Wollongong Distance Runners Club

After 152 hours, it’s over. Phil’s effort took him wayyyy beyond his previous best of 119 hours, showing the world what may be possible. That’s more than 1000km. Amazing crew. Incredible coverage. Nearly $250K raised for charity. Phil is King!

In case you didn’t know, Phil Gore is running a solo BYU in WA. He popped out a 39:00 loop on yard 142 aiming for 168 hours. Unbelievable endurance. He’s also raised nearly $200K for Telethon!

Livestream:

Phil Gore’s Project 168 LIVE | Part 15 | Still Running | Backyard Ultra Inspired for Telethon 📺 MORE BACKYARD ULTRA LIVESTREAMS:Subscribe to Backyard Ultra Live...

🔥 𝗡𝗢𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗬𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦!!
Perth ultra-runner and reigning Backyard Ultra World Champion 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗲 is about to attempt something extraordinary.

💚 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝟭𝟲𝟴.
𝟭𝟲𝟴 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦. 𝟭𝟲𝟴 𝗟𝗔𝗣𝗦. 𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗦 / 𝟭𝟭𝟮𝟳𝗞𝗠.
One life-changing week, with every lap raising funds for Telethon, supporting sick and disadvantaged WA kids and their families. 💚

⚠️ The challenge is brutal in its simplicity: 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝟲.𝟳𝟭𝗸𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀.

📣 No competitors. No assistance. Just one man against the clock.

⚠️ A traditional backyard ultra continues until only one runner remains, with the final runner completing one last lap. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝟭𝟲𝟴 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁. This one doesn’t stop when a winner is decided. It stops when the week is over.

📍 𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗸𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲, 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱, 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲, 𝗪𝗔
📅 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟯 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝟴𝗮𝗺 – 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟬 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝟴𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗪𝗦𝗧

For Phil, this is bigger than seeing how far he can push himself. It’s about creating a new benchmark for endurance, a mark for other athletes to chase. 💪🏼

📣 But there’s an even bigger reason to get behind him.
💚 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗟𝗔𝗣 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗡. 💚

🙏 Whether it’s $5, $20, $50 or more, get behind this incredible WA challenge and help turn 168 gruelling hours into something that can make a genuine difference.
👉 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟 & 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗡 – 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘: https://project-168.raiselysite.com

𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟. 𝟭𝟲𝟴 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦. 𝟭𝟲𝟴 𝗟𝗔𝗣𝗦. 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘. 💚

Red’s BYU is still going. They’re over 400km deep.

Jason Rantall, Brandon-Lee Grech (The Crow), and Wollongong’s own (and inaugural winner) Barry Keem.

Who will win the silver ticket to secure a spot at the Satellite Champs?

Will the assist get a high enough total to make the at-large list?

Red's Backyard Ultra 2026 | Live | Part 7 Watch Red’s Backyard Ultra 2026 live from Kembla Grange, NSW. Runne...

Those lap times show that this race could have many hours ahead! Incredible running.

Updated loop splits, will updated later in the day. Keep watching our stories for hourly updates...

Ezra Dingo
George Mihalakellis
Jason Rantall
Conductor
Brandon Lee

Tune in to Red’s BYU if you can’t make it down to Kembla Joggers. An incredible field with 13 runners still out on loop 40. Head to channel SugoiEventsLive for fresh livestream if this link wraps up.

Red's Backyard Ultra 2026 | Live | Part 4 Watch Red’s Backyard Ultra 2026 live from Kembla Grange, NSW. Runne...

⚠️🚫Important notice for Royal National Park visitors: aerial deer control program

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will be conducting an aerial deer control program on Tuesday 4, Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 August 2026. This is the second aerial program for 2026, continuing a safe and successful annual operation running since 2020.

🚫 Park closures:
Sections of Royal National Park (shown in pink on the map) will be closed to the public from 8:00pm Monday 3 August until 6:00pm Thursday 6 August to ensure the program can be carried out safely and efficiently.

ℹ️ Closures will be listed on the NPWS website, with roadside message boards in place throughout the program.

For further information, contact [email protected].

New mile WR: 3:42.66!

Josh Kerr has taken down Hicham El Guerrouj’s 27 year old world record of 3:43.13.

Now we wait to see if Aussie Cam Myers and NZ’s Sam Ruthe can hunt this down in the years ahead. For reference, Myers broke the 4 minute mile at age 16 years and 9 months, and Ruthe at 15 years 11 months. It might be in 2028 or 2032, but they’ll get it.

Well done and commiserations!

There’s some familiar names on this list looking to earn more pins for the Akubra 🤠

If you’re not following Hardcore Harry’s… get on it. I remember seeing some YouTube dude in Wintery UK do this challenge of 1km on Jan 1, increasing to 31km by Jan 31, and thinking ‘wow, that’s incredible’!

HH has kicked this off in Australia, and would you believe, there are still 3 at it in mid March? That means for the last 30 days or so, they’ve been running a marathon distance or more, edging closer to a double marathon.

Absolutely wild!

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