635 Laps: Inside London's 24-hour track race

At 11.59am on Saturday 19 September, 55 runners lined up at a track in Battersea, London with one goal: to go nowhere fast. The Self Transcendence 24 Hour Race asks runners a simple question: how far can you run in a single day, on a single 400m athletics track?

About the race

The race, organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team with Run and Become, has been held since 1989 and has become one of Britain's most established 24-hour track races. It welcomes an extremely limited field size of around 45 to 55 experienced ultrarunners to ensure safety and space on the track.

The 2026 event moved to Tooting Bec from Battersea because of track works, and for the first time hosted the British 24-Hour Championships.

Runners are awarded some flexibility, with the running direction reversed every four hours (starting clockwise) to reduce the strain on joints from turning the same way.

Know the numbers

• One lap is 400 metres

• One hundred laps is 40km

• 250 laps is 100km

• The current record was set in 2017, with Norbert Mihalik running 648 laps, totalling 259.4km (161 miles).

This year’s race was won by George Rickwood, with 635 laps or 254km (157.8 miles).

Who is George Rickwood?

Rickwood is a rising name in the online running community, celebrated for his dominance in the UK BYU space with recent successes winning the 2025 London BYU (31 loops), the 2026 Brighton BYU (33 loops) and a notable controversial disqualification at the 2026 Suffolk BYU Ultra (51 yards).

Photography credit: georgerickwood_ on Instagram