Sarah Perry

About

Sarah Perry is a British ultrarunner based in Cockermouth, Cumbria, at the foot of the Lake District fells, where she trains while working part-time as a maths teacher in adult education. A late bloomer in organised ultra running, she entered her first backyard ultra in 2021 at Backyard Ultra Cymru in Wales, winning with 20 yards, and rapidly established herself as one of the most formidable competitors in the last-man-standing format. Her international breakthrough came in October 2024 when she won the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship in Suffolk with 59 yards as the highest female finisher overall, setting a new British record. A year later, at the 2025 Big Dog's Backyard Ultra Individual World Championship in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, she completed 95 yards — 395.8 miles (637 km) — over nearly four continuous days to set a new women's backyard ultra world record, surpassing Megan Eckert's mark of 87 yards by eight laps. Six weeks on, she arrived at The Hill in Shropshire and won the event outright, completing 56 reps of The Wrekin for 160 miles and 47,000 feet of ascent within 48 hours. Her record-setting ambitions extend beyond the backyard format: she holds the women's and outright self-supported Fastest Known Time on the 630-mile South West Coast Path, covering it in 13 days, 11 hours, and 31 minutes with approximately 115,000 feet of cumulative ascent. Sponsored by inov-8 since March 2023, she represents a rare combination of extraordinary durability, mental endurance, and mountain competence that has made her one of the most watched multi-day ultra athletes in the sport.

Notable Wins

• — Big's Backyard Ultra 2025 (women's world record
• — 95 yards / 395.8 miles)
• — Backyard Ultra World Team Championships 2024 (1st overall
• — 59 yards
• — UK record)
• — The Hill 2025 (outright winner
• — 56 reps / 160 miles)
• — South West Coast Path self-supported FKT (13d 11h 31m
• — women's record and outright fastest)