Team USA at the World Team Championship
Earned his place with a Silver Ticket, then completed 94 yards, 34 more than his previous best.
Athlete profile · Sources reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Nicholas Steel
Team USA runner who completed 94 yards at the 2026 World Team Championship
Nicholas Steel is a Minnesota ultrarunner who won Tartarus Backyard Ultra with 53 yards, then completed 94 yards for Team USA at the 2026 championship.
United StatesMankato, MinnesotaM20s
World Team Championship · 94 yardsBackyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 · Stopped
94 yards completed before stopping
Completed 94 yards, then started yard 95 but did not finish it. 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
Nicholas Steel is an American ultrarunner from Mankato, Minnesota, born in 2002. A 2020 graduate of Owatonna High School, where he ran cross country and track, he ran his first marathon around late 2023 and moved quickly into ultras. He races unusually often: he reported completing 18 events of 100 miles or more in 2025 and set a goal of 30 for 2026, and DUV lists 20 ultra results for him in 2025 and 21 more in 2026 through the end of September. CBS Minnesota reported that he began the project as a tribute to Matt Watts, who completed 95 official 100-mile races before his death, and KEYC reported his longer-term aim of becoming the youngest runner to finish 100 races of 100 miles.
His backyard record began with 26 yards at Queeny Backyard Ultra in March 2024. He took the assist at Elm Creek Backyard Ultra in April 2025 with 41 yards, behind Adam Kerr’s 42, then won Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra in Iowa with 33 yards and Four Fore Thirty Infinity Backyard Ultra in Missouri with 32. At Queeny in March 2026 he went 60 yards before Jeff Walker completed the winning 61st. In August 2026 he won Tartarus Backyard Ultra in Spokane, Washington, with 53 yards, a course record, after Guadalupe Gonzalez stopped on 52. Tartarus was a Silver Ticket race, and the win put Steel on Team USA’s 15-runner roster for the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship.
Outside the backyard, Steel won the 2025 Arrowhead 24 Hour Endurance Run in Illinois with 220.174 km, the tBunk Endurance Challenge 200 Mile in 46:48:43 in November 2025 and the 2026 FANS 24 Hour Runs with 205.931 km.
At the championship in Bell Buckle he completed 94 yards for Team USA (about 630.3 km), 34 yards beyond his previous best of 60.
Defining performances
↗
Tartarus Backyard Ultra winner
Won with 53 yards, a course record, after Guadalupe Gonzalez stopped on 52; the Silver Ticket win secured his Team USA place.
60 yards at Queeny Backyard Ultra
Took the assist with 60 yards, his deepest backyard before the 2026 championship, as Jeff Walker won with 61.
Arrowhead 24 Hour winner
Won the Illinois 24-hour race with 220.174 km, his best 24-hour distance on DUV.
Two backyard wins
Won Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra with 33 yards in September and Four Fore Thirty Infinity Backyard Ultra with 32 in November.
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 · USABackyard ultra | 94 yards · approximately 630.3 km | Personal best · Team USA | View ↗ | |
| Hindsight Ultra Trail Runs100 miles | 19:20:00 | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Tartarus Backyard UltraBackyard ultraGuadalupe Gonzalez was the assist with 52 yards. Tartarus was a Silver Ticket race, and the win gave Steel his place on Team USA. | 53 yards · approximately 355.4 km | Winner · course record | View ↗ | |
| FANS 24 Hour Runs24-hour race | 205.931 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Elm Creek Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 24 yards · approximately 160.9 km | 16th overall | View ↗ | |
| American Bottoms110 miles | 21:21:49 | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Queeny Backyard UltraBackyard ultraJeff Walker won with 61 yards. | 60 yards · approximately 402.3 km | 2nd overall · assist | View ↗ | |
| Four Fore Thirty Infinity Backyard UltraBackyard ultra | 32 yards · approximately 214.6 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| tBunk Endurance Challenge200 miles | 46:48:43 | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Arrowhead 24 Hour Endurance Run24-hour race | 220.174 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Broken Anvil Backyard UltraBackyard ultraKeely Miyamoto was the assist with 32 yards. | 33 yards · approximately 221.3 km | Winner | View ↗ | |
| Elm Creek Backyard UltraBackyard ultraAdam Kerr won with 42 yards. | 41 yards · approximately 274.9 km | 2nd overall · assist | View ↗ | |
| Queeny Backyard UltraBackyard ultraHis first backyard ultra. | 26 yards · approximately 174.3 km | 11th overall | View ↗ |
Related coverage
Runner directory
More athlete records
Mark DowdleLast Soul Ultra 2026 champion and Arrowhead 135 winnerHendrik 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 winner