 This is the start line of the backyard ultra here in Suffolk. We are about an hour and a half away from the start of the run. Here is the timing clock here. This is the registration tent over here with race director Lindley Chambers chatting away to runners. Runners getting registered. Getting their numbers. And Karen is giving the timing chips out. Karen's from Timing Monkey. The event is sponsored by Phoenix. Phoenix Headlights. This is a university team who carried out some research over the weekend on nutrition. There's a food tent there. Loads of runners have got all their own food and setting up their gazemos and their tents. Hoping to be here for the next 24 hours at least. And the tents stretch all the way back here and as the weekend goes on these tents will thin out as runners drop from the race. If you don't know what a backyard ultra is we start on the hour every hour and each lap is 4.167 miles and you do that lap within the hour as fast as you can so you've got some rest and then you start again on the hour and you do as many of them as you can until you cannot do any more. And that is the Suffolk backyard ultra 2023 due to start at mid day. The main contenders, Mr. Milbury, the main contenders this year are the perennial John Stocker who has won this event plenty of times before and was until last year the previous world record holder with 81 yards, 81 laps of the course. So that was the previous world record. We've got Claire Banworth as well who's running for the ladies. She is the winner of one of the spine races last year. We've also got Oriol. Oriol from Spain who about three years ago won the Monarch's Way which is 650 mile race. So he has some pedigree as well and number of other runners who are in contention but those are your main three to keep an eye on as the race progresses over the weekend and beyond we hope. Okay guys so thank you very much for coming. As you can see it's going to be an absolutely fantastic day and the weather is supposed to be like this at least for the next couple of days. So you're going to have a pretty good run out there as far as scenery and weather is concerned. Most of the rest of the course is tree lined and covered for those who've been before so you get quite a lot of shade on it so that's pretty good. There's only this bit and the sandy straight bit that actually has a big long sandy section that is open but other than that it's pretty well shaded. Course is looking pretty good. I've marked it last night so it should all be good about people out this morning checking it. That should all be good. There are mile marker signs which are roughly correct but if your watch says they're 100 meters out and you come back and tell me and tell me from about six foot away so I can't hit you because I'm not really that bothered. They're just there as a reference point guys. Okay this is Oriol. He is somebody who's won the Monarch's Way Ultra which is 650 miles so Oriol has something in his legs. How are you feeling Oriol today? I'm feeling good just for running and see what we are able to do. Have you a plan? I always have a plan but for every loop. Not a plan of loops because if you think on a goal then it's very easy to drop there. Yeah so once you've reached your goal you can quit there. It's too easy. Yeah I will not quit. The organisation will quit me if I not arrive at the time at the finish line. Fantastic. Well have a great race. Good luck Oriol. Thank you very much. Okay welcome Silard from Hungary living in Finland. Silard tell me the race that you recently won. The last one was in Sweden stuck home that was sometimes in May and then before that one mid-April I think Belgium backyard. So you won the Belgium backyard. What was the Swedish race? That was a backyard ultra race. It only last for 30 hours because during the night time it almost meant time to sub zero so technically it shortened the race. It was at the beginning of May but then you know as we expected daytime plus 15. I'm sorry I'm saying it in Celsius but nine times zero. Wow. Cold. Yeah it's very cold and my suitcase actually looks snow white. It was covered in frost so 30 hours but I believe that one of the toughest races in the world. It's a bit different here today. Why are you in Suffolk for the backyard ultra here? Why come to Suffolk? Obviously I would like to develop and every time I enter a race I arrive in the hope that I can develop push my limits further and I hopefully I find the right persons here. Do you have a plan today? I came healthy I want to go more healthy. That's the only plan. Stay healthy. Yeah you never you never know what happened but obviously from a racing point of view I could throw around numbers but I don't make that mistake usually you know you know what you try to target and when I say development that means obviously one more lap than the previous one. Yeah so you just keep going one more lap. That's right. Good look thank you so much. No worries. So this is Claire from France. Claire tell me the race that you won recently this year in the UK. I won the spine race the winter one was great. And it took you how many hours? Take me 98 hours. 