How a Backyard Changes the Kit List
In a backyard ultra you run a 6.7056 km yard every hour and return to the same corral, so your kit is never more than one yard away. That changes what matters. Weight and quantity hardly matter at base: you can bring three jackets and use none. What matters is how fast you can find the right item in the few minutes between yards, and what you carry on the loop, because the rules allow no personal aid during a yard. On a 50-minute loop you have about seven minutes at base before the 3-minute warning, as the between-loop routine works out; the backyard ultra calculator gives the window for your own loop time.
Yards are hours, so a goal converts straight into time and distance: 12 yards is 12 hours and 80.5 km (50 miles), 24 yards is a full day and 160.9 km (100 miles), and 36 yards is 36 hours and 241.4 km (150 miles). The kit below is tiered by those goals. Pack for the tier above the one you expect, because a backyard ends when you stop, not when the plan says. Women's record holder Sarah Perry writes that she "took full kit for all eventualities" to her first two backyard ultras.
Check the Venue Rules First
The official backyard ultra rules cover the course, the corral, warnings at 3, 2 and 1 minutes, no leaving the course except for restroom breaks, no personal aid during a yard, and no artificial aids, including trekking poles. They say nothing about crew, tents, chairs or power between yards. Each event decides those, and the answers change what you need to bring:
| Event | Camp space | Power | Also note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney's Backyard Ultra (Australia) | Gazebos up to 3 × 3 m, weighted or pegged with pegs up to 25 cm, no string lines | None for runners; fuel generators banned | No cars, RVs or caravans in the gazebo area |
| Arrowtown Backyard Ultra (New Zealand) | One 3 × 3 m gazebo per runner | A few power points for phones in the timing tent | Self-supported: bring your own gazebo, chair, food and water |
| M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra (New Zealand) | About 3 × 3 m per runner for a tent or gazebo | Not stated | Overnight camping from Friday if you tell the organizer |
| Kings Backyard Ultra (New Zealand) | A taped site of about 4 × 4 m; tents placed by expected laps, more than 20 nearest the corral | No mains power | Crew limited to 2 at a time, relaxed after 12 hours; no vehicles in the tent area |
| Chartreuse Backyard Ultra (France) | Indoor gymnasium with limited floor space | Only a few sockets | Gas stoves banned, kettles allowed; every runner carries a working phone, plus a headlamp at night |
| Backyard Ultra Llagostera (Spain) | Indoor pavilion, about 5 m² each and shareable; not meant for gazebos | Some chairs and extension leads | Bring a sleeping bag or blankets, a mattress, a cooler and spare batteries |
| Big Tex Backyard Ultra (USA) | A personal area with chairs and tents around the start/finish line | Not stated | Reserved campsites and full-hookup RV sites in the park |
Before buying anything, find four answers in your event's notes: the space per runner, whether a vehicle can reach it, whether there is any power, and how many crew may be at base. A 3 × 3 m gazebo fits every outdoor plot in the table; an indoor venue such as Llagostera does not want one at all.
Kit by Yard Goal
The quantities below are illustrative planning defaults for one stated scenario: an outdoor venue with a crew of one, no power for runners, a morning start so that 12 yards ends around dusk, and a night of 8–12 °C, the same night band as our 24-hour checklist. Change the scenario and the numbers change; the reasons under the table are what transfer.
| System | 12 yards (12 h, 80 km) | 24 yards (24 h, 161 km) | 36+ yards (36 h+, 241 km+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoes | 2 pairs: worn plus a tested spare | 2 pairs | 2 pairs; a third only if a night route or the weather changes the surface |
| Socks | 4 pairs | 7 pairs | 10 pairs or more |
| Day clothing | 2 sets | 3 sets | 3 sets, plus a dry set kept for after a sleep |
| Night layers | Long-sleeve top and windshell, in case the last yard ends after dark | Long-sleeve top, windshell, gloves, beanie and a dry shirt | The 24-yard set, plus a warm mid-layer for each night |
| Wet and cold reserve | Waterproof shell | Waterproof shell and an insulated jacket for sitting | The 24-yard set, plus a blanket or dry robe |
| Light | 1 headlamp if any yard can end after sunset | Primary headlamp and an independent backup | Primary, backup, and a spare charging at base |
| Power | 1 phone power bank | A small bank for the loop and a larger one at base | Enough charged banks for two nights without mains |
| Seat and shelter | Chair | Reclining chair and shelter from wind and rain | Reclining chair or pad, and a gazebo with removable sides |
| Sleep | None | None planned for the first night | Sleeping bag or blanket, eye mask, earplugs and a wake-up plan |
| Food and drink | Food portioned by yard; drinks premixed | Add warm savoury options and a thermos | Add a cooler and a restock plan for day two |
| Feet and skin | Foot-care kit, anti-chafe, sunscreen | The same, with restocks | The same, with restocks for each night |
Why these numbers.
