Smashing Records & Setting the Base for Future Skyrunning Success: This Week's Trail Tally

Competitors during the Original Mountain Marathon © The OMM

Chasing Trails: Week 44

What a week has passed in British trail running! Sarah Perry breaking multiple records the Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championship, Tom Spencer winning the Under-23 Skyrunner World Series Trophy, and - closer to home - a superb adventure in the Lakes courtesy of the Original Mountain Marathon. A huge well done to everyone, what inspiration!

Sarah Perry Smashes Backyard Ultra Records

There are ultramarathons that have you travelling over mountains, crossing rivers, and completing massive loops or point-to-point routes in stunning locations. But there are also some that test the mind and grit in a completely different way: backyard ultras. Invented by Lazarus Lake (aka Gary Cantrell), the mind behind the notorious Barkley Marathons, in Tennessee, this format is a “last one standing” - meaning that it continues until only one person completes a full lap of 6.706 km (4.167 miles) in one hour. 

The distance of each loop is equal to 100 miles divided by 24 hours. The original backyard ultra is Big’s Backyard Ultra, which takes place on Gary Cantrell’s property in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, in the US. It is named after his dog and is now an invitational race and world championship, where runners are selected based on wins in other backyard ultras worldwide.

This year’s event saw Britain’s Sarah Perry set a new world record and a UK best with a stunning display of endurance and grit. Sarah and Megan Eckert both first went over the female world record (previously held by Megan) by completing 88 laps. Megan retired after 92 laps. Sarah then went on to do another three, retiring after 95 consecutive laps totalling 637 km (395.8 miles). That is a performance for the ages and sees Sarah beating her own personal best (59 laps), which was also a UK female best, as well as the overall UK best performance (87 laps, set by Matt Blackburn).

On the men’s side, Australia’s Phil Gore (who holds the world record of 119 loops) was the last man standing after 114 loops, winning the championship. 

© Inov8 Jacob Zocherman / Ryan Edy ℅ Athletics Weekly

The Original Mountain Marathon Tests Runners in the Lakes

A staple of mountain running in the UK, the Original Mountain Marathon took place over two days last weekend. First held in 1968, this format blends orienteering with trail running and mountaineering. It is also a fantastic team event, where pairs of two runners enter. The course is not disclosed until the race begins and the location changes around the UK.

This year’s races had competitors assembling at Shap Abbey in Cumbria, before heading off for two epic days on the hills. The Elite Course was split across 47 km with 2200 m of elevation on day 1 and 38 km with 1800 m of ascent on day 2. There were two other options (each over two days), all under the Line Course format where teams needed to visit all checkpoints in a specific order in the fastest time. Additionally, Score Courses were also available: runners had between four and seven hours to find as many checkpoints as they could, in any order (with three lengths here, too).

The team of Felix Wilson and Dan Ashwood from Carnethy & Bulldog Mountaineering were fastest in the elite race on day 1 (6:18:33) and second on day 2 (5:35:12), winning overall with a cumulative time of 11:53:45. Second place went to Philip Volkes and Alistair Thornton, while third was claimed by Philip Rutter and Sam Dixon (who had won in 2022 and 2023, while Philip also won the 2024 event paired with Finlay Wild).

The women’s team of Lisa Watson and Despina Berdeni were the only female finishers, while the mixed team of Catriona Graves and Andrew Reeve were the only finishers in their category, as well. 

Well done to all the runners, tackling difficult terrain and the orienteering challenges over a fantastic couple of days!

© The OMM

Trofeo Esteban Olivero for Tom Spencer

We’ve written before about the Under-23 trophy competition for young runners in the Skyrunner World Series, where Britain’s Tom Spencer and Finlay Grant have had excellent results all year. This past weekend, the series final took place at the Sobrescobio Speed Trail in Rioseco, northern Spain. The 17km race had 1100 m of elevation in a sharp sprint to the top of La Carba, followed by a blustering descent back into town. 

Tom Spencer had a tough fight with Basque runner Ibai Larrea (just as he had sprinted against him at the Mourne Skyline a few weeks earlier), this time emerging victorious and winning both the final and the overall Under-23 Trofeo Esteban Olivero. Finlay Grant also claimed second place overall in the Under-23 series. A brilliant and promising season for them both.

The women’s race was won by Claudia Corral of Spain, who also claimed the series win. 

Tom Spencer victorious at Sobrescobio Speed Race & Under-23 Skyrunner World Series © Skyrunning Instagram

Running very far is part of what many of us do in trail running. We’re often motivated by the stunning views, the big-hearted volunteers, the amazing sunrises over new places we’re discovering. For Sarah Perry, all this was stripped back to essentials as she completed 95 loops of Big’s Backyard to claim an astounding female world record. I am in absolute awe and cannot wait to see where she goes next!

- Alecsa Stewart, Fitness & Travel Writer