Backyard Ultra Podcast

Narchi Finnila

Narchi started running Backyard Ultra's last year when she debut'd at Clint Eastwood by running an impressive 34 yards and finishing as the first placed female.  This year Narchi has run at Dead Cow Gully and most recently at Clint Eastwood again, where she smashed her PB and broke the Australian female record in the process by going for 51 hours.

Chris Martin - Birdys LOS

Chris ran an amazing race at Birdys last year, running 33 yards while completing a piece of artwork between loops.  Just over a week ago Chris ran at Birdys again and this time finished as the Last One Standing, earning a silver ticket onto the Australian team to run at the Satellite World Champs in October.

Jonathan Ash

Jono ran his first Backyard Ultra just over 12 months ago when he ran 28 yards at Red's.  Since then he has gone from strength to strength, finishing as the Last One Standing at Sydney's BYU as well as Coffs Harbour.  His most recent result is the most impressive though when he returned to Red's and ran 57 yards which qualified him to run for team Australia at the Satellite World Champs in October.

Helen Waterworth

Last year Helen broke 24 hours in three Backyard Ultras, including her PB of 31 yards at Arrowtown.  This year Helen and her Partner Chris have organised their first Backyard Ultra (Kings BYU) and in a couple of weeks Helen will be running at Clint Eastwood.  Helen and Chris also run an event kit hire business that caters for runners at Backyard Ultras https://hisandhersevents.co.nz/

Ben Hirst

Ben ran 28 yards in Australia's first ever Backyard Ultra back in 2019 at Mirrim Wurnit.  Since then he has finished as the Last One Standing at MVP, Backyard Blister and most recently at GUMBY, which earned him a Silver Ticket into the 2024 Australian Satellite World Champs team which he also represented in 2022.

Anthony Kerr-Taylor

Anthony ran 11 yards in his first Backyard Ultra at Riverhead Relaps in 2021.  Since then he has ran in four more Backyards and improved each and every time.  His most recent BYU was at Kings Backyard Ultra where he ran finished as the Last One Standing by running 52 yards, breaking the New Zealand soil record and qualifying to run for team New Zealand at the Sat Champs in October.

Sam Harvey - Cloudlander

Sam Harvey is right up there with the very best Backyard Ultra runners on Earth.  Last year at The DCG Masters he ran 101 yards as the assist and then ran 91 yards 3 months later at the World Champs at Bigs to finish ninth in the World.  So far in 2024 he has finished as the Last One Standing at Dead Cow Gully running 69 yards and just last weekend at Krazies he finished as the Last One Standing for the third year in a row.

Brandon Lee Grech

Last year, Brandon dipped his toes into the world of Backyard Ultras at the Shepparton 'GV BYU', where he successfully completed 32 yards. Building on this experience, he recently participated at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, finishing an impressive 4th overall and completing 37 laps. Coming up in August, Brandon has a significant challenge ahead, as he prepares to run from Bondi to Melbourne to raise funds and awareness for Osteosarcoma Bone Cancer.

Levi Yoder

Levi ran 37 yards in his first Backyard Ultra in 2022 when he was the Last One Standing at Bob's Big Timber Backyard.  He has run five Backyard Ultra's since, including the Individual World Champs at Bigs last year.  Levi most recently finished as the Last One Standing at Capital BYU running 65 yards.  His run at Capital cemented his spot to run for team USA at the Sat Champs in October later this year.

Jacs & Jamie - Red Dirt BYU

Next weekend, the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra will be held for the first time in Karratha, Western Australia, as a Bigs affiliated event. Jamie Oborne, a local Karratha resident and experienced ultra runner, will be participating in the event. Jacs Homann, one of the Race Directors, has played a key role in organising the race. The Red Dirt Backyard Ultra will also mark the return of Phil Gore, who will be running his first BYU since Bigs last year.