98 hours so does that translate to a backyard ultra of 98 loops? No no because in the spine you could sleep here you can't you just have yeah you just have five to ten minutes for me five. And so I've been asking everyone do you have a plan for today? No because if you set a goal you will stop at it. I have some idea I really want to do more than 60 hours it's a French backyard record but you never know in a backyard. So did you say have you done near to 60 hours? No that's my plan I have done 48 but I stopped because I was injured so I really think I can do more. Okay amazing Claire thank you very much have a good race. Thank you. Okay this is Jon Stocker if you're a regular follower of backyard ultra you will know who Jon is former world record holder at this distance or this race and current champion of the Thames Ring 250. Jon you know this race inside out what's the plan? The plan is just taking nice and slow for the first few days to stay steady at the back of the group and just keep going until there's one more lap to do. Did you just say for the first few days? Yeah we're here for a few days we've got so many weather we've got loads of people should last a few days shouldn't it? Jon you are you are often known for your tactics. What tactics do you employ in a race like this? No tactics it's literally just stay slow stay at the back and tickle past people and that's it. Keep going. Keep going one lap at a time. Jon good luck today. Thank you. So here we are on the start line of the backyard ultra in Suffolk. A lot lies ahead for these runners some of them are going to be out in just a few laps and some of them are going to be here in three days time. There's Karen she's organizing if she messes up nobody gets the time. I messed up. People with ridiculously long selfie sticks and lots of friends and family supporting and crewing all with their cameras out as well. Hello guys and here we go at the start and where they go on their first yard their first loop their first lap of the Suffolk backyard ultra 2023 and you will often find the really experienced runners right at the back just walking it out to start with because they know this is a lot there he is look last one out last one out this is a long haul right this is James and we're on the first loop at the end of the first loop of the backyard ultra James you came in in 25 minutes what's going on there yeah I don't know went out a bit fast as I was hoping for and that probably will not continue more than a couple laps where are you from James New York New York okay you're not over especially for this event are you actually over yeah just for this wow okay so what's the plan just keep running until either my legs or my back gives out I have bad knees and my spine has like three herniated discs oh my god so at some point something's gonna break so maybe not 25 minutes for every lap then it's actually a little easier like that there's a bit less pressure on it yeah yeah okay well good luck for the rest of the event thanks James thank you she did she completed five and didn't get it on the 6th one well done Amy great job how'd you feel Amy knackered are you pleased are you pleased with your day yes I am I didn't think I'd do this many really because I'm not you know I'm not an outdoor runner you are an outdoor runner you've done Amy you've done the beachy head marathon for goodness sake you are an over thank you very much thank you well done Amy good job good job come on then you're on video why why are you here again because people are amazing and I don't know it's one of the best events I've ever taken part this is the third year and I want to sign up for next what's the most laps yards you have ever done 12 last year okay so 15 this year you go for 15 this year good job good luck Bianca well done a lot to everyone Charlie why are you here today to run around the field all day and all night hopefully all day and all night okay so what's the plan I don't know really maybe 75 is the first I've ever run so that'd be nice and then a hundred 75 kilometers or not even miles so since I've K would be nice okay otherwise then beyond that 100 K be nice and then we'll see how we go after that well did you run my first ultra which I'm now done yeah and then from that yeah 100 K and then maybe a hundred miles we'll see the night is young the night is young thanks Anna hi Luke yeah so what's the plan for today well seagulls 37 big goals 48 and a goals big a goal is to get to big wow that would be awesome well it's probably not gonna happen I'll take the seagull you'll take the seagull and okay and tell me something else that you've done that you're proud of another event that you've done that you're really proud of I won Portland backyard about month ago you won the Portland backyard amount and how many laps was that I was 53 33 yeah okay still won it you can only beat what's there well done Luke thank you so this looks more like a cafe than an ultra running aid station how are you feeling guys very good why are you here what's the furthest you've run before 27 laps okay last year nice one so need to go one further this year right wow there's some good women competition this year yes that's what I hear looks good what's your name Evelina Evelina good luck good luck what's the plan for you today my goal is 70 kilometers and then if I do that my goal is 100 kilometers nice and then if I do that my goal is 24 hours so you're just keeping going keeping going and my goal is to run one more lap than my brother nice nice what's your name bud Simon Simon what are you