One loop, every hour
Backyard Ultras
A last-person-standing format built around one 6.7056 km loop every hour, on the hour, until one runner completes a yard that nobody else finishes.
Cover image: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of a specific race.
How the Format Works
In a backyard ultra, runners must complete a 6.7056 km (4.1667 mile) loop within each hour and return for the next start. Missing the bell or failing to finish a loop in time ends the attempt.
The winner is the runner who completes one more yard than everyone else. If two people start yard 30 and only one finishes, that runner wins with 30; a solo yard 31 is not required. If the last remaining runners all fail the same yard, there is no winner.
The fixed hourly rhythm makes routine visible. Pace has to leave usable recovery time, while food, foot checks, clothing, bottles, crew communication, and optional rest must fit between bells.
Checked figures
The numbers the format is built on
A standard yard is fixed. The winner completes one more yard than every other runner, and that yard can start with more than one person. Record status was rechecked October 23, 2026 against the separate record list and the 2026 championship reporting.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Standard yard | 6.7056 km / 4.1667 miles, started on the hour |
| 24 completed yards | 100 miles. An open-ended race can continue; it ends with a winner or with no winner if nobody completes an extra yard. |
| How a winner is decided | One more completed yard than every other runner. The deciding yard can start with more than one person. If nobody finishes it, there is no winner. |
| Overall world record | 124 yards (831.49 km / 516.7 miles), Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert, Retie, October 22, 2026; shared, with no race winner |
| Women's record | 95 yards (637.03 km / 395.8 miles), Sarah Perry, Big's Backyard Ultra, October 2025 |
Records follow Big's national-record table, which lists Geerts and Steyaert at 124, ahead of Phil Gore's 119 from 2025.
Sources: Big's Backyard Ultra — official rules; Big's Backyard Ultra — record table; Backyard ultras explained, with October 2026 record context.
Curated preparation path
Learn, Train, and Plan
1. Understand the Format
Learn the rules, scoring, failure conditions, and how backyard racing differs from a timed event.
Backyard Ultras Explained
Rules, records, course changes, common misconceptions, and safety.
AnswerBackyard Ultra vs 24-Hour Race
Compare hourly starts with a continuous fixed-time clock.
Answer6-Day Race vs Backyard Ultra
Compare open-ended elimination with a fixed six-day duration.
CalendarWorld Team Championship 2026
Satellite format, national-team scoring, reported 2026 results and past championship context.
2. Build the Training Plan
Practice comfortable loops and transitions without trying to rehearse extreme sleep loss.
Train for Your First Backyard Ultra
An adaptable framework for loop rhythm, easy durability, transitions, and recovery.
ToolBackyard Pace and Rest Calculator
Test loop pace against the recovery minutes it leaves before the next bell.
ToolMultiday Pace Calculator
Compare loop pace with the recovery minutes left before each bell.
3. Create the Loop Routine
Make every transition simple enough to repeat when appetite, weather, and alertness change.
Backyard Ultra Race Strategy
Plan pace, transition priorities, crew communication, rest, and stop criteria.
GuideBackyard Ultra Nutrition
Build flexible between-loop food and fluid options across changing appetite.
ToolRunning Calorie Calculator
Use the 24-yard example to see the calories burned and the gels a per-yard plan needs.
Gear guideBackyard Ultra Gear List
Kit by yard goal, venue rules on gazebos and power, and a crewless minimum.
GuideCrew Instructions Template
Printable crew sheet with a between-yard countdown, runner handoff calls, a stop log, and the red-flag card.
4. Prepare for Darkness
Use reliable lighting, simple packing, and clear alertness decisions once the event reaches night.
Headlamp and Battery Strategy
Plan tested primary and backup lighting for repeated night loops.
GuideSleep Strategy for Multiday Races
Understand rest options and why caffeine cannot replace safe alertness.
AnswerCan You Sleep During an Ultramarathon?
Understand what the few minutes between bells can and cannot restore overnight.
Curated race directory
Active and Upcoming Backyard Ultra Events
20 matching events as of Nov 9, 2026; event source reviews dated September 22, 2026 – November 9, 2026. 17 past editions remain in the directory archive.
Arrowtown Backyard Ultra
Butler Green, Arrowtown, Otago, New Zealand
A backyard ultra based on Butler Green in Arrowtown, near Queenstown, on a 6.71 km loop of hard-packed trail and bush singletrack along Bush Creek and the Arrow River.
View verified race details →Cobb & Co Backyard Ultra
Tandur, Queensland, Australia
A Queensland backyard ultra at Cobb & Co Nine Mile Camping Grounds, with a campsite base for runners and crews between hourly loops.
View verified race details →Backyard Ultra Villa Carlos Paz
Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba, Argentina
An inaugural night-start backyard ultra on Villa Carlos Paz's lakeside costanera, repeating a flat 6.706 km loop every hour.
View verified race details →Backyard Ultra Last Samurai Standing Tokyo
Takao Green Center, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
The Tokyo race of Japan’s Last Samurai Standing backyard ultra series: 6.706 km yards on a forest road from Takao Green Center in Hachioji, with 28 places.
View verified race details →Summit Backyard Ultra
Marble Falls, Texas, USA
A Thanksgiving-week backyard ultra in Marble Falls, Texas, now run by Perspective Pacing, with a roughly 4.17-mile yard every hour and a 68-yard course record set by Mark Dowdle in 2025.
