Mark Dowdle Wins Last soul BYU

Mark Dowdle, 28, of Minnesota, USA, has just won the Last Soul Backyard Ultra. This new event is hosted in an unknown location in Germany by Kim Gottwald. Kim is well known in Germany, across Europe, and across the USA for his own ultra athletic feats in Nick Bare’s Go One More Backyard Ultra.

The event location is unknown to ensure athletes are not distracted by spectators appearing to watch an event that can, and did, last days.

Dowdle has made significant progress in the last five years in the ultra-running community. Dowdle earned a debut BYU of 21 loops in 2021 and is now winning prestigious events, competing against competitors such as Andrew Glaze, Harvey Lewis, and Hendrik Boury.

On 18 August 2026, Dowdle won the Last Soul with a personal best 95 loops, which is 636.5 km (395 miles). We are yet to see how far Dowdle can go, as in Backyard Ultra rules you are only allowed to continue 1 more loop than the assist who drops out or times out.

Perhaps we see Dowdle take on Australia’s Phil Gore in late 2026 - early 2027. Phil Gore holds the World Record of 119 loops at Dead Cow Gully.

The ultra running community is heating up and we cannot wait to see what athletes bring to this sport in the coming months and years.

Congratulations Mark.