CurraNZ ambassador wins NZ's most gruelling Backyard Ultra

Lazarus Lake, the founder of the Backyard Ultra and the Barclay Marathon, joined CurraNZ to witness another extraordinary running event at the Riverhead Relaps, New Zealand's most gruelling Backyard Ultra.

Step forward Sam Harvey, our newest ambassador, who was the last man standing to win the war of attrition in 33 hours, covering 224km in wet and muddy conditions - and all whilst nursing a broken rib! 

The Backyard Ultra is a punishing style of endurance running event where contestants must complete a loop every hour in a certain time. They keep going until there is only one winner - and everyone else is recorded as DNF (did not finish).

Many entrants use it as a means to test their limits of how far they can actually run rather than a set distance - and people surprise themselves with just how far they can run.

Lazarus Lake (and his wife Sandra) came all the way from Tennessee to visit and observe another gruelling ‘run until you’re ruined’ backyard Ultra.

Camped out under a red tent, everyone (including CurraNZ founder Fleur Cushman) were delighted to meet the legend himself and talk running, limits and the future of the sport. 

Several people reported sightings of a purple dinosaur on the course, which sent the rumour-mill into overdrive about the legendary Running Beast.

Not to be confused with local Auckland legend Shaun Collins (pictured above, the Riverhead ReLaps event director) aka '@The Running Beast', who emphatically stated that he was the ‘original’ Running Beast. 

The event was (eventually) won by Sam Harvey (pictured) after 33 hours, which earned him a ticket to the World Backyard Ultra Champs in Tennessee later this year.

Sam has been testing our blackcurrant power pills in the lead-up to, and including the race.

He said: ‘I've been using CurraNZ for two months now. I have been super impressed with the results, and have seen why this has been winning recovery awards.

Over the last two months, I've seen major changes in my metrics, which are super important when you are running 200+ km races! I have always been a very science focused athlete, and with Curranz, the science is SOLID!’ 

Sam is our latest ambassador, adding to our team of elite ultra runners. We’re proud to be partnering with the current NZ Backyard Ultra record holder, in a sport that is flourishing and getting bigger every year.  

See our video for more coverage of this amazing event - https://www.facebook.com/CurranzNZ/videos/1295244487745716