Barry Keem tries to run 670km over four days without sleeping
Keem starts at 11pm at Kembla Grange and runs a 6.7km loop every hour until only one runner is left.
This weekend, Barry Keem, 46, will try to run 670km without sleeping for four days straight. The event is a Backyard Ultra: runners do a 6.7km loop every hour until one is left.
Keem will start at 11pm at Kembla Grange, joining Australia's top 15 endurance athletes for Red's Backyard Ultra. Every completed loop counts toward a national team score, and the highest total wins the world title.
Keem's individual goal is 100 loops, a milestone reached by just 20 athletes worldwide. Keem says the mental side is huge, and he has trained his mind to be comfortable in discomfort.
Keem began running at seven or eight and later moved up to half marathons and marathons. Another Illawarra local, Jonathan Ash, is also racing and has a personal best of 100 loops.
- 670km over 4 days
- Distance without sleep
- 20 people
- Athletes worldwide with 100 loops
- 6.7km per hour
- Loop distance
- 11pm at Kembla Grange
- Race start time
Why it mattersEvery completed loop adds to Australia's total, so a single runner's stamina can change the national result.
AustraliaWollongong hosts the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships, so Australia's team races on local soil.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 4 h ago
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