Sarah Perry Smashes Backyard Ultra Women’s World Record

British ultra-runner and INOV8 athlete Sarah Perry has redefined the limits of endurance, setting a stunning new Backyard Ultra Women’s World Record of 95 laps at the 2025 Big’s Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships in Tennessee, USA.

When Sarah isn’t out smashing world records she’s training amongst the fells of Cumbria, where she lives and works as a maths teacher. The 34-year-old, ran for almost four full days covering just under 400 miles, the equivalent of running from London to Edinburgh, only on just minutes of sleep. 

In doing so, Sarah became not only the last woman standing at the world championships but she surpassed the previous record of 87 laps held by American Megan Eckert, and eclipsing the UK men’s national record of 87 laps too.

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A race dreamed up by a legend 

The Big’s Backyard Ultra, is no ordinary race, it is in fact the brainchild of Lazarus Lake, the mythical man behind the infamous Barkley Marathon, often dubbed ‘the world’s toughest footrace.’ His creation follows a deceptively simple rule: runners must complete a 4.167-mile loop every hour, on the hour, until only one remains. Miss a start, fail to finish the loop within the hour, or simply can’t face another, and you’re out.

The race is fittingly held in Lazarus's own Tennessee backyard, where this year  72 of the world’s best lined up, each representing their nation. Among them, only four women had qualified for the 2025 world championships.

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A battle of mind and body 

For Sarah, the journey to lap 95 was one of pain, patience, and persistence

“The first thing I said when I finished was that I was disappointed to not get to at least 100 yards,” she said. “With some time to reflect, I'm very proud of what I achieved. I had a really difficult race but I did what I came to do: my very best. I left it all out there and ran until I couldn't anymore.”

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Finding flow in the fight

The early stages were a battle.

“It took me two whole days to warm up,” she recalled. “My legs felt awful and I seriously questioned what I’d done wrong, I even thought maybe I’d overtrained. But I trusted the process, and thankfully came out the other side. I finally found what can only be described as a flow state.”

There were moments of darkness too, IT band pain, torrential rain, and sickness,  but the highs kept her moving forward.

“The highlights are endless,” she said. “I was literally living my dream, competing at Big’s, in Laz’s backyard, with people I usually only watch from afar.”

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The power of sleeping (minutes) 

By day three, fatigue was ravaging the field. For Sarah, learning to manage micro-sleep became the key to survival.

“I finally started sleeping well on night two,” she explained. “Sam Harvey came into my tent and firmly told me I needed to run faster night laps and that I needed to sleep. That advice almost definitely changed the course of my race.”

“With a little bit of extra time on the night loops, I was able to sleep for 3–6 minutes after every lap. On night four I was getting deep sleep and sometimes felt like I’d slept for a long time when in reality it was just a few minutes. Sleep is the key to going long in the backyard.”

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Small in stature, big in grit

INOV8 founder Wayne Edy praised Sarah’s record-breaking run:

“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 supported throughout the race by her partner Luke and of course two pairs of INOV8 Shoes. Across the 95 laps she rotated between the Roadfly Max and the Trailfly Max, both designed for comfort and performance over extreme distance.

“The Roadfly Max were super cushioned for the night loop"

“The Trailfly Max  were great in the woods over mixed terrain but still cushioned enough for the compact tracks.”
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“I was glad to have my RACEPAC 8 for laps when I needed to take out snacks, drinks or layers with me"

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Photo of Sarah ringing the bell to signify her achievement. Credit: INOV8 / Jacob Zocherman.

Photos of Sarah running in jacketCredit INOV8 / Ryan Edy.