doing here today yeah what you're running for just a hell of it and how far do you want to do that running for 24 hours that's the plan is it yes who happens do you think if you set a goal of 24 hours you're thinking when you get there it'll be too easy to stop what would you do one more than I'll ask you tomorrow yeah no buddy what's your name Alina Alina what are you doing in Suffolk today backyard and why I just want to try just want to experience do you have a goal distance no just one more lap yes okay how you feeling so far so good good well done good look what are you doing that I'm gonna say haven't you managed to get any sleep two minutes another runner brings the DNF bell we have ten seconds to go to the start of loop number eight so it's approaching seven o'clock in the evening they've done seven laps and there they go on their eighth lap here at the Suffolk backyard ultra 2023 there's Henrik hi guys well done well done so why are you pulling out I saw you were limping well done though right we've got a runner coming in with a minute and a half on the clock before the start of the next loop well done well done are you turning around and going again good for you nine hours gone of the Suffolk backyard ultra head torches are now on their heads it isn't dark yet but in the woods it will be getting dark go on guys well done there's John what's your name one two five did you do what you came here to do yeah I'd never I'm more than 20 miles before and I run 36 so fantastic well done well done okay it's coming up to 11 p.m. about six minutes to 11 in the evening on the first night of the backyard ultra here in Suffolk and if you look around it's very pretty because there's lots of tents that have got fairy lights going on just to make the campsite look a bit more interesting runners all got their head touches on of course now we're well into darkness but look at all these tents with their lights on and coloured lights as well flashing fairy lights very atmospheric so runnies are just preparing to go out now for loop number 12 they've done 11 laps now starting to get cold well it is cold we went from wearing shorts and t-shirts and sandals to being wrapped up in our coats I've even got a hand warmer to keep me warm hello how many have we had dropout so far we've got 108 started this lap yeah you're asking me to do maths now I'm asking you to do math no 108 108 people started the last lap okay so coming up to the next one so this will be three of Luke 12 about 53 have dropped out okay so far and there's another person dropping out here's another person finishing their loop they've got four minutes before they start that was Luke so quite a few people still come in with three minutes to go before the start of the next loop still a real hive of activity here that we have loads of people still around that's the two-minute bell obviously we've got runners but we also got their crew and their supporters all here as well lots of running clubs coming en masse to take part in this event so they're all still here a lot of them still going it's approaching 9 a.m. here so runners are about to start on their 22nd loop 22nd yard 22nd lap whatever you want to call it there are about 30 odd runners still left in and the main players are still there so we still have the former world record holder John Stocker still in the game we have previous winner Andy Smith still in the game we have this year's winter spine winner which is Claire from France she is still in the game we've got Seelard from Hungary still in the game previous winner last week of the backyard in Sweden and the week before that of the backyard in Belgium so he is cocking up the backyard ultras he is still in we also have Anatoly from Spain who is still in the game he is the previous winner of the Monarchs way 630 mile race we have a lot of serious competitors still running this race we are three hours away from 100 miles and 24 hours so let's see them off on their journey for the next loop which is loop 22 there they go there's Andy Smith So off on yard 22, so loads of people here celebrating runners achieving a hundred miles on the Suffolk Backyard Ultra course. Lots of applause, you can see the popularity of the Backyard Ultras these days growing every year with supporters coming to follow their runners. This is a big goal for a lot of people. The problem again with big goals is that once you've reached them it's easy to stop and the point about the Backyard Ultra of course is that you just keep going until you cannot possibly do any more. Mentally setting a goal of say 100 miles can lead to you deciding that that's it and you're done. Let's hope that not many of those runners today do that and look we've got one of those here. Did you come here to do 100 miles? No, just push yourself as far as you could. Push yourself as far as you could right so you've got more in you haven't you? I think I can do another one. I think I can do another one means you can do at least one more. There you go. So from here it's a mental game for lots of these runners. They just have to convince themselves that they can do it. Two more DNFs at the Backyard Ultra. We are now on 26 hours and it's spent. Do you want to say about a t-shirt? No I'm alright thank you. Can you have a bath if you don't want a t-shirt? I'll go have a bath then. Boo! That's right. Boo Rubbish! He