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World News - Ultra
DEAD COW GULLY BACKYARD ULTRA: LIVE UPDATE | THE FIELD THINS AS NIGHT CLOSES IN
The 2026 Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra is underway, and ESTR is on the ground bringing you live updates as the day unfolds.
For the uninitiated: Dead Cow Gully sits on a 1,600-acre cattle property 11km north of Nanango in rural Queensland – a sixth-generation working farm that has become one of Australia's most iconic ultra running venues. The format is brutally simple. Run a 6.706km loop, every hour, on the hour. Miss the cutoff, and you're done. There are no podium places, no silver medals – only one finisher is crowned, and that's the last person standing.
This is also the course where Phil Gore set the Backyard Ultra world record in 2025 – 119 loops, 798km, on limited sleep. That number hangs over every runner who lines up here. He’s not on the start line this year having just compete in Japan at the 24hr Asia Oceania Championships. He finished in 5th place running 253.4km in the 24 hrs.
LOOP 12 – WELCOME TO THE NIGHT
160 runners remain, and the race has just entered its first night loop.
The conditions have shifted sharply. Six degrees dropped off the temperature in a matter of hours – anyone who turned up thinking Queensland nights were forgiving has been firmly corrected. Headtorches are on, layers are out, and the open, exposed course that punished runners with heat through the afternoon is now serving up something altogether different.
But this is about more than surviving the cold. Night one, according to the race team, is the most important stretch of the event for anyone with genuine ambitions of clocking up big totals. The course has been upgraded for night running – fast enough to get round quickly and still bank meaningful sleep before the next loop begins. Those who manage their rest well tonight are laying the foundation for days to come. Those who don't may find the wheels coming off long before they expected.
The field has roughly halved since this morning's start. That sounds dramatic – and it is – but 160 runners at loop 12 is still a formidable number, and the race is very much alive.
Stay with ESTR for continued live coverage of the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra.
Updates
5
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LOOP 39 | 8 RUNNERS REMAINING
Tammy Wickham stepped over the line and turned back. After 4 or 5 late loops, she called it a day.
SAM CHRISTIE
RYAN CRAWFORD
JAYDEN MCCORMACK
MITCHI MIZUNO
SEAN POLLOCK
CHRIS VAN LEER
JOSH SCOTT
HIROTO KOMOTSU
How many more laps do they have in them?
Tammy Wickham stepped over the line and turned back. After 4 or 5 late loops, she called it a day.
SAM CHRISTIE
RYAN CRAWFORD
JAYDEN MCCORMACK
MITCHI MIZUNO
SEAN POLLOCK
CHRIS VAN LEER
JOSH SCOTT
HIROTO KOMOTSU
How many more laps do they have in them?
💬
NANANGO 200 MILES | RACE UPDATE
Dawn broke over the Gully once again, and five runners were there to meet it.
Josh Scott called it a day at 48 yards, a gutsy effort in anyone's book. Well done, Josh.
Now, down to business.
The race is heating up. Jayden McCormick and Sam Christie, the dark horses everyone's been watching, are pushing hard for a big total and a spot in the Australian Satellite Team. Don't sleep on these two.
Meanwhile, Team Japan is quietly stalking the DCG Trophy after three years of making the trip to Nanango. Mitchi Mizuno spent much of the night grinding out steady 55 to 58 minute loops, not flashy, but controlled. He looks relaxed. He looks dangerous.
Hiroto Komatsu is a different story. That lean in his back is creeping in again, not as alarming as DCG Masters just yet, but it's one to watch as the day wears on.
The Gully giveth, and the Gully taketh away. Stay tuned.
Dawn broke over the Gully once again, and five runners were there to meet it.
Josh Scott called it a day at 48 yards, a gutsy effort in anyone's book. Well done, Josh.
Now, down to business.
The race is heating up. Jayden McCormick and Sam Christie, the dark horses everyone's been watching, are pushing hard for a big total and a spot in the Australian Satellite Team. Don't sleep on these two.
Meanwhile, Team Japan is quietly stalking the DCG Trophy after three years of making the trip to Nanango. Mitchi Mizuno spent much of the night grinding out steady 55 to 58 minute loops, not flashy, but controlled. He looks relaxed. He looks dangerous.
