Elite backyard ultra coming to Hawke’s Bay; may threaten world record
Waipukurau in Hawke’s Bay has won a bid to host a world-class backyard ultra event that an organiser believes could threaten a world record.
The Backyard Ultra World Team Championship is held across the globe every two years.
Participating countries take part on a 6.7km course in their own country, and more than 70 countries are registered this year.
Waipukurau will host the highly rated New Zealand team during the championship, starting at 1am on Sunday, October 18 (NZT).
That unusual start time allows runners to begin at the same time as every other team overseas.
The New Zealand team features 15 top athletes, both men and women, including one of the best backyard ultra runners in the world, Sam Harvey. Hawke’s Bay’s Matt Radford is also in the team.
The course is the same one used for the annual River Run Backyard Ultra in Waipukurau, being held on October 24. That event is free and entries remain open online.
As for the world teams championship, the winning country will be the team with the most combined laps. There will also be a top overall individual.
Backyard ultras are growing in popularity and see competitors run (or jog) as many laps of a 6.7km course as possible.
Competitors must complete one loop every hour.
Competitors are eliminated when they fail to finish a loop in a given hour, and the event ends when one person is left standing and finishes a solo lap.
The course is 6.7km long because over 24 hours (or laps) an athlete completes 100 miles (160km).
The men’s world record is 119 laps (797km), set by Australian Phil Gore, and the women’s world record is 95 laps (637km), set by Britain’s Sarah Perry.
River Run Backyard Ultra co-organiser Josh Lloyd said they were rapt to be hosting the New Zealand team on the Waipukurau course after winning a bid for the world teams event.
“I think the world record will fall somewhere around the world at this event.
“We would like to see it in New Zealand.
“The team are capable of going past 119 [laps] – that will be getting us to Friday.”
He said the course at the A&P Showgrounds in Waipukurau was flat and had a strong reputation.
“We’ve been told by people who have come here for years that we have a great course, and a great venue, and a great location.”
He said the start and finish were based at the A&P shearing shed – with “proper rural hospitality” and plenty of space.
The course has a nice mix of grass, limestone and track.
Belgium won the 2024 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship and New Zealand finished sixth.
“This time we are definitely hoping to do better than that,” Lloyd said.