NEW WORLD RECORD FOR INOV8 RUNNER SARAH PERRY
23/10/25
INOV8 athlete Sarah Perry has set an incredible new Backyard Ultra Women’s World Record of 95 laps.
Competing at the 2025 Big's Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships in Tennessee, US, she exceeded the previous world record of 87 laps, set by American Megan Eckert last year.
Sarah also set a new UK national record, bettering Matt Blackburn’s previous best, which also stood at 87 laps. Backyard Ultras are rapidly growing in popularity all over the world. They involve runners completing a lap carefully measured at 4.167 miles on the hour, every hour.
As the hours and days pass, runners drop out through exhaustion and injury until just one – the winner – is left standing.
At the world championships in Tennessee, a total of 72 runners – each representing their country – started the race. They ran over a mixture of trails and roads.
Cumbria-based Sarah pushed on to complete a further three laps. She eventually retired with a sore back shortly after lap number 95.
95 laps equate to 395 miles – almost the same as the distance between London and Edinburgh.
In total, Sarah was racing for 95 hours (almost four full days). During that period, she slept for very little time, grabbing only naps in a tent in between some of the laps.
When 34-year-old Sarah retired there were a further nine runners remaining. The eventual winner was Australian Phil Gore with 114 laps, just five shy of his own men’s world record.
Sarah said: “I've got mixed emotions. I'm quite disappointed that my back went when everything else was working so well. I had it in my legs and my head on reaching 100 laps, something I was really fixed on, but that's ultra running.
“It's going to take a while to process it all. I just need to catch up on sleep and then process what I've achieved.”
Prior to the race, Sarah’s best Backyard Ultra result was 59 laps, achieved in 2024. At the time that was a new UK women’s record.
INOV8 founder Wayne Edy added: “We are incredibly proud of Sarah and her world record-breaking achievement.
“This is just reward for the many, many hours of commitment she has put into her training and the sport. Sarah is small in stature but big in grit and determination. She thoroughly deserves this success and all the acclaim.”
Sarah was crewed by her partner Luke, whom she lives with in Cumbria, close to the Lake District fells where Sarah does much of her training. She works as a maths teacher in adult education.
Sarah’s final race stats:
*95 laps (Women’s World Record)
*395.83 miles (637.032 km)
*Average lap time: 51:13
*Last lap time: 57:38
Sarah used INOV8’s TRAILFLY MAX and ROADFLY MAX shoes during the race. Both deliver extra cushioning for longer distances while retaining a natural feel with enhanced ground connection.