- Shoes: backyard coaches and organizers recommend at least one alternative pair to switch into. A spare does not need to be a size up by default; see when to swap shoes.
- Socks: one dry pair every 4 hours is our planning default, not a medical rule (no race medic sets a sock-change interval), plus one spare for a wet yard: 12 ÷ 4 + 1 = 4, 24 ÷ 4 + 1 = 7, 36 ÷ 4 + 1 = 10. Change sooner whenever a pair is wet or gritty; the blister prevention guide explains why.
- Layers:one race organizer's guide advises "more layers than the forecast suggests". You cool quickly when you sit down between yards, so the reserve is for resting as much as for running.
- Light: a second, independent light means a failure never depends on a battery swap in the dark. The spare charging at base lets you swap lamps rather than wait for one to charge.
- Sleep: our strategy default is no sleep on the first night, then 5–10 minute naps from the second, so sleep kit only becomes part of the plan past 24 yards.
What Goes Out on Every Yard
With no personal aid during a yard, the loop is self-supported even when your crew is twenty metres from the corral. The strategy guide lists what each yard needs: fluid, food, light and a layer. Three packing points on top of that:
- One carrying system, restocked the same way every yard. A handheld, a small vest or a waist belt for phone, water and snacks. Same pockets, same order, so you can check it by touch.
- A phone if the race requires one. Chartreuse requires every runner to carry a working phone, plus a headlamp at night. A small power bank on the loop keeps a watch or phone going without spending base time on charging.
- An emergency vest. Pack drink, food, a waterproof, a base layer, headlamp batteries and any medication for two or three yards, so a late arrival at base still sends you out with what you need.
Base Camp: Seat, Shelter and Boxes
Organize the camp for a tired runner and a tired crew. The strategy guide has the short base camp checklist; this is the fuller version.
- Position. Pitch toward the back of the corral: near enough to save steps, but away from race HQ, timing, toilets and commentary if you plan to sleep. Kings Backyard Ultra asks runners to place tents by expected laps: fewer than 10 at the back, 10 to 20 in the middle, more than 20 at the front.
- Boxes by decision, not by brand. See-through plastic crates for layers, underwear and socks, shoes, hats and gloves, snacks, meals, drinks, and first aid with torches and batteries. Keep a written list of what is in each box so a crew member can find things without you.
- A small folding table beside the chair for food and charging.
- Two bin bags: one for rubbish and one for used kit, so wet clothes never go back in a dry box.
- Weather.Strong pegs and guy ropes for wind, a groundsheet for wet ground, and a gazebo with removable sides for hot days and cold nights. Check the venue's peg rules first: Sydney's Backyard Ultra limits pegs to 25 cm and bans string lines.
- Heat and cold.In heat, keep water to pour over your head and ice ready: Harvey Lewis says he would "dump water over my head" and lay on ice when he won Big Dog's Backyard Ultra in 2023. In cold, bring a blanket, a dry robe or hot water bottles for you and the crew.
Night, Light and Power
If you reach 24 yards you will run through at least one night. Lay out a night box before sunset: headlamp, backup light, night layers and the warm food you planned. The headlamp and battery strategy works out how many batteries a night needs.
Assume there is no power.Kings and Sydney's give runners none, Sydney's also bans fuel generators, and Arrowtown and Chartreuse have only a few outlets. Bring charged power banks for everything that runs on a battery: watch, phone, headlamp and any rechargeable backup light. Charge the spare headlamp at base while you wear the other one.
Your watch is a battery too. Yards are hours, so a 24-yard goal needs a recording mode rated well past 24 hours; our GPS watch comparison recommends a mode rated for at least 1.5 times your expected time. On Garmin watches with the Ultra Run activity, the lap button can record a lap and start a rest timer, so each yard shows as a lap plus its rest. Whatever the brand, we would not pause the recording between yards: a forgotten restart loses the next yard's track.
Sleep Kit for the Second Night
The kit for short naps between yards is small:
- A reclining chair or a pad, with a sleeping bag or blanket you can unzip over you.
- An eye mask and earplugs. Harvey Lewis was given both before Big Dog's in 2023; on 55-minute loops it was the fourth night before he could fall asleep "for a minute or two".
