2026 Big's Backyard Ultra World Team Championship
FROM A SMALL TUKITUKI TRAIL EVENT TO THE WORLD STAGE
What started in Waipukurau just three years ago as a relatively small local ultramarathon, the River Run Backyard Ultra, has now become part of one of the world's most remarkable running events.
On Saturday, 17 October, (Sunday 18 October in NZ) 1,110 athletes representing 74 countries will line up around the world for the 2026 Big's Backyard Ultra World Team Championship — and one of those official international events will be held right here in Waipukurau.
The connection is a remarkable one.
The River Run Backyard Ultra was first held on the Tukituki Trails in 2023, attracting around 50 runners to Central Hawke's Bay for the inaugural event. Competitors ran a 6.7km loop, setting off again at the beginning of every hour, with the race continuing until only one runner remained.
Now, three years later, the local River Run is part of a worldwide championship.
At precisely the same moment around the globe, runners will leave their starting lines and begin a 6.706km lap. Every country stages its own event, but the clock is the same everywhere. The 2026 championship starts at 12.00 UTC, which is 1.00am New Zealand time on Sunday 18 October.
Each country fields a team of 15 runners. Unlike a conventional team race, every one of those 15 athletes counts towards the national team's score. Their individual performances are added together to produce the country's total. At the same time, the runners are competing individually, with the last athlete standing in each national event becoming that country's individual champion and receiving an invite to the following years Big's Backyard Ultra World Individual Championship held in Tennessee USA.
The current record is 119 laps – that’s 119 hours and 798kms over 5 days!! The NZ team came 6th overall at the last World Team Championships and this year are poised to do even better with current world number 2 (Sam Harvey) in the team along with 14 other incredible athletes.
And that is where the Waipukurau story becomes particularly interesting.
From Bell Buckle to Waipukurau
Backyard Ultra Marathons began in 2011 on the private property of their founder, Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, USA.
More than a decade later, the concept has travelled around the world — and it has found a home beside the Tukituki River in Waipukurau.
What began as a relatively small event in Central Hawke’s Bay is now connected to a global Backyard Ultra field of 1,110 athletes from 74 countries.
The Backyard Ultra story may have started in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, but Waipukurau is now very much part of that story.
And, quite literally, the world will be watching.