A Kiwi endurance runner has equalled a world record that defies what should be possible for the human body - moments before his race partner went on to beat it.
Sam Harvey tied the world record for most laps in a single backyard ultra marathon with an unbelievable 101 loops at Dead Cow Gully in Nanango, Queensland before Australian Phil Gore pushed on to break new ground with 102.
A backyard ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run a circuit of 6.7km every hour and the only breaks they get for food or rest are the spare minutes they have between completing a lap early and a new hour starting.
The peculiar distance - 6,706 metres every lap to be precise - means that should a runner compete for 24 hours, and therefore do 24 laps, they will have run exactly 100 miles or 160.93km.
A backyard ultramarathon only finishes when there is one competitor left and they manage to complete a loop on their own. If the final runner doesn't manage a solo circuit, they too are registered as DNF and the race has no true winner.
Adding to the already demanding nature of the races are the courses themselves with Dead Cow Gully featuring a run along a farm road, through cattle yards, in a dried-up creek bed and more. At night, temperatures fell to as low as 2.5 degrees.
With Harvey and Gore completing lap 101 at Dead Cow Gully this afternoon, they had run 677.31km in 101 hours with next to no sleep in the past five days.
In fact, after 54 competitors started the race on Saturday, the field had slowly dwindled down to just three this morning with the duo running with USA's Harvey Lewis, but the American dropped out on loop 91 as he was hallucinating from sleep deprivation.
But Harvey and Gore soldiered on, reaching triple figures this afternoon before equalling the record of 101 set by Belgian runners Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert last October an hour later.
The pair set out on loop 102 together before Harvey turned around and headed back to the start line, leaving Gore to run solo for the new world record and race win.
Harvey was congratulated online for his efforts with many praising him for "assisting" Gore to 102.
But Harvey was also running for another cause, raising money for the "I Am Hope" Charity.
He set up a Givealittle page prior to the event, hoping to raise $10,000 for the charity.
"Any little contribution you can make to help is extremely appreciated," he said.
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