Harvey Lewis Enquire
Harvey Lewis running alone through the dark, lit from the side

Harvey Lewis

High school teacher · Ultrarunner · Cincinnati, Ohio

Two Badwater 135 wins. Two backyard world records. After the second, he was back in his classroom within 48 hours.

Sponsorship, speaking & press

Friday morning, he taught class.

  1. October 25, 2023 Finishes yard 108 in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. 450 miles, a world record at the time.
  2. That night Sleeps in a tent at the race.
  3. Next day Drives home to Cincinnati.
  4. Friday morning Runs to school and teaches class. Less than 48 hours after finishing.
Harvey Lewis after finishing a backyard ultra, scraped but standing
After a backyard ultra
Harvey Lewis speaking to hundreds of schoolchildren outdoors
Speaking to schoolchildren

He teaches financial literacy and American government at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, and runs the three miles to school most mornings. When his students are on the bus, he races it.

“I'm 47, and … I'm racing a bus? What the hell is going on here?”

iRunFar, 2024

The last one standing.

Big's Backyard Ultra, Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Eight starts since 2017, two wins, both world records at the time.

“There are powers that exist to push us beyond what seems reasonable.”

iRunFar, after the 2023 race
Harvey Lewis leading a pack of runners at the start of a yard, wearing a World Backyard Ultra Championships shirt
  1. The format

    Every hour, on the hour.

    A yard is 4.1667 miles. Runners start a new one each hour, whenever it is, for as long as they can. Miss the bell and you are out. The last runner standing wins, and has to finish one more yard alone.

  2. 2017

    The assist.

    58 yards, 241.7 miles. In a backyard ultra there is no second place, only the runner who helped push the winner there. Harvey took the assist.

  3. 2021

    First win.

    85 yards, 354.2 miles. A world record at the time, finished with a fractured hand.

  4. 2023

    450 miles. 108 hours.

    A world record at the time. Six runners passed 100 hours that year, the first field ever to do it. Harvey was the last one standing.

  5. 2025

    Further still.

    111 yards, 462.5 miles, the furthest he has ever run in one race. He finished third, at 49.

From 282 feet below sea level to 8,360 above.

Badwater 135 crosses Death Valley in July and climbs to the foot of Mount Whitney. Harvey has finished it 15 times since 2011 and won it twice.

  1. Badwater Basin -282 ft · mi 0
  2. Furnace Creek -165 ft · mi 17.4
  3. Stovepipe Wells 5 ft · mi 41.9
  4. Townes Pass 4,956 ft · mi 58.7
  5. Panamint Springs 1,970 ft · mi 72.3
  6. Darwin 5,050 ft · mi 90.1
  7. Keeler 3,610 ft · mi 108
  8. Lone Pine 3,727 ft · mi 122.7
  9. Whitney Portal 8,360 ft · mi 135
Approximate course profile. Sea level marked.
Harvey Lewis running across the salt flat toward a low sun

15 finishes, finish time in hours

  1. 2011 30:08:03 11th
  2. 2012 26:15:31 4th
  3. 2013 25:49:50 4th
  4. 2014 23:52:55 1st
  5. 2015 39:12:22 48th
  6. 2016 23:40:52 2nd
  7. 2017 26:45:59 3rd
  8. 2018 38:55:30 38th
  9. 2019 26:11:18 3rd
  10. 2021 25:50:23 1st
  11. 2022 27:16:35 4th
  12. 2023 27:06:49 5th
  13. 2024 36:41:22 27th
  14. 2025 26:17:01 7th
  15. 2026 25:55:41 11th

2024: after finishing, he turned around at Whitney Portal and ran back to Badwater Basin, 270 miles in all. 2020: no race; he ran from Badwater Basin to the summit of Mount Whitney in 33:32 on his own.

126 results. 39 wins. Thirty years.

Every race on record since 1996, one mark each. Wins in yellow.

Point at a mark to read the race.

Every result, with times and places

Work with Harvey.

Or write directly: sweetland3@yahoo.com