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Russian marathon runner Chekalina sets new world record in Backyard Ultra event

Vera Chekalina managed to run 96 laps covering a total distance of 643.7 kilometers in four days

ST. PETERSBURG, June 24. /TASS/. Russian runner Vera Chekalina set a new world record in the Backyard Ultra women’s event at the Biotropika Ultra Trail tournament in the Leningrad Region after she managed to run 96 laps covering a total distance of 643.7 kilometers in four days.

Backyard Ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must keep running 6.706 kilometers (4.167 miles) laps in less than one hour. The event goes on until there is only one person left - last man, or in this case woman, standing.

The previous female world record was 95 laps (395.8 miles or 637.0 kilometers), set by Sarah Perry (the United Kingdom) at the Backyard Ultra World Individual Championship in Tennessee, the United States, in October 2025.

For winning the race and setting a world record Chekalina will be awarded 300,000 rubles ($4,000) and a cedar phyto-barrel.

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