View verified race details →Greenvale Backyard Ultra
Forth, Tasmania, Australia
A December backyard ultra at Forth in northern Tasmania, on a hilly 6.71 km loop of gravel and grass that starts every hour until one runner is left.
View verified race details →Backyard Ultra Llagostera
Pavelló Polivalent, Llagostera, Girona, Spain
A charity backyard ultra in Llagostera, near Girona, with 6.706 km yards on singletrack by day and wide tracks by night, and its start, finish and camp inside the sports hall.
View verified race details →Backyard Amecameca México
Amecameca, State of Mexico, Mexico
A backyard ultra in Amecameca, State of Mexico, a town at about 2,480 m, where runners repeat one 6.706 km loop every hour; the first edition in 2025 ended at 47 yards.
View verified race details →Miami Backyard Ultra
Miami Marine Stadium, Virginia Key, Miami, Florida, USA
An open-ended backyard ultra at Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, mixing dirt trail and pavement on a 4.167-mile yard every hour, with the field limited to 500 runners.
View verified race details →Dizzy Horse Backyard Ultra
Bonneville County Fairgrounds and Sandy Downs Park, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
A winter backyard ultra in Idaho Falls, Idaho, looping 4.167 miles every hour through Sandy Downs Park from an indoor transition hall at the Bonneville County Fairgrounds.
View verified race details →Cretan Backyard Ultra
Voritsi village square, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
A backyard ultra based in Voritsi, Crete, with alternating daytime and nighttime routes and hourly starts until the last runner completes a final solo yard.
View verified race details →M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra
Queen Elizabeth Park, Mackays Crossing, Kāpiti Coast, New Zealand
A backyard ultra in Queen Elizabeth Park on the Kāpiti Coast, north of Wellington, on a 6.71 km loop of paddock, coastal trail and ex-farm track over Wellington Anniversary Weekend.
View verified race details →Saguaro Showdown Backyard Ultra
Usery Mountain Regional Park, Mesa, Arizona, USA
A January backyard ultra at Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa, Arizona, with a 4.1667-mile trail loop by day and a road out-and-back from 8:00 PM.
View verified race details →Last Soul Ultra World Series: USA Qualifier
United States (venue TBA)
Qualifier 01 of Last Soul Ultra’s 2027 World Series: a 200-athlete backyard ultra in the United States in February 2027, sending its top 15 overall and top 5 women to the Finals in Germany.
View verified race details →Capital Backyard Ultra
Lorton, Virginia, USA
A high-level backyard ultra at Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area, built for deep performances in a small, highly supported field.
View verified race details →Last Soul Ultra World Series: UK Qualifier
United Kingdom (venue TBA)
Qualifier 02 of Last Soul Ultra’s 2027 World Series: a 200-athlete backyard ultra in the United Kingdom in April 2027, sending its top 15 overall and top 5 women to the Finals in Germany.
View verified race details →Backyard SWUB Freudenstadt-Grüntal
Freudenstadt-Grüntal, Germany
A Black Forest hourly race with organizer-specific distance rankings and an open-ended finish.
View verified race details →BPN Go One More Ultra
Bare Ranch, Liberty Hill, Texas, USA
Bare Performance Nutrition’s backyard ultra on Nick Bare’s Texas ranch: a 4.2-mile loop every hour until one runner is left, with 150 places filled by lottery.
View verified race details →Last Soul Ultra World Series: Australia x DCG Qualifier
Australia (venue TBA)
Qualifier 03 of Last Soul Ultra’s 2027 World Series, run with Dead Cow Gully’s organizer: a 200-athlete backyard ultra in Australia in June 2027, sending its top 15 overall and top 5 women to the Finals in Germany.
View verified race details →Last Soul Ultra World Series Finals
Germany (venue TBA)
The qualification-only final of Last Soul Ultra’s 2027 World Series, in Germany in August 2027, for the top 15 overall and top 5 women from each of four qualifying races.
View verified race details →Dates, entry status, routes, and rules can change. Use each event page's official organizer links before registration or travel. Format preparation paths were reviewed October 23, 2026.
Backyard Ultra FAQs
Can you walk in a backyard ultra?
Yes, if you still finish each yard in less than an hour and start the next on time. For example, walking 1.5 km at 6 km/h takes 15 minutes; running the other 5.2056 km at 7:40/km takes about 39:55. That leaves about five minutes before the bell on a course where those paces are feasible. Test your own combination.
How many yards do backyard ultra runners complete?
Our default first backyard target is 12 yards (80.5 km), with 24 yards (160.9 km, exactly 100 miles) as the stretch. Set it lower if your longest recent training day was well short of 12 hours. Deep fields go much further: at the 2025 Big's Backyard world championship, the median of the 72 starters was 62.5 yards. The world record is 124 yards, set by Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert on October 22, 2026. The women’s record is 95 yards (Sarah Perry, 2025).
Compare Related Formats
24-Hour Races
A fixed-time race where the clock runs for one full day and every completed lap or measured distance counts.
6-Day Races
A 144-hour fixed-time event where sustainable routines and recovery choices matter across nearly a full week.
48-Hour Races
A two-day fixed-time race where sleep, recovery choices, and the second night become central parts of the plan.