124-yard backyard world record
Completed 124 yards with Merijn Geerts at Belgium’s race of the World Team Championship, five more than Phil Gore’s previous record of 119. Neither started yard 125, so the race had no winner.
Athlete profile · Sources reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Ivo Steyaert
Backyard world record holder: 124 yards with Merijn Geerts (2026)
Ivo Steyaert is a Belgian backyard ultrarunner who shares the 124-yard backyard world record with Merijn Geerts, set at the 2026 World Team Championship.
BelgiumOosterzeleM55–59
World record at the World Team Championship · 124 yardsBackyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 · World record
124 yards, shared with the last other runner
Completed 124 yards and stopped on the same yard as Belgium’s last other runner, so the national race had no winner. The 124 yards beat the previous backyard ultra world record of 119. 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
Ivo Steyaert is a Belgian backyard specialist from Oosterzele. He set his then-personal best of 113 yards at the 2025 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, finishing as the assist to Phil Gore’s 114-yard win.
Steyaert was also part of the shared world-record progressions at Belgium’s satellite championships, completing 101 yards in 2022 and 110 in 2024. His broader backyard record includes wins in Germany and Belgium and appearances across Europe, the United States, and Mexico.
He is also a six-day racer: he won the Viadal Ultra Six Days in Sweden with 813.335 km in 2025 and again with 738.321 km in August 2026. On trails, DUV records wins at the Legends Trail 250 in 2019 and 2022 and four wins at the Bello Gallico 100-mile race between 2018 and 2022. He topped Belgium’s official pre-race selection list for the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship, which started on October 17. He and Merijn Geerts were the last two runners in the whole championship. Running side by side in Retie, they passed Phil Gore’s 119-yard world record on 22 October and completed 124 yards, 831.49 km or 516.7 miles, before neither started yard 125, so Belgium’s race had no winner.
Defining performances
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Viadal Ultra Six Days winner
Won the Swedish six-day race with 813.335 km in 2025 and retained the title with 738.321 km in 2026.
Big Dog’s Backyard assist
Reached 113 yards, finishing second to the 114-yard winner.
110-yard world-record share
Completed 110 yards with Merijn Geerts and Frank Gielen at Belgium’s satellite championship, setting a new world-best mark as Belgium won the team title.
101-yard record progression
Shared the then-world-record distance at Belgium’s team championship.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 · BelgiumBackyard ultraRan with Merijn Geerts in Retie; neither started yard 125. | 124 yards · 831.49 km | World record · shared, no winner | View ↗ | |
| Viadal Ultra Six DaysSix-day race | 738.321 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Legends Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 84 yards · 563.304 km | 8th overall | View ↗ | |
| Legends Trail 350350 km trail | 3d 02:42:00 | 5th overall | View ↗ | |
| Big Dog’s Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 113 yards · 757.778 km | Assist · 2nd overall | View ↗ | |
| Viadal Ultra Six DaysSix-day race | 813.335 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Non Stop Backyard HuatuscoBackyard ultra | 40 yards · 268.240 km | 3rd overall | View ↗ | |
| Backyard Ultra Team World Championship — BelgiumBackyard ultraSteyaert, Merijn Geerts and Frank Gielen stopped together after 110 yards, so there was no individual winner or assist. | 110 yards · 737.660 km | Shared world-best mark · team champion | View ↗ | |
| Big Dog’s Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 80 yards · 536.480 km | 15th overall | View ↗ | |
| Backyard Ultra Team World Championship — BelgiumBackyard ultraSteyaert and Merijn Geerts both stopped after 101 yards, so there was no individual winner or assist. | 101 yards · 677.306 km | Shared then-world record | View ↗ | |
| WUK M&M Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 31 yards · 207.886 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Bienwald Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 44 yards · 295.064 km | Winner | View ↗ |
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