wants a bath not a t-shirt. Gone past there. There's Claire. This is Sealard. Well done Sealard. Yeah, okay. Well done Evelina. Thank you. Good job. So Evelina finishes on 28. I think we are down to 15 runners now. We've had four call it quits or be timed out and we have two ladies left in the run. What was your goal? What was your aim? Well I didn't want to quit. And I wanted to quit a lot. So then it was convenient that I stubbed my toe a million times and can't walk anymore. So you've got timed out which is better than not going out. Better than not quitting. Well done. Well done. Good job. Good job. All right, start of yard 36. Now start of yard 36. We've still got 11 runners but are we going to lose one? Andrew's only just got in. So there's 10 out on yard 36. Two, one, done. Andrew is done. Andrew Smith is out. 2019 winner of the Suffolk Backyard Ultra. We are at our 41. So runners have done 41 loops. We're about to start 42 but we are now down to seven runners. Alex has pulled out a DNF for Alex but that leaves seven runners left fighting it out. So Claire is still in camp. You've got Celad. Henrik is still running. Jon's stalker is still moving. Jon? Yeah. Are you feeling any better than you were earlier on? On the last lap a little bit. We'll see what this lap brings. Okay. So Jon's had some stomach problems overnight and he's improving a little. And away they go. Oriole is there as well. And out they go. So lap 42, yard 42, loop 42, whatever you'd like to call it, of the Suffolk Backyard Ultra is underway with still seven runners left in the game. What's going on, Matt? No idea. It's quite surreal at this time in the morning. Adds volume and de-greases the hair. Alex here, who's Chris Berling still running, by the way, Alex's other half refused to ruffle Andrew Smith's hair for fear that it hasn't been washed for a number of days. Does it actually feel better then? Does your hair feel better for having put that stuff in it? Does mine feel better now? Well, it doesn't look better, that's for sure. So we are 42 yards into this Suffolk Backyard Ultra. So Szilard is out. We've just found him on the road here. He's not well. He's been throwing up a bit. Szilard. Okay. Okay. No. Yeah, you're done. We knew that. So Szilard hasn't been eating for a few hours and it's now eight o'clock in the morning on Monday. We are 43 loops in. Szilard is done. He is out. So Szilard comes across the line bowing out of the Backyard Ultra. Well, everybody, he wanted to beat his 64 yards from earlier in the year, but he's bowed out on 43. Just nothing would sit in his stomach. Hey Clare. Hi. Are you okay? Pain, knee pain. Is it getting worse? What is the same? Are you enjoying the course? Oh yes. What's been your favourite backyard that you've done around the world? I did a backyard in Kiev and it was great. Did you win? No. I was second. Okay, that's not bad. And what have you enjoyed about this backyard? The weather. The weather? No, no. Everything actually. The loop is amazing. People are really friendly and no, it is a really great race and the track is good if you want to do a lot of loop. Yes, yes. Not too many hills? Not yet. Clare, enjoy the rest of the run. Welcome to the start-finish line of the Suffolk Backyard Ultra where we have four competitors left and they've reached a milestone. They are on 200 miles. That's 48 loops completed, 48 yards completed of the Suffolk Backyard Ultra. And we have four different nationalities represented. So we've got Henrik from Germany. We've got Oriel from Spain, Catalonia in Spain. We've got Clare from France and we've got John from the UK. So in order to keep the peace, because we've got four different nationalities we've drafted a UN peacekeeping force who are here to make sure that everything goes to plan but they are on 200 miles and the next milestone is 50 yards and away they go. This is the stage where they're starting to help each other out because we're getting to the stage now where records are in jeopardy so the German record... Linley, what's the German record? 51 yards at the moment. So if we can get Henrik another three yards Henrik gets the German record and then other records start to tumble after that so you can see them all together they're helping each other out they're going to try and get each other to those milestones. Clare, for everyone watching any holding up? I don't know. It's complicated. Complicated? Yeah. Well, keep going as much as you can. Exactly. Yeah, I will see. You'll see. Okay, no worries. So that's Clare, one of the four. They've got two minutes or a minute and a half. One minute now. John who had stomach problems overnight how are you feeling? Good. Do you want any chocolate? Yes, I'll come back to that shortly. Is it a normal dietary requirement, isn't it? Yeah, of course it is. Yeah, it'll be fine. Great, right, so that's John just looking after my dietary needs there. Henrik? Yeah. Henrik came in earlier and said nothing to report is that the case? Yeah, nothing to report. All good. So Henrik is looking strong. So that's three of them. Where's the other one? Oh yeah, Oriel is in his tent. He's coming out now. Let me go and find him. Oriel, how are you feeling? Fine. Yeah, everything good? Yeah, everything good. A little bit tired. A little bit tired? Well, there's a surprise. The one? No, thank you. Why is everybody looking after my dietary needs? John, get your arse out. So, off they go. Claire, Henrik, Oriel. And John is taking his time. Just looking after. Making sure everyone's got chocolate. 