- A wake-up plan: a crew member who wakes you at the 3-minute warning, or, if you are alone, a phone alarm plus a neighbouring crew who has agreed to check.
- A dry set of clothes for after the nap, because damp kit gets cold fast when you stop.
The Crewless Minimum
Help between yards is allowed but never required, and some races are self-supported by design. Without a crew, every task between yards is yours, so the kit has to do the remembering:
- See-through boxes in a fixed order, and a written step-by-step list for the stop.
- Food portioned by yard, premixed drink in litre bottles to refill flasks, and a thermos for hot drinks or soup.
- An emergency vest packed for two or three yards.
- A spot in the communal area near the toilets and hot water. Tell the race director you are uncrewed if space is tight.
- A neighbour's crew or a dropped runner who has agreed to help: most crews will, and they can wake you if you nap.
Use the last minutes of each loop to plan the stop and start eating as you walk in. If you want a printable task list for whoever helps you, adapt the crew instructions template.
What to Skip
- Trekking poles: banned by rule 4.5.
- Anything untested: new shoes, new food, new tape or a new watch setup.
- A big tent before you plan to sleep: a chair and shelter from wind cover the first 24 yards.
- Kit that needs mains power: most venues in the table have little or none, and Sydney's bans fuel generators.
Sources
- Backyard Ultra — official backyard ultra rules: course length (4 miles 880 feet, 6.7056 km), corral, warnings at 3, 2 and 1 minutes (3.2), leaving the course (4.1), no personal aid during a yard (4.3), no artificial aids including trekking poles (4.5). The page does not address help between yards (read 22 October 2026).
- Kings Backyard Ultra — race listing: crew of at most 2 at a time, about 4 m × 4 m per runner, tent placement by expected laps, no mains power (read 22 October 2026).
- Big Tex Backyard Ultra — race page: personal areas with chairs and tents for rest between yards, not during (read 22 October 2026).
- Sydney's, Arrowtown, M*A*S*H, Chartreuse and Llagostera venue rules come from our event pages linked in the table, each of which cites the organizer.
- Sarah Brady, iRunFar (10 November 2023) — interview with Harvey Lewis after the 2023 Big Dog's Backyard Ultra: mask and earplugs, naps on 55-minute loops, water and ice in the heat.
- Iain Bethune, Miles Together (12 February 2026) — backyard ultra tips, part 4: logistics: base camp position, crates by category, folding table, bin bags, pegs, groundsheet, gazebo sides and cold-weather comfort.
- Martha Urwin Run Coaching (21 August 2024, updated 28 April 2025) — a guide to backyard ultras, part 3: crew and kit: reclining chair, labelled see-through boxes, alternative shoes, power banks and no reliance on sockets, the emergency vest, and crewless advice.
- The Wasatch Yard — backyard ultra guide: two headlamps with spare batteries, more layers than the forecast suggests, at least two pairs of shoes, and a chair, blanket and wind shelter.
- Sarah Perry, inov-8 (23 April 2026) — guide to backyard ultra running.
- Garmin — Enduro 2 manual, Ultra Run auto rest settings: the lap button can record a lap and start the rest timer.
Every quantity on this page is illustrative arithmetic from the stated scenario. Your event's rules, the actual forecast and your own tested kit override all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I bring to my first backyard ultra?
Pack for at least 12 yards (12 hours, 80 km) even if you hope to go further: tested shoes plus a spare pair, a dry pair of socks for every 4 hours, layers for the coldest hour of the forecast, a headlamp if any yard can end after sunset, a chair, labelled boxes for food, feet and clothing, and a phone with a charged power bank. You come back to the same spot every hour, so anything you do not use stays in the box.
Do you need a tent or gazebo for a backyard ultra?
The official rules do not mention camps, so the venue decides. Sydney's Backyard Ultra and Arrowtown cap gazebos at 3 × 3 m, Kings Backyard Ultra tapes out about 4 × 4 m per runner, and Backyard Ultra Llagostera puts runners in an indoor pavilion at about 5 m² each, where gazebos are not intended. Until you plan to sleep, a chair and shelter from wind and rain matter more than a tent.
Can you run a backyard ultra without a crew?
Yes. The rules ban personal aid during a yard but say nothing about help between yards, and some races, such as Arrowtown, are self-supported by design. Crewless runners need labelled boxes, food portioned by yard, premixed drinks, a written checklist for the stop, and a wake-up plan: tell the race director you are uncrewed and ask a neighbouring crew to check on you before you nap.
Are trekking poles allowed in a backyard ultra?
No. Rule 4.5 of the official backyard ultra rules bans artificial aids, including trekking poles, so you hike the climbs without them.