Megan Eckert starts six-day ultramarathon bid for women’s world and US men’s records

American ultrarunner Megan Eckert began a six-day world-championship race in Balatonfüred, Hungary, on September 3, 2026, seeking to improve her own women’s distance mark and surpass the United States men’s record.

More than 100 competitors were due to take part in the Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners World Championship. Athletes run repeatedly around a 0.558-mile, or 898-metre, paved loop for 144 hours, with the winner determined by total distance.

Eckert, a middle-school mathematics teacher from Santa Fe, New Mexico, covered 603.156 miles, or 970.685 kilometres, at the 2025 championship in France. That performance, which is awaiting final ratification, exceeded the previous women’s record by more than 40 miles and made her the first woman reported to have passed 600 miles in a six-day race.

Her target in Hungary is the US men’s record of 606.243 miles, or 975.654 kilometres. Reaching it on the Balatonfüred circuit would require at least 1,086 laps.

The event is Eckert’s third six-day race. Her other results include podium finishes at the Badwater 135, Cocodona 250 and Vermont 100, as well as a women’s backyard-ultra record of 88 hourly laps and 362 miles set in 2024.

Because the race continues for six days, any record outcome will remain provisional until the event ends and the relevant governing body completes its verification.