heartbeat of ultrarunning for nearly five days.
What is the Backyard Ultra format?
Simple. Brutal. Beautiful. One 6.7km lap. Every hour. On the hour. Last person standing wins. Everyone else gets a DNF.
For Gore, this victory adds to an already stellar ultrarunning resume. But it’s the sheer scale of this effort — the resilience, mental strength, and refusal to quit — that elevates this moment into something mythical.
From sleep-deprived fans to dot-watchers obsessively refreshing tracking apps, this race had us all gripped. And now… we can finally put our phones down.
Congrats, Phil. You’ve made history.
 has shattered the Backyard Ultra world record, completing an astonishing 119 loops at the Dead Cow Gully event in Queensland. That’s 119 consecutive 6.7km laps — one per hour — covering nearly 800km with no sleep, no margin for error, and no finish line until all others have fallen.){kind=link}