51. 51. Enjoy yourself, John. Halfway there. Well, yeah, halfway to a world record. Happy days. Happy days. 30 seconds to go to the start of lap 53. So, we've done 52 hours of running. Oriel, have you broken the record? Yeah, but it was mine. It was yours anyway. So, you've broken your own Spanish record. And have you broken your German record? Yes, I've broken the German record. 52 laps now. 52 laps now. There they go. So, Oriel and Henrik have broken their records. And yeah, also Claire, if you didn't hear before, Claire has also broken her own French backyard female record. So, we've got three new record holders walking out there. We're at the start of loop 54. John, there's been a lot of love on social media for Oriel breaking the Spanish record. Yeah. For Claire breaking the French female record. For Henrik breaking the German record. Are you planning on breaking the British record? I would have done, but I asked you to be my assist, Stephen, and you refused me. Good luck, John, doing really well. Oriel doing really well. Claire still smashing them out. Henrik smashing them out. 54 loops. They're on their 55th now. Away they go. Right, Claire and John really need to get to 60. We've got three hours to go. 61. 61 you need. Claire needs 60. So, we're on lap or yard 58 now. 57 hours done. 58 is the next one. We need to get to midnight for Claire. She is working hard to get this. Apparently, it's vitally important that I film the clock saying 57, 57, 57. There you go. So, there are two minutes to go to the start of lap 60. No, lap 61, sorry. And here is Claire, who is coming in to equal the current French record set this year. Well done, Claire. Fantastic. So, she's equaled the French record. What were the three names? Maxime, Philippe and François and Fabrice, sorry, set this year. So, she just needs to do one more lap and she has beaten the record. She will be overall male and female French backyard ultra record holder. So, we think she probably will go out and do one more lap. She's nodding. She has been making us suffer because she's been coming in the past few laps with like one minute, two minutes to spare and we're all standing waiting for her and she walks slowly up across the finish line. But as long as she gets in under the time, that's absolutely fine. So, we're really pleased for Claire. Considering the amount of events that Claire has done, if you haven't seen, go and look at the DUV statistic website and see all the races that Claire has done just this year, it's monumental. It really is. How many she's won as well? So, congratulations, Claire. Well, more congratulations in one hour when she breaks the record unless something disastrous happens. Here we go. Henrik is in on lap 61. Oriole in on lap 61 and the French record belongs to Claire Banworth. Congratulations, Claire. Well done. How do you feel? How do you feel after 61? Tired. Tired, yes. I want to sleep. I'm very happy. What are you going to do now? Are you going to carry on? No, no, no. One more? No, no, I'm done. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm sure. My knees are completely distraught and I have some rest soon. OK. Well, congratulations. Fantastic. Well done, Claire. 61 is the French record. Good morning from the Suffolk Backyard Ultra and Nettis Hall Heath Nature Reserve. 30 seconds. 30 seconds to go before the start of yard 67 here in the backyard ultra at 67 and the state of play, start of 67. That says 65 there, Stephen. I think the next number up to 65 is 66. But they've done 66, haven't they? They've done 66, they're starting 67. We're very confused. We're very tired. But we can definitely say now because we spent the last hour working it out, they are about to start yard 68 now. So 67 completed. 68th coming up. We have three runners still in the game as we get into our fourth day here in Suffolk. It's Anatoly, not Anatoly, Oriol Antoly-Sarao from Catalonia, Spain, John Stokker and Hendrik Buri as he's now known because he recently got married and changed his name. How metrosexual is that? And here he is. Ready to go. So lap 68. Here we go. Suffolk Backyard Ultra. 2023. Three remaining. How far can they all go? This is Lindy Chambers. I don't know he's race director. This over here, this is Matt. If you look at the timing, Matt is responsible for the timing of this race. So is Michael Fish. Unbelievable. This is Sam, by the way. The beautiful park, the beautiful nature reserve that we're running in is managed by Sam. She's the head warden here. So thank you, Sam, for letting us be here. And that is the start finish line of the Backyard Ultra where we have three guys remaining, three runners left. So as you might be aware by now, the Suffolk Backyard Ultra is held at the Nettis Hall Heath Nature Reserve. It's quite a small reserve. Just a few acres of land run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, but such a beautiful place to come and visit if you want to come and have a lovely walk by the river or across the Heathland. Wildlife to see. Kids can come here to do forest schools as well. There's a little play area just over here. So we're just heading out into the woods here just to catch the runners as