Ultra-race: Kim Gottwald runs until no one is left standing

On August 17, 2026, Kim Gottwald, a 23-year-old ultramarathon runner from Germany, shared his experiences as an ultrarunner on social media. Known for completing a staggering 448.9 kilometers during last year’s Last Soul Ultra-Rennen, Gottwald has become a prominent figure in the world of endurance sports. This year, however, he did not compete in the race he helped organize, citing an incomplete recovery from an injury as the reason. The Last Soul Ultra-Rennen is part of a unique format known as Backyard-Ultra. In this type of race, athletes begin running a 6.7-kilometer loop every hour. Those who finish within 60 minutes can take breaks, eat, or rest before the next round begins. The competition continues until only one athlete remains standing. While the concept might seem manageable initially, the challenge intensifies over time as fatigue sets in and competitors drop out. This year's race started on August 14 without Gottwald, who had won the previous edition. Despite expressing interest in participating, he decided against it due to his ongoing injury. “I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to run,” Gottwald stated, acknowledging the difficulty of his decision. Gottwald’s journey into ultrarunning began during the coronavirus pandemic when he started running in his old gym shoes. After the death of his grandfather, he decided to run 100 kilometers through his village, which left him physically exhausted but intrigued by the experience. He continued running and eventually began filming his runs, uploading them onto social media platforms. His videos included running to all matches of the German national team and even a trip from Sylt to Neuschwanstein Castle. His breakthrough came when he was selected from over 10,000 applications for the Go One More Ultra in Austin, Texas. After months of training, he competed as a German underdog in May 2025. During the race, a tornado warning forced the event to end prematurely, leaving only two runners remaining. “Everything happened out of nowhere,” Gottwald recalled. Since returning home, Gottwald has expressed a desire to continue competing, referring to the process of eliminating other runners as “collecting souls.” This time, he organized his own race, named Last Soul Ultra, aiming to bring the endurance format to younger generations. Unlike traditional ultra races, where competitors have clear starting and finishing points, Backyard-Ultras create continuous tension as participants must keep up with the hourly loops. “With regular ultras, once someone pulls ahead, it becomes less interesting,” Gottwald explained. “But with Backyard-Ultras, you wonder every hour whether they’ll make it again.” Ultramarathons, with their extreme distances, have become increasingly common in the digital age. Social media algorithms promote such content, making these challenges widely visible. For instance, hundreds of thousands watched Arda Saatçi’s 600-kilometer run in California earlier this year. Experts suggest that the appeal of ultrarunning can be linked to basic human instincts. However, the exact motivations behind such extreme physical feats remain complex and multifaceted. As the popularity of these events grows, more young athletes like Gottwald are likely to participate, bringing new energy and perspectives to the sport.