BERLIN, October 21, 2026 — day one, the running brand co-founded by German ultrarunner Arda Saatçi, has announced a backyard ultra in Spain for March 2027. Entry is free, and the organizer is offering €10,000 in prize money.
The race went live on Wednesday at dayoneultra.com, where applications are already open. The entry terms are dated the same day. Runners can enter through a lottery form or by posting a video wildcard on Instagram or TikTok. A jury will pick part of the field and a random draw will fill the rest in February 2027.
Much of the event is still unannounced. The organizer has not named a venue, set exact dates, said how many runners will start or published the race rules. Its site says the venue and full details will come soon.
“The ultimate manifestation of our ethos: you vs you.”
— day one, on the race site
How the race works
The format is the standard backyard ultra. Every hour, on the hour, all runners leave the start box together to run one 6.7 km (4.167-mile) loop. Anyone not back in the box when the next hour begins is out. The race has no set distance or finish time. It ends when one runner is left.
That makes the March 2027 date a start date only. The organizer has not said whether the race will have a time cap. For the arithmetic of how far a backyard field can go, see our backyard ultra calculator.
How to get a place
The site offers two routes, and the entry terms explain how each one is decided:
- Lottery. The form asks for a name and email address. Best race results and a short story are optional. After applications close in February 2027, a day one jury awards some places based on stories and race history. The remaining places are drawn at random from all other eligible entries that month, and every entry has the same chance in the draw.
- Wildcard. Runners post a public video on Instagram or TikTok explaining why they should get a place. It must tag @day1 on Instagram or @dayone on TikTok and use the hashtag #dayoneultra. The jury picks the wildcards. Posting with the hashtag gives day one the right to repost the video.
Applicants must be at least 18 and fit for an endurance event of unlimited length. Each person may apply once, and places cannot be transferred or sold. Two points in the terms are worth reading before applying. First, the place itself is the only prize of the application. Travel, accommodation, food, insurance and equipment are at the runner’s own cost. Second, the lottery form includes consent to emails from day one about the event, athlete updates and brand offers. You can unsubscribe without losing your application.
The prize money
The site’s FAQ lists €10,000 in prize money, plus athlete sponsorship and what the brand calls massive reach for every athlete. It has not said how the money is split, whether it all goes to the winner or what happens if no runner finishes a lap alone. The entry terms say prize money at the event will be governed by the race rules, which are due before registration opens. Until then, €10,000 is a headline figure, not a published payout table.
Who is behind it
The race is run by DayOne Performance GmbH, a Berlin company whose legal notice names Saatçi and Alvaro Gellings Franco de Saravia as managing directors. The brand sells running apparel, including an Ultra collection linked from the race site.
Saatçi, 28, built his following on long solo projects that were streamed or filmed live, rather than on racing. In 2024 he ran 3,000 km from Berlin to New York, and in 2025 he ran 72 marathons in 43 days across Japan. On May 10, 2026 he finished a 604.6 km run from Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the Santa Monica Pier in 123:21:10, well outside his 96-hour target. Marathon Handbook reported more than one million live viewers across YouTube, Twitch and Red Bull TV. The race site says the company’s campaigns have reached billions of impressions. We have not verified that figure.
The backyard ultra is one of several day one events planned for 2027. The brand’s calendar also lists a New Year’s Midnight Run in January and an event called 99 Laps in Germany in the second quarter. A half marathon, a challenge and further events have no dates yet.
Where it fits
The entry model will look familiar to anyone following the Last Soul Ultra World Series. Last Soul also combines a lottery with a team selection and runs a video wildcard on Instagram. The two differ in what a place leads to. day one leads with free entry and a cash prize for a single race, while each Last Soul qualifier feeds a final in Germany.
The race site does not mention Big’s Backyard Ultra qualification. Runners chasing a place at Bell Buckle should not count it as a qualifier unless the organizer says so.
Spain already has an active backyard scene, including Backyard Ultra Llagostera. At this month’s World Team Championship, Spain’s national race was stopped by severe weather at yard 25 and will be re-run at a later date.
Why it matters
Backyard racing began as a single race in Tennessee. It now has a world championship: this month’s team edition started 990 runners in 67 national teams, according to the organizer’s live results. Free entry and prize money are still uncommon in the format. A free race with a cash prize, backed by an athlete whose last project drew more than a million live viewers, is a test of whether backyard racing can attract the media and sponsor money that road and trail racing already have.
Whether it passes that test depends on details day one has not published yet: the venue, the size of the field and how the €10,000 is paid out.
What is still missing
- The venue and the loop itself: surface, elevation and whether there are separate day and night routes
- The exact dates and start time
- The field size and how places are split between the jury, the draw and the wildcards
- The race rules, including any time cap and the prize-money split
- Crew, aid and rest-area rules
We will add the race to our event directory once the organizer publishes its date and venue, and update this story when the rules appear.
How we reported this
This report is based on the organizer’s race site, entry terms, event calendar and legal notice, all read on October 21, 2026, the day the race was announced. Background on Saatçi comes from the Marathon Handbook report linked below. We did not contact the organizer before publication and have not applied for a place. This story is independent coverage, not a partnership with day one.