US national champion at the World Team Championship
Won Team USA’s race in Bell Buckle with 107 yards; Jon Noll stopped during the 107th yard.
Athlete profile · Sources reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Mark Dowdle
Last Soul Ultra 2026 champion and Arrowhead 135 winner
Mark Dowdle won Last Soul Ultra 2026 with 94 completed yards, setting the best-known backyard performance achieved on German soil.
United StatesSt. Paul, MinnesotaM20s
National champion at the World Team Championship · 107 yardsBackyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 · National champion
Won the national race with 107 yards
Completed yard 107 alone as the last runner standing for the United States. The United States’s national race is over: the team finished on 1120 yards, 1st 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
Mark Dowdle is an American ultra-endurance athlete based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He won Last Soul Ultra 2.0 on August 18, 2026, after a final duel with Ayyoub ‘Ello’ El Osrouti. The official final classification records 94 completed yards for Dowdle and 93 for El Osrouti.
Dowdle’s 94 yards, approximately 630.3 km, established the best-known backyard performance achieved on German soil. It surpassed the previous 90-yard benchmark set by Merijn Geerts in Rettert in 2022. This distance uses the standard 6.7056 km yard; the organizer’s rounded 6.706 km conversion displays 630.4 km.
Outside the backyard format, he also won the 2026 Arrowhead 135 foot division in 35:48. His Summit Backyard Ultra win in November 2025 earned him a Silver Ticket place on Team USA’s 15-runner roster for the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship, which started on October 17. There he won the United States national race at Bell Buckle with 107 yards, finishing the 107th alone after Jon Noll stopped during it, and the US team finished on 1,120 yards.
Defining performances
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Last Soul Ultra 2026 winner
Won with 94 completed yards, approximately 630.3 km, and moved four yards beyond Merijn Geerts’ previous German-soil benchmark.
Go One More Ultra winner
Completed 73 yards to win the Texas backyard race, then his deepest published backyard performance.
Arrowhead 135 champion
Won the foot division of the winter ultra outright in 35 hours and 48 minutes.
Three backyard victories
Won WausaUltra, Last Dot Standing, and Summit Backyard Ultra during the calendar year.
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 · United StatesBackyard ultraCompleted yard 107 alone at Bell Buckle after Jon Noll stopped during it. | 107 yards · 717.542 km | National winner | View ↗ | |
| Last Soul Ultra 2.0Backyard ultraDowdle won after Ayyoub El Osrouti did not complete yard 94 and was classified with 93. | 94 yards · 630.3 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Mid-State MileElimination ultraFinished behind Harvey Lewis after 48:40 of recorded running time. | 258.460 km | 2nd overall | View ↗ | |
| WausaUltra Backyard RaceBackyard ultra | 31 yards | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Go One More UltraBackyard ultraKendall Picado Fallas was the assist with 72 yards. | 73 yards | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Arrowhead 135135-mile winter ultra | 35:48:00 | 1st foot finisher | View ↗ | |
| Summit Backyard UltraBackyard ultraStephanie Rosebaugh was the assist with 67 yards. Summit was a Silver Ticket race, and the win gave Dowdle his automatic place on Team USA for the 2026 World Team Championship. | 68 yards · 456.008 km | Winner · course record | View ↗ | |
| Last Dot StandingBackyard ultra | 64 yards | Winner | View ↗ | |
| WausaUltra Backyard RaceBackyard ultra | 38 yards | Winner | View ↗ | |
| WausaUltra Backyard RaceBackyard ultra | 34 yards | Winner | View ↗ |
Related coverage
Runner directory
More athlete records
Hendrik BouryGerman backyard record holder and elite 48-hour runnerNorman Mascher-AspensjöBack-to-back German 24-hour champion and Last Soul podium finisherMartin StillerGerman national champion at the 2026 World Team ChampionshipAyyoub El OsroutiLast Soul assist and Germany’s No. 2Harvey LewisTwo-time Big’s champion, US backyard record holder and Badwater 135 winnerJon NollCo-holder of the 111-yard US backyard record and Team USA selection for 2026