Sarah Perry finished her Big’s Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships race at midday UK time today, October 22, with an incredible new women’s world record of 95 laps – just over 395 miles.
The maths teacher lives in Cockermouth with her partner Luke, and volunteers in her spare time for West Cumbria Search and Rescue.
Inov8, a company which sponsors the runner, said Sarah has also set a new UK national record, bettering Matt Blackburn’s previous record of 87 laps, and was the ‘last woman standing’ in the race.
She eventually finished her race after completing lap number 95 with an increasingly sore back injury.
The Big’s Backyard Ultra, organised by Lazarus Lake who is also the creator of the famous Barkley Marathons, began on Saturday, October 18 in Tennessee, US.
72 top runners started the race on Saturday, completing a lap of 4.167 miles on the hour, every hour. Participants are eliminated if they fail to complete a loop in an hour. The path of the loop is on trails during the day and along a road after dark.
Speaking shortly after completing the challenge, Sarah said: “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 I had it in my head, and I was quite fixed on 100 [laps], so there is a lot of disappointment.
“But, I think also I haven’t quite processed the whole experience and it was amazing, but I just need to catch up on sleep and actually come to terms with what I have achieved, because I shouldn’t really be disappointed. Anything could happen – that’s ultra-running, isn’t it?”
Sarah’s partner Luke has been supporting her with crewing over the last four days. When asked about her achievement, Luke told the News & Star: “I knew Sarah was capable of hitting high numbers, but even then, I was still pacing up and down waiting for her to come in.
“I am so pleased she got the opportunity to push herself to her limit and I am certain she can go much further.
“I am so proud of what Sarah has achieved.”
