Sarah Perry said it will take time to process her incredible world-record breaking performance at the Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championship in Tennessee.
INOV8 athlete Perry was one of four women in the 72-strong field and when previous record holder Megan Eckert of the United States dropped out on the 93rd loop, she was the only female of the 11 remaining athletes.
The previous world best in this quirky format, where the competitors have to run 4.167 miles every hour on the hour, was Eckert’s 87 from 12 months ago in the American National Championship.
Perry went on to complete 95 ‘yards’ or loops – which was just 4.167 miles short of 400 miles – before back pain forced her to a halt.
She had rung the bell to signify a personal best after she went past the 59 mark – and would continue for another 36 hours, finishing just as it was about to get light on Wednesday morning local time having started at 7am on Saturday!
Mixed emotions
The format was created by Laz Lake of Barkley Marathons fame and has become a global phenomenon with races in 85 countries. Laz oversees the World Champs which are in his own ‘backyard’ in Bell Buckle and was on hand when Perry finished to say it was “a joy” to see her set a new world best mark, calling it “mind-boggling and a tremendous achievement”.
And before Perry got some well-deserved and overdue sleep, she was interviewed on the live broadcast and first asked how she was feeling: “A bit mixed really. I’m quite disappointed that my back went because everything else was working so well – I had it in my legs and my head and I was quite fixed on getting to 100.
“So there’s a lot of disappointment, but I think I haven’t yet processed the whole experience. It was amazing, but I just need to catch up and sleep and then actually come to terms with what I have achieved, because I shouldn’t really be disappointed.”
‘Thrilled to represent women’
Perry added that it was “a tough course” which made it all the more rewarding, though the fact the sun was about to come up meant they were about to switch back to the trail course, which would have been even tougher on her back.
Asked just how painful her back was, she revealed: “I kind of ignored it for as long as I could, but it was just slowly becoming worse and worse and I couldn’t stand up straight.
“So to try and get to 100 would have meant the last four hours would have been back on the trail and I just don’t think I would have got round.”
And asked about the whole experience, she added: “I mean it’s a it’s so niche, the Backyard, but I think everybody has something special about them, and you’ve all got something in common.
“We met some really lovely people and I was just thrilled to take my spot and also represent women as there were only four of us. So yeah, that made me really happy.”
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.”
