Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra

Results: 2026

242 runners started.

Only Christie is a finisher under backyard rules. BackyardUltra.com.au counts 242 starters (161 men, 81 women) from 11 nations. DUV, which took its 2026 data from that page, and Yardlore list 205 runners: they leave out the 37 recorded with fewer than seven yards, which is under ultramarathon distance. ESTR’s live coverage says McCormack stopped during the 66th yard with a calf injury. Distances use 6.706 km per yard, as DUV does.

Source: 2026 results on BackyardUltra.com.au (independent results database; the organizer publishes no results page). Checked October 20, 2026.

Next edition: June 2027, date to be confirmed. Last Soul Ultra’s World Series page lists “AUSTRALIA x DCG” as Qualifier 03 in June 2027, with the venue not yet announced. DCG is the abbreviation the Dead Cow Gully organizer uses for its own races. BackyardUltra.com.au lists the next Dead Cow Gully for Saturday, June 19, 2027 at 7:00 AM, linking a “DCG Masters (30+ Yards)” Eventzilla page that was not live on October 20, 2026. The organizer has not posted a 2027 date on its own site. Last Soul’s entry window for the Australian race opens December 1, 2026 and closes February 1, 2027.

Event Overview

A backyard ultra on a cattle property 11 km north of Nanango, Queensland, with a 6.706 km farm and creek-bed loop each hour, where Phil Gore set the 119-yard world record in 2025.

Course & Terrain

One 6.706 km (4.167-mile) loop on the farm, started at the top of every hour from the Iona homestead. It begins with about 2 km of flat farm road, dirt and slashed grass, through the cattle yards and a stock laneway. Next comes roughly 700 to 750 m along the dry creek bed of Dead Cow Gully itself, then a slashed track along the back fence, cow tracks and timbered creek edge past Rocky Hole, a crossing of the cultivation and a last creek crossing before the road home. Big’s race page says runners use the same loop for the whole race. BackyardUltra.com.au also lists a separate night course for the June 2023 and 2025 Masters editions.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Start and finish at the Iona homestead, more than 110 years old
• Cattle yards and stock laneway in the flat first 2 km
• About 700 to 750 m through the sandy, root-strewn creek bed of Dead Cow Gully
• Rocky Hole, the only permanent waterhole in the creek

Mostly flat farm road, slashed grass and cow tracks, but the gully section is the most technical part: sand, eroded uneven ground, tree roots and logs to jump, with runners picking their own line. The organizer says it is harder at night and asks for a fully charged headlamp. Trail Running NZ reported firm ground and several Achilles problems in 2025.

The organizer says winters on the property are generally dry, with frosty mornings and clear blue-sky days, and advises a raincoat and warm clothing for cold nights and early mornings. Yardlore’s race-day ranges: 14°C to 23°C with slight rain in May 2021, 12°C to 25°C with moderate rain in April 2023, 13°C to 23°C with light drizzle in May 2024, 9°C to 22°C with light drizzle in June 2025, and 7°C to 18°C, mainly clear, in May 2026. Trail Running NZ noted about 14 hours of darkness at the June 2025 race.

Format & Support (as run)

Why This Race Matters

Tim Walsh started Dead Cow Gully on Iona, his family’s 1,600-acre cattle property north of Nanango. The first race, planned for April 3, 2021, was pushed back by a Brisbane COVID lockdown and started on Sunday, May 2, 2021; Ryan Crawford won it with 44 yards. The autumn editions that followed were won with 37 yards (2022), 42 (2023) and 69 (2024). The two deepest races on this farm were the June “Masters” editions. At the Australian Backyard Masters in June 2023, run by the same organizer on the same course, Phil Gore’s 102 yards broke the world record of the time. In June 2025 the race itself ran as the “DCG Masters”, with entry priced by past backyard results and free for runners with 50 yards or more in the qualifying window. That field of 270 starters from 11 nations included Gore, Sam Harvey, Harvey Lewis, Merijn Geerts and Oriol Antolí Sarrau. Gore completed 119 yards after Harvey stopped at 118, and those are the two highest marks on Big’s national-record table. Yardlore describes the loop as flat, with 14 m of climb, and the organizer says local winters are generally dry, with frosty mornings and clear days.

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Course and backyard world record: 119 yards, Phil Gore (Australia), June 2025. The organizer gives 798 km (DUV: 798.014 km at 6.706 km per yard), or 495.8 miles. Gore passed Łukasz Wróbel’s 116 from Legends Backyard in Belgium earlier that year and completed the 119th yard alone after Sam Harvey stopped at 118.
• Sam Harvey’s 118 yards in 2025 is New Zealand’s national record and the second-highest mark on Big’s national-record table.
• Women’s course best: 76 yards, Jennifer Russo (USA), 2025, which Yardlore lists as an F60 world best. In the same race Holly Ranson’s 61 set an Australian women’s record, later raised to 65 by Yuko Sato in August 2026, and Jane McAlpine’s 53 a New Zealand women’s record.
• June 2023: Phil Gore’s 102 yards at the Australian Backyard Masters on the same course was a world record at the time. Sam Harvey stopped at 101 and Harvey Lewis at 90.
• Other 2025 marks: Oriol Antolí Sarrau and Merijn Geerts 102, Jonathan Ash 100 (an Australian M40 record on Yardlore) and Michitaro Mizuno 94 (a Japanese M30 record on Yardlore).
• Best regular autumn edition: 69 yards, Sam Harvey, May 2024. Ryan Crawford has won twice (2021 and 2023), and Yardlore lists him as the runner with the most total yards at this venue.

Preparing for a Race Like Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra

The backyard ultra race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Backyard ultras explained: Rules, distance math, current records and how a race ends.
• Backyard ultra training plan: A 16-week framework with hourly-loop rehearsals and a printable worksheet.
• Backyard ultra race strategy: Loop pacing, the routine between loops, sleep and knowing when to stop.
• Backyard ultra nutrition: A tested fueling routine for eating and drinking between loops.

Best Fit

• Runners after a deep backyard result on a mostly flat farm loop
• First-timers: BackyardUltra.com.au counts 127 of the 242 starters in 2026 as running their first backyard
• Runners aiming at the Last Soul World Series Finals through the June 2027 Australian qualifier

Planning Notes

• Practice the exact hourly routine: loop, eat, foot check, bottle refill, and back to the start. The format rewards repeatability.
• Train for terrain-specific fatigue. Technical trails and mountain courses demand downhill durability, hiking efficiency, and reliable night lighting.
• The directory marks this as having comparatively simpler logistics. That editorial label is not a safety rating; verify cutoffs, terrain, support, crew access, and withdrawal procedures.

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Browse the 2026 backyard ultra calendar
• Open the Backyard Ultra format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Build a backyard yard and rest-time schedule
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist