98 yards at Big’s Backyard Ultra
Covered approximately 657.1 km at the individual world championship and placed ninth in a race won by Phil Gore.
Athlete profile · Sources reviewed Oct 19, 2026
Brecht Vandamme
98-yard Big’s finisher and three-time Antwerp Backyard winner
Brecht Vandamme is a Belgian backyard ultrarunner from Oud-Turnhout who placed ninth at Big’s Backyard Ultra in 2025 with 98 yards.
BelgiumOud-Turnhout, BelgiumM35
World Team Championship · 58 yardsBackyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 · Stopped
58 yards completed before stopping
Completed 58 yards, then started yard 59 but did not finish it. Belgium’s national race is over: the team finished on 1058 yards, 3rd in the standings at this point.
Final results after yard 124 (16:07 UTC, 22 October), matching the organizer's official leaderboard. Organizer results ↗ Championship guide →
The record so far
Brecht Vandamme is a Belgian backyard ultrarunner from Oud-Turnhout. His best mark came at Big’s Backyard Ultra in October 2025, where he completed 98 yards for approximately 657.1 km and placed ninth in the race won by Phil Gore. A year earlier he reached 92 yards and fifth place at Belgium’s site of the Backyard Ultra World Team Championships, where Belgium won the team title.
Vandamme has been a fixture at the front of Belgian backyard races since 2022. He won Antwerp Backyard Ultra in 2023, 2024 and 2025, setting a 46-yard course record in 2024, and took the assist there in 2026 with 64 yards behind Bert Verbist. At Legends Backyard Ultra in Retie he was runner-up to Szilard Fodor with 63 yards in 2023 and shared the assist at 52 yards in 2024. He also races long trail events, including sixth place at the 275 km Legends Trail in 2025.
Vandamme was selected for Belgium’s 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship team. His 98-yard Big’s result ranked fourth on the pre-race list, where his name appeared as Vandamme Brecht.
Defining performances
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92 yards for Team Belgium
Finished fifth of 15 starters at Belgium’s World Team Championship site with approximately 616.9 km, which Yardlore lists as a Belgian M30s record at the time.
Antwerp Backyard Ultra course record
Won with a 46-yard course record that stood until Bert Verbist reached 65 yards in 2026.
63-yard assist at Legends
Was the last runner to stop behind Szilard Fodor’s 64-yard win in a field of 77 in Retie.
Performance history
Selected results, not a complete race history. Rankings and record descriptions reflect the cited sources at their review dates. Distances may use different rounding conventions.
| Date | Event | Performance | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Escape 200km206.4 km trail | 35:57:46 | 11th overall | View ↗ | |
| Vloethemveld BackyardBackyard ultra | 30 yards · approximately 201.2 km | 11th overall | View ↗ | |
| Antwerp Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 64 yards · approximately 429.2 km | Assist | View ↗ | |
| Legends Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 50 yards · approximately 335.3 km | 20th overall | View ↗ | |
| Big’s Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 98 yards · approximately 657.1 km | 9th overall | View ↗ | |
| Antwerp Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 32 yards · approximately 214.6 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Legends Trail 250275 km trail | 2d 05:29:00 | 6th overall | View ↗ | |
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championships — BelgiumBackyard ultra | 92 yards · approximately 616.9 km | 5th overall | View ↗ | |
| Antwerp Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 46 yards · approximately 308.5 km | Winner · course record | View ↗ | |
| Legends Backyard UltraBackyard ultraMatthias Pelgrims also stopped at 52 yards behind Merijn Geerts’s 53-yard win. | 52 yards · approximately 348.7 km | Shared assist | View ↗ | |
| Big’s Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 50 yards · approximately 335.3 km | 44th overall | View ↗ | |
| Antwerp Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 35 yards · approximately 234.7 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Legends Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 63 yards · approximately 422.5 km | Assist | View ↗ | |
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championships — BelgiumBackyard ultra | 60 yards · approximately 402.3 km | 5th overall | View ↗ | |
| Antwerp Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 38 yards · approximately 254.8 km | Assist | View ↗ |
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