If you’re a fan of ultras, there’s no doubt that you followed this year’s Go One More (G.1.M.) ultramarathon in Texas. The 5th edition of the annual backyard ultra saw a showdown like no other–but after a severe thunderstorm threatened the safety of runners, spectators and staff, the race came to a halt. And after 56 loops and 378.5 kilometres, the final two remaining competitors–Australia’s Kendall Picado Fallas and Germany’s Kim Gottwald, shook hands and agreed to share the win.
In a backyard ultra, competitors complete a 6.7 km (4.167 mile) loop every hour, on the hour, until only one person is left standing. Everyone else is given a DNF. The G1M, founded by fitness influencer Nick Bare and sponsored by his supplement company, Bare Performance Nutrition, is hosted annually at Bare Ranch in Texas.
On Saturday, the race began with 120 runners. Thirty hours later, only two runners remained standing. Fallas and Gottwald competed head-to-head for their final 26 laps–175 km, or nearly half the race.
“Shortly after the start of the 57th lap, a severe thunderstorm struck, flooding the course and bringing extreme winds, putting everyone in immediate danger,” the organizers wrote on Instagram. “After getting the team, staff, and runners to safety, [Fallas and Gottwald] agreed to end the race and split the title of the G.1.M Ultra.” The pair’s 56-lap performance stands as a new course record.
Traditionally, there’s supposed to be only one winner–but this isn’t the first time a backyard ultra has ended in a tie. In 2022, for example, Belgium’s Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert broke the 100-hour barrier for the first time, and then stopped running together, wanting to end the event positively.
It wasn’t like the final two men of the G.1.M. ultra were running on fresh legs, either. At Sydney’s Backyard Ultra in April, at just 21, Fallas became the youngest person in the world to run for 50 hours. And in early May, at Austria’s Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival, Gottwald completed a vertical race with 1,300m of elevation spread over only seven km, and two days later, a 37-km race with 2,200m of elevation.
Even denim-sporting favourite, Truett Hanes–hardly recognizable without his signature blue jeans–strayed from the marathon to give the G.1.M. a whirl. Hanes finished in the top 20, logging nearly 183 kilometres over 27 hours.
The race drew attention from far beyond the ultra world. Even pro track runner Katelyn Touhy was sad to see the thrilling competition come to an end. “”Kind of going to miss checking in every hour, not going to lie,” she commented on Instagram. “Absolute beast.”
Although the runners completed less than half the distance of the backyard ultra world record–116 loops, or approximately 777 km, set in April by Polish runner Łukasz Wróbel–some fans say the event will go down as one of the most memorable ultras in history.
