Lazarus Lake Declares The Backyard Ultra World Records Set In Russia Void

The greatest backyard ultra ever run just disappeared from the record books. Two weeks after Dmitry Klimov ran 123 loops at the Biotropika Backyard Ultra in Russia’s Leningrad Region, the format’s founder, Lazarus Lake, has announced that the event will not be recognized and none of its results will count, as reported by Running State.

That wipes out both apparent world records set at the event: Klimov’s 123 loops (512.5 miles, or 824.8 km) and Vera Chekalina’s 96 loops (399.7 miles) in the women’s race.

Why The Records Were Thrown Out

The decision was not about what the runners did. According to Lake, video footage from the event showed non-competitors, including members of the media, volunteers, organizers, and support personnel, accompanying runners on the course. Under official backyard ultra rules, no one except competitors is allowed on the loop. Anyone else out there counts as outside assistance, and that made every result from the event unratifiable.

A detailed public statement from Lake was published on his Facebook.

An Event That Raised Eyebrows From The Start

Biotropika’s numbers were staggering. Klimov, Dmitry Sheremet (122 loops), and Ivan Zaborsky (121) all ran past the existing world record before the race ended, making it comfortably the longest backyard ultra ever held. Chekalina edged the women’s world record by a single loop.

But questions followed immediately. ESTR reported on the day that all the marks were “subject to ratification,” and that runners had already debated whether the event’s halfway water station crossed the format’s strict no-personal-aid rules. The course itself, a flat dirt track, was tailor-made for big numbers.

The Records That Still Stand

With Biotropika erased, the record book reverts to where it stood in June. The men’s world record remains Phil Gore’s 119 loops, set at Dead Cow Gully in Queensland, Australia in June 2025, with Sam Harvey taking the assist. The women’s mark remains Sarah Perry’s 95 loops, set at Big’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee last October.

None of it changes what happened in the Leningrad forest: three men ran further than any backyard ultra runner in history, for five days, an hour at a time. Officially, though, it now never happened. In a format where the rules are the whole sport, Lake’s message was clear. The loop belongs to the runners, and only the runners.