First woman past 1,000 km in six days
Won the EMU 6-Day Race and GOMU 6-Day World Championship outright with 1,023.948 km, ahead of every man in the field; the IAU lists it as a world-best performance still to be ratified.
Source-checked athlete record · Updated Oct 12, 2026
Megan Eckert
First woman past 1,000 km in six days and 92-yard backyard runner
Megan Eckert is an American ultrarunner with elite results across six-day, 24-hour, backyard, 100-mile, and 200-mile racing.
United States
The record so far
Megan Eckert is an American ultrarunner whose results span fixed-time road racing and long trail ultras. At the 2026 EMU 6-Day Race in Balatonfüred, she won outright with 1,023.948 km, which the IAU describes as a new women’s six-day world-best performance, still to be ratified, and the first time a woman has passed 1,000 km in six days. That figure counts whole laps; the measured partial final lap may add slightly to it.
The EMU distance beat her own 970.685 km from the 2025 Six Jours de France, which the IAU records page still listed as pending data clarification in October 2026.
In backyard racing, Eckert set the women’s record with 87 yards at the 2024 US team championship at Big Dog’s and reached 92 yards there in 2025. She has also run 153.420 miles in 24 hours at Desert Solstice and finished second among women at the 2025 Badwater 135. Her range extends to wins at Angeles Crest 100 and the Six Days in the Dome, and in 2026 to women’s wins at the Northburn 100 and Vermont 100 and third place among women at the Cocodona 250.
Defining performances
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970.685 km six-day performance
Won the women’s race at Six Jours de France; the IAU record application remained pending clarification as of October 2026.
Badwater 135 runner-up
Finished second among women and eighth overall in 26:24:17.
Women’s backyard record
Completed 87 yards at the US team championship at Big Dog’s, breaking Jennifer Russo’s 74-yard women’s best; Sarah Perry raised the record to 95 yards in 2025.
Angeles Crest 100 champion
Won the women’s race in 22:02:52 and placed seventh overall.
Performance history
| Date | Event | Performance | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMU 6-Day RaceSix-day roadIAU whole-lap figure, still to be ratified. Ultramarathon Database lists 1,024.319 km; the IAU says the measured partial final lap has yet to be added. | 1,023.948 km | 1st overall | View ↗ | |
| Vermont 100100-mile trail | 17:19:56 | 1st woman · 7th overall | View ↗ | |
| Cocodona 250250-mile trail | 63:09:07 | 3rd woman · 8th overall | View ↗ | |
| Northburn 100100-mile mountain ultra | 24:43:18 | 1st woman · 2nd overall | View ↗ | |
| Big Dog’s Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 92 yards · 616.952 km | 12th overall | View ↗ | |
| Badwater 135135-mile road | 26:24:17 | 2nd woman · 8th overall | View ↗ | |
| Six Jours de FranceSix-day roadThe IAU records page still listed the world-record application as pending data clarification in October 2026. | 970.685 km | 1st woman | View ↗ | |
| Desert Solstice24-hour track | 153.420 mi | 3rd woman · 4th overall | View ↗ | |
| Backyard Ultra Team World Championship — United StatesBackyard ultra | 87 yards · 583.422 km | Assist · 2nd overall · then-women’s record | View ↗ | |
| Angeles Crest 100100-mile trail | 22:02:52 | 1st woman · 7th overall | View ↗ | |
| Six Days in the DomeSix-day track | 526.301 mi | 1st overall | View ↗ |
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