Phil Gore

About

Phil Gore is an Australian ultrarunner and career firefighter from Queensland, Australia, who has emerged as the dominant force in the backyard ultra format globally. A Tarkine Elite athlete, he won the Big's Backyard Ultra World Championship in 2024 in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, outlasting Belgium's Ivo Steyaert on the 114th consecutive 6.7-kilometre loop after more than 114 hours of continuous running — setting a new event record at the time. He then broke the outright backyard ultra world record at the Dead Cow Gully event in Queensland, completing 119 loops (798.49 km) — the most laps ever recorded in the format's history, surpassing the previous record of 116 loops set by Poland's Łukasz Wróbel just weeks earlier. Gore also holds the IAU 24-Hour Oceanic Best Performance of 270.826 km. His ability to maintain the mandatory one-loop-per-hour pace without sleep across more than five consecutive days is regarded as one of the most extreme feats in modern endurance sport.

Notable Wins

• — Big's Backyard Ultra World Championship 2024 (114 yards)
• — Backyard Ultra World Record 2025 (119 loops
• — 798.49 km)
• — IAU 24-Hour Oceanic Best (270.826 km)

Race History