they come in for the end of their 71st loop. When they get here, the ground is really uneven. So if you've run 280 miles which the guys have now, this last little bit is very uneven underfoot. They really need to watch their footing here into the carpark, out the other side and then into the field where the start, finish area and the camp is. So you can see the course is really well marked with this red and white marker tape here and the arrows. There are just a few of these kissing gates to go through on the route. And the floor, you know, it's all forest track so there's only a little bit of tarmac. There's mostly just nicely hard packed but soft forest track underfoot. A few tree routes, trip hazards obviously as you're running through the forest but in general it's good, easy running along the forest trail. And you can see that on a sunny day running through here is really quite shaded and pleasant. So if it's hot you are well shaded from the sun. If it's cold the trees again provide you with some level of cover to keep the air in and to keep a little bit of warmth. Plenty of wildlife to keep you entertained as well. There's Monk Jack here, which is small deer. Plenty of squirrels. I haven't seen any snakes though. Right, here's Aureal and John. These guys are coming in on their 71st loop now. How you feeling guys? All good? Yeah. No niggles, no problems? All good. Excellent stuff, well done guys. So that's John and Aureal looking perfectly fine. So Henrik is just behind the other two still looking comfortable still running well. Keep going, keep going Henrik. 71 laps done. As I said before, Netters Hall Heath Nature Reserve is a relatively small area so the route is rather twisty and windy and you can take shortcuts to get to different places along the route. Not that the runners will do that but we are going to do that now because we're going to walk down the road which will cut off the last bit of the route and get us back to camp a bit quicker. And this is the only significant section of tarmac that the guys cover during the route. Just about 100 metres along this road before they turn left and go back into the woods there for the last 500 metres of the course. And here we go back into camp. So this is what runners see at the end of their loop. They turn the corner and run back up the final 100 yards, 100 metres to the finish line to the end of the loop and then they've got 5 or 10 minutes to start and prepare for the next loop. So we saw the boys coming in at the end of lap 71. So they're about to start lap 72. There they go. Lap 72. He's off and running. Edging closer to the British record. We are approaching the British record and the Suffolk Backyard Ultra course record which stands at 81 yards which is held by John who is running so he'd break his own record if he can do another 8 yards. Henrik's been taped up. He's been suffering a little bit with shin splints we think but he's okay now. He rocked up looking comfortable at the end of the last loop and away they go. Oriel, John and Henrik have now covered 300 miles. 300 miles that's 3 full days of running. No sleep, very minimal sleep and they are still going. That is John Stocker walking out on lap 74 but he has an Achilles problem. He is struggling to get moving. Let's hope he can make this lap and then see where we go from there. But we are 12 minutes past the hour and John hasn't covered a kilometer yet in the 74th loop. Right, so you know we were worried about John Stocker getting back in time because of his Achilles problem. Well, he's pulled it out of the bag once again and he is running and he is going to be well in time at the end of this loop so he crosses the road with just about 300 meters. Did he ease up a little bit? He did after I started and used just a bit of a tree and just tried to press into it as much as could. To try and take as much pain away as could. And then here we are and he is still going. Good stuff, see you at the finish. John is still moving, that's amazing. Dead on his feet 40 minutes ago. So in my personal opinion I thought John was dead and buried. He has risen from the ashes on this lap. That is unbelievable. John is in with two and a half minutes to spare. Aureal right behind him. Henrik has been in for a little while. Henrik is already in his tent but that is amazing. A minute and a half, Lindy. A minute and a half. Is that a new insole? A thicker insole has gone in and were you going to cut a bit of the shoe or something? No. Don't look at me like that. Ginger biscuit that's going to make him fly and there's one minute before they have to be out of here. Can you see if you can open that for us? Poke a face on Henrik. Aureal have you cancelled your flight? Yes I will change them. He's going to change his flight and the way they go. Aureal is supposed to fly out tonight. Aureal's going to change his flight. John is the walking wounded but he will get round we know John by now he will get round by hook or by crook and the way they go for lap yard 75 sorry 75 yard 75 so after the drama of lap 74 lap 75 looks like the end for John Stocker 30 seconds 30 seconds to go before the start of lap 36 Henrik is here Aureal is here thank you and John Stocker has not made it back and it's a bit of a quiet mood here at the start of the lap but it's got to carry on Henrik is out and Aureal is out and John is down