Hiroto Komatsu is a different story. That lean in his back is creeping in again, not as alarming as DCG Masters just yet, but it's one to watch as the day wears on.
The Gully giveth, and the Gully taketh away. Stay tuned.
💬
LOOP 57
Hiroto Komatsu
By loop 57, Hiroto Komatsu is visibly struggling. He's been coming in late, and from what's being reported, his back has been getting worse with each pass. It's hard to watch from the outside. You can see it in how he's moving.
Whatever he's drawing on right now, it's something most of us will never have to find.
Brotherhood on the course
Jayden and Sam have apparently made a call: they're slowing down. Through the night loops, they've vowed to match Hiroto's pace and get him to the finish. You don't see that kind of thing every race. When it happens, it tends to be the part people remember long after the results are forgotten.
From the community
Nedd sent through some footage from out on the course. Worth watching if you haven't seen it. It gives a real sense of what conditions are like right now, and what these athletes are actually dealing with out there.
Hiroto Komatsu
By loop 57, Hiroto Komatsu is visibly struggling. He's been coming in late, and from what's being reported, his back has been getting worse with each pass. It's hard to watch from the outside. You can see it in how he's moving.
Whatever he's drawing on right now, it's something most of us will never have to find.
Brotherhood on the course
Jayden and Sam have apparently made a call: they're slowing down. Through the night loops, they've vowed to match Hiroto's pace and get him to the finish. You don't see that kind of thing every race. When it happens, it tends to be the part people remember long after the results are forgotten.
From the community
Nedd sent through some footage from out on the course. Worth watching if you haven't seen it. It gives a real sense of what conditions are like right now, and what these athletes are actually dealing with out there.
💬
Loop 64 Hiroto Komatsu Withdraws Japanese representative Hiroto Komatsu did not return for the start of Loop 64, bringing his race to a close. His exit marks a significant moment in the competition, leaving just two athletes standing after what has been an attrition-heavy event. Down to the Final Two Jayden McCormack and Sam Christie are now the last men standing. Neither arrived at this competition as a frontrunner, but both have quietly outlasted the field to find themselves at the centre of the story. Two darkhorses, now sharing the night ahead of them with everything still to fight for.
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Loop 66
The Final Loop
Loop 66 proved to be the breaking point for both remaining competitors. Jayden McCormack was unable to reach the halfway mark, turning around at approximately the 2.5km point. Upon crossing the finish line, Jayden was open about what had ended his race, citing a blown out calf muscle as the injury that stopped him in his tracks.
Sam Christie Claims the Title
Sam Christie successfully completed Loop 66, and with Jayden's withdrawal, that completion was enough to seal the result. Sam Christie is the Last One Standing, having covered 442.2km (274.6 miles) across 66 loops of the standard 6.7km backyard ultra course.
The Field
With both runners heading out on the same loop and only one returning with a finish, Loop 66 brought the event to its conclusion. Jayden's honesty at the finish line was a fitting end to what had clearly been a tough battle, and his transparency about the injury spoke to the spirit of the event. The calf muscle that ended his race had carried him through 65 loops before giving out.
The Final Loop
Loop 66 proved to be the breaking point for both remaining competitors. Jayden McCormack was unable to reach the halfway mark, turning around at approximately the 2.5km point. Upon crossing the finish line, Jayden was open about what had ended his race, citing a blown out calf muscle as the injury that stopped him in his tracks.
Sam Christie Claims the Title
Sam Christie successfully completed Loop 66, and with Jayden's withdrawal, that completion was enough to seal the result. Sam Christie is the Last One Standing, having covered 442.2km (274.6 miles) across 66 loops of the standard 6.7km backyard ultra course.
The Field
With both runners heading out on the same loop and only one returning with a finish, Loop 66 brought the event to its conclusion. Jayden's honesty at the finish line was a fitting end to what had clearly been a tough battle, and his transparency about the injury spoke to the spirit of the event. The calf muscle that ended his race had carried him through 65 loops before giving out.
Published: 30 May 2026 · ↻ Last updated 1 Jun 2026, 16:15 · 5 updates
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