Phil Gore has 500ml of pus drained from thigh after 152-hour solo backyard ultra attempt

Phil Gore, a 40-year-old Australian ultrarunner, had about 500ml of pus drained from his left thigh at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth this week after persistent pain following a 152-hour solo run. The fluid was roughly the equivalent of a pint and required surgical intervention after initial assessment.

Gore had recently undertaken an extended solo effort using the backyard ultra format, running one 6.7km lap per hour and covering more than 1,000km last month in that bid. He collapsed after six days and 15 hours of the attempt; the run followed his victory in last year’s Backyard Ultra World Championship, where he covered 764km in Tennessee, and his official world record of 119 laps set last year. His solo effort, live streamed, raised close to $300,000 to support medical research and health services for children in Western Australia, and he fuelled the attempt with items such as Nerds, meat pies, Coco Pops and a cheeseburger.

Gore said he saw a doctor earlier in the week after pain in his thigh would not subside and that the swelling was initially thought to be a haematoma. "I just didn’t quite feel right about it, so I wanted to get a second opinion," he posted on Instagram. He added that a different sports doctor on Monday attempted to aspirate the swelling and discovered it was not blood: "He went to aspirate it and realised it wasn’t blood," Gore said. "It was pus, which means that there’s an infection, more likely an abscess, and he suggested I go back to ER [emergency]."

Gore checked into Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth and underwent a surgical procedure to address the infection. Hospital staff performed an operation to remove the buildup and placed a drain to continue clearing fluid.

He expressed gratitude to the hospital team and apologised to followers for not responding to messages while he was being treated. Gore wrote that he was thankful because "it could have gotten a lot worse if left untreated" and said sorry to supporters for not replying to their well wishes.

This week Gore reviewed the livestream from his solo attempt to pinpoint when the thigh pain began and identified the moment. "Found the part where my leg started to hurt," he said, adding: "Lap 104. Still made it another 2 days."

"Surgery went well. I got a [roughly] 12cm incision in my thigh and about 500ml of fluid was cleared, and I’ve got a drain in now, still clearing more out. I have to stay in the hospital for 48 hours while it drains and I’m kept under observation."