and out two runners go out on lap 76 on yard 76 and we await the return of John who was suffering with a bit of an injury for the last couple of laps and we'll come back to a huge round of applause for his efforts over the past three days of running so here comes Aureal here comes Henrik they're about to start number 78 well done well done guys, amazing work fantastic away they go Henrik is wearing his 25 parkrun t-shirt fantastic we're just panicking a little bit because we're on 77 hours 58 minutes and 45 seconds and neither of them had appeared so we ran the corner to complete the loop so Henrik crosses the line but we now only have we have one minute for Aureal to make it and if Aureal doesn't make it in a minute Henrik is the winner on 77, 78 loops oh, one day we'll get the number right come on so Aureal has got 35 seconds he's 50 meters away he's going to make it in just in time my goodness to make us suffer good grief guys come on come on Aureal, come on get something quickly, drink quickly come on take it, take it with you take it with you 10 seconds guys check it come on, work hard work hard, come on let's do this let's go, let's go away you go guys, well done well done come on Linley I don't know what you say to that I don't know it's going to be a little bit close for the next few laps I think yeah, yeah, that is scary stuff isn't it scary stuff have you ever seen anything like that, that close no, not for a while so we've got a little crowd of people here some of whom took part how many weeks ago was it that we started this run who ran on Saturday so we've got three, three, four people who started running on Saturday who've all had four extra sleeps and been to work and looked after the kids and done whatever and these guys are still running and look they haven't even left the field yet are they going to make it back in an hour from now right, everybody says yes full of confidence let's see let's chat, more running come on, get on with it good luck guys we want to see you back yeah, you've got to get back I've got a Mexican rap life is good because we are coming up to lap 80, finishing lap 80 and Henrik and Aureal are coming in together to complete the loop but that whistle means they've only got three minutes to turn around and get back out again well done Aureal think about head tortures head tortures dad, head tort Aureal, head tort, she's almost got it Aureal, head tort but you've got two minutes look, that just shows how lovely Aureal is I have to tell you when I went out on the trail to pick John up when he was in pieces two and a half miles around the trail we were walking slowly back to camp and Aureal came up behind us on his next loop and stopped and gave John a massive hug and told him, you're my inspiration and that well, I'm tearing up now that was the most emotional moment for the entire four days for me incredible it was and he's just done it again there first thing he did, went up to John and said, hi mate, you alright? so, Henrik is here it's too much to go all the way back to that tent now right by the start line right in the corral grabbing some food and they'll be out again so the next loop they will equal the longest run in a backyard ultra on British soil now because obviously Henrik is German Aureal is Catalonia from Spain it won't be a British record but it will be the longest or equaling the longest run set by this guy here on British soil and if they do one more after that it will be a course record one minute guys one minute and then they're off again for him even in Norway he's focused on the plan he's focused on the plan good luck he can't get what he's saying quick I want to say all you have to do enjoy go guys keep focused keep focused keep focused guys come on okay just just a few little worrying things there but let's just hope that they stay focused and get this one and at least one more done he was sitting on a bench without knowing what he was doing here do you need us to go out how far away the top of the hill top of the hill okay but the loop before he always did the same Aureal congratulations well done let's see if he comes back I'll wait two times out do you think okay it's been amazing Aureal amazing you've done really well good place to run yeah and you've been so nice it's been great it's three and a half minutes three and a half minutes to the top of the hour Aureal is in he came in at 52 minutes he's in his tent he reported when he came in that he saw he saw Hendrik sitting on a bench somewhere out on the course we're not entirely sure where and this correlates with what happened in the last lap when Hendrik was sitting on a bench not really sure where he was remember these guys have been running for 81 hours with little to no sleep so sleep deprivation is having a massive effect now and Aureal suffered from it as well earlier on in the day he's got now two and a half minutes to find out where the heck he is get himself back here if not Aureal wins the backyard ultra ironically in 81 hours which is exactly the same as John's course record so we'll have equaled John's course record I can see him can you really come on no no that's he's only got 45 seconds that's going to be a half turn round well did you see the one a few laps ago though he came in with 20 seconds come on he's here he's got a minute and a half he's got a minute and a half