Cumbrian runner Sarah Perry breaks Backyard Ultra women’s world record

An ultramarathon runner has broken the women’s record at a race in the United States where she ran almost 400 miles in 95 hours.

Sarah Perry, 34, a teacher from Cockermouth, Cumbria, ran 95 laps of the 4.167 mile (6.7km) course each hour, on the hour, at the Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships in Tennessee this week.

Representing the UK as one of four women out of the 72 runners at the competition, Ms Perry was the “last woman standing” at the end of the race, breaking the previous women’s record of 87 laps.

After the race, she said: “I love entering races or challenges that I am not certain I can complete.”

Ms Perry also set a new UK record in the race, beating previous record holder Matt Blackburn’s 87 laps.

During the race, she said she barely slept, taking short rests in a tent between some laps.

“I kind of mastered a slightly faster night lap, and then coming in and closing my eyes for, like, five to 10 minutes of sleep,” she said.

“You feel fine while you’re running and as soon as you stop you sort of realise how bad you feel.”

She said a back injury eventually stopped her from running, despite aiming to complete 100 laps.

“My back went and I ended up doing the last lap kind of bent over at a 90 degree angle,” she said.

“It was amazing, but I just need to catch up on sleep and come to terms with what I have achieved.”