Race planning
Plan Dutch Backyard Ultra
Use the listed edition as your starting point. Each tool keeps imported race facts separate from the targets and assumptions you choose.
This is a past edition. These details are for reference; confirm a future edition before making a plan.
Edition notes: This page covers the October 17, 2026 edition at Scoutinglandgoed Zeewolde, the fifth Dutch Backyard Ultra. The public race started at 2:30 PM and ran every yard on the half hour, 30 minutes after the Netherlands’ 15-runner World Team Championship race, which started at 2:00 PM on the same grounds and ran on the hour. The public race ended early on Monday, October 19 after 37 yards, and the team race early on Tuesday, October 20 after 63. Tickets (€225) were sold out. Capacity figures differ: 300 on the organizer’s Dutch page, 250 on its English page, 285 in its booking data and 200 on Big’s race page. 231 runners started.
- Listed edition
- Oct 17, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
- Format
- Backyard Ultra
- Distance
- 6.706 km every hour
- Local start time
- 2:30 PM Saturday (CEST) for the 2026 public race, with every later yard starting on the half hour. The Netherlands’ team race on the same grounds started at 2:00 PM and ran on the hour. The October 16, 2027 edition is listed for 2:00 PM, which is 7:00 AM Central at Big’s. The spring edition at Leersum starts at 8:00 PM on a Friday.
- Duration / cutoff
- Each 6.706 km yard must be finished within the hour, and every runner must start at the bell, with warnings 3, 2 and 1 minute before and no late starts. There is no set finish or yard cap. The winner is the last runner to complete a yard, and if nobody completes one more yard than everyone else, there is no winner. Runners can use the care post and meals only while they are still in the race.
- Crew and pacers
- Crew members need a CREW badge with their own name and their runner’s, may support only that runner, and must give help outside the start and finish area. No personal help is allowed during a loop, and nobody but active runners may be on the course, eliminated runners included, so there are no pacers. Poles are not allowed. A 2025 participant quoted by the organizer managed without a crew of his own because the volunteers helped him.
- Drop bags
- Check the current race rules
Recorded facts reviewed Oct 22, 2026. Check the organizer’s latest rules. Calendar downloads use all-day dates and do not set a starting alarm.
Pace & duration
Choose a distance target. Choose a planning duration; this race has no single recorded time limit to import.
Gear checklist
Start with the matching format checklist. Add the organizer’s mandatory gear.
Crew & drop bags
Bring across the race name. Add confirmed access points, distances and your own arrival estimates.
Planning hourly yards? Use the backyard calculator for loop pace and time between starts.