come on Hendrik you've got it you've got it you've got it oh my god right that is not the tightest one we've had today but that is darn close Hendrik is in one minute one minute to go you've got it try not to sit down on benches just keep moving yeah just keep moving Hendrik we'll start walking rather than sitting down 30 seconds go 15 seconds get yourself out there 8 seconds 7 6 unbelievable unbelievable 10 again anyone got anything to say can you believe that and that's not even the tightest turn around we've had today but that was just unbelievable what's happened completely sleep deprived I've got no ability to control my body control my feet anything that would just not be okay it would not be okay to be out there by yourself and put other people in a situation that could be avoidable but that's probably the most sensible thing I've heard anyone say all day so your brain can't be that frazzled come on I'm happy with everything I've achieved it was a good couple of days but brain just didn't function anymore so that's the way it is it's okay it's a shame but yeah we are walking back to camp with somebody who's just run for 80 hours and Henrik's made what is probably a very sensible decision because we are going into the night and Henrik is sleep deprived he knows he's sleep deprived with the past few laps he's been sitting on a bench wondering where he is what he's doing contemplating his life choices and that is it so when Oriel comes back Oriel will win the backyard ultra but Henrik can be incredibly proud I mean you've smashed your course your previous best haven't you what was your best before 46 hours almost almost doubled it so you've just had the race of your life and you will be going to Biggs in Tennessee amazing I think all three of you John as well you've all suffered with sleep deprivation but it's not surprising two years ago fantastic thanks for the organisation Henrik you've been absolutely superb I mean you're the way you've conducted yourself he's almost doubled his previous best by the way everybody 46 before by the way thanks Matt amazing crewing and Matt like without you not possible well done guys and yeah what I didn't forget to say earlier but it's just obviously a really really big one and more personal a really big shout out to my wife thanks so much for all the support that you've been giving me over the years and also over the last couple of days I know that's definitely not normal so yeah thanks a lot for everything after 82 hours Aureal breaks the course record and sets the longest time ever for a backyard ultra on British soil and wins the Suffolk backyard ultra 2023 congratulations fantastic I'm really tired nice good touch oh yeah so for those who don't know we do know Aureal quite well Aureal entered the monarch's way another of Lindley's races which is a 615 mile non-stop race and Aureal was the very first person to finish that race when was that back in 2018 2018 yeah yeah so so we do know Aureal he has pedigree it's great to see you back with us Aureal and congratulations can you just tell us a little bit about your the four days that you've had with us three and a half whatever four days what did you come into the race expecting and hoping no actually for me back years are very social social races yes first of all sorry for my English no problem they are very social races so what I liked the first day maybe to meet people and stay with them then the other days were more stay with myself and meet other great runners that are here Jonestoker he inspired me to run back years and and today I shared some kilometers or some miles with him so at what point in the race did you ever think about winning the race and at what point did you think this is a competition now when I had to change my flights yes actually now I should be flying to Barcelona and I change my flights just to push to my maximum yes and I didn't know that it was to win it is a curiosity it's just wanted to stay here to test me because I know that here there are a lot of great runners and and it was possible to have a high performance like 70 or 80 groups not only 50 because most of the back years that we have near home don't get that extra of mileage you wanted to test it and you cannot do 82 hours of running without in the backyard ultra without an assist is Hendrik here Hendrik Hendrik he is another great inspiring runner we will learn together definitely we will be in Tennessee together and share some more trails yes so again for those who don't know one of the big things about the backyard is the finals the championships in Tennessee the original backyard ultra inspired by Lazarus Lake in Lazarus Lake's backyard which is why it's called the backyard in Tennessee and I mean you had already actually hadn't you for Big's backyard but both Hendrik and Aureal will be going to Tennessee in October with John Stocker and Matt Blackburn to race against the Americans and other nations all around the world in the championships there we expect Claire to be there and Claire of course from France an amazing performance by Claire she was here today she was brilliant thank you guys amazing well done everybody Aureal backyard ultra champion 2023 fantastic thanks guys and that's it we will see you all again in 2024 for another crazy round of running around a loop with 4.167 miles for as long as you possibly can