Running Towards Infinity: A First-Timer’s Dive into Backyard Ultra Madness

Before we get into any of this I’d like to point out this is all Mark’s fault, by encouraging me by talking about the Backyard Ultra format for the last couple of year’s, which resulted in me entering one for myself to see what all the fuss is about.

Intro

I’ll be honest I’ve been turning my nose up to this format for awhile now and not really taken it seriously, although since entering last year I started to do a little research to prep and didn’t really get excited about the event until I watched Harvey Lewis via live stream grind out 108 loops (450 miles in 108 hours). In the closing week’s I consumed as much content as I could through various mediums, some of the YouTube documentaries are particularly good for insights and what you might face throughout the event.

For those who haven’t come across a backyard ultra just yet, the concept is simple, you start on the hour every hour and have to run and complete a ~4.167 mile route in that time. You must run the loop and be back within the hour and ready to start the next loop or you are out, the race continues until there is only one person who can complete a loop that nobody else completes within the hour. They are then the winner of the backyard ultra, everybody else is a DNF. It should be noted if the last person standing can’t finish their last loop and then therefore DNF’s there is no winner for that event.

Preparations

Training

Coming off the back of a successful 2023, I’ve raised the bar for races and challenges in 2024 to look to continue improving each year. While looking at races on the Centurion Running website I spotted their One Slam virtual event (1,000 miles in 70 days), which I instantly dismissed (even though the bling looked very nice) until I noted the event ran from Christmas Day until Sunday 3rd March (the same weekend as the Rasselbock BYU). The stars aligned and I thought this would be the perfect challenge to keep me focused and prepared for the BYU on 2nd March.

Then commeth the Chest infection, I had a “bit” of a cough and chose to take it easy at the 30 mile race at the beginning of December. A visit to hospital, chest x-ray, two lots of antibiotics, some steroids, a perforated eardrum and two weeks off work left me a little worse for ware going into my training cycle. So my thoughts of the back yard ultra were as follows, lots of time on feet, bouts of sitting down for 5-10 mins, combo of run/walk each loop, night running and monotony of doing the same route.

The Time on feet, night running, monotony of my runs were already being ticked through the One Slam event and my training route choices, the sitting down for 5-10 mins and running again I didn’t practice. what I did focus on for my long runs were running for 3 miles and walking for 1 mile and repeating this over a 20-26 mile activity. this really helped me when it came to the race and switching between running and walking.

Gear

I’ve been on and off running for 14 years, so have quite a collections of coats, running T’s, headtorches etc. I basically took everything down to the event as I didn’t know what to expect with this being a “Winter/Spring” event, with hindsight I won’t be taking so much next time and would carry a few more things. As the forecast was some rain, snow, cold, I chose to wear leggings, base layer, t-shirt, waterproof, thin gloves to start with, cap, buff, toe socks, race vest with 1xsoft flask and my trusty Speedgoat 5’s.

Other than a coat change due to sweating and dropping the T-shirt, I pretty much ran the rest with what I had started with. I’d start each lap with my thin gloves on, cap on, buff around my neck and then as I warmed up through the lap dropped these one-by-one.

The one thing that I would add to have on me at all times and for the sake of how much it weighs maybe even from the start/in the daylight hours is my backup headtorch, this is because at the start of one of the later night loops I picked up the wrong headtorch and before the first corner it had died on me. Thankfully there was plenty of runners around me that I could stay close to and got round that loop unscathed.

Mental Preparations

With point-to-point races you tend to do your training, ensure you’ve done enough long runs and they are long enough to feel that you are mentally prepared for what’s ahead, you then get the highs and lows of the race and battle the demons until you finally complete it (or that’s how most of mine go). To mentally prepare for an unknown quantity of miles and hours out running is a little more tricky, least if you can’t run anymore in a point-to-point race you might have a good chance of walking it in, but the backyard ultra format doesn’t allow for this, so you must be able to run just a little bit each loop.

So to tackle this you either set yourself a reasonable target, which is aligned with previous race distances you’ve completed or you can set a different target. I chose a different target, I’d like to have assumed I could do the 100 miles (24 loops), but was unsure what I could do beyond this. Therein lies the problem as if you set a target and achieve it, you start to think about stopping even if you’ve got more in the tank. However setting an unrealistic target and not achieving it, may feel like you’ve not finished your race or that’s how I set it out in my head.

So to combat this I said, head for 48 (I know), be nice to get into the 30’s, but I’ll be happy with 24 loops or more. But what I was specifically clear in my mind is unless physically something was wrong, I must not stop because I mentally couldn’t do another. I’ve heard from others and within this race “I got bored so I stopped”, personally I’d question myself why I entered this race in the first place if I quit because I’m bored. This is a tough challenge that should enable you to gauge what you may need to work on for future races when you get to your limits.

Getting your tent set up

My support crew (Charmian and Steve) arrived a little earlier than me and had managed to bag a spot right next to the starting corral to pitch the tent up. This definitely enabled me to stay sat down longer, and not waste any energy walking to the starting corral. If you’re able to get a spot near or top side of the corral to save time and energy, then do so.

Race Day

Arrival and check-in

I’d had a big pizza the night before and a pint of lager to try and persuade my body and mind to have a lie in as the race didn’t start until 12:00 noon. Obviously this didn’t happen with various wake ups in the middle of the night, up at my usual 5:30am to try and lay in bed and fall back to sleep until I gave up at 07:00 and started to peruse social media until I finally got up and had some porridge, had a shower and headed over the get registered. I chose what I was starting in, talked through what I had in various boxes and left my support crew to organise themselves ahead of my first return.

Looking at some of the bigger names who were self supporting themselves, it’s apparent support crews aren’t a must to do well, but I’m not a big name and my support crew were invaluable to save time, ensure I didn’t forget anything and when I became less aware in the early hours could prompt me on food, water and other points.

Start and into the Loops

Before I knew it the race briefing was being held, one last toilet stop, whistles were blown and we were in the starting corral, the bell rang and we were off! Lots of chatter to start with and was interesting to see how fast some runners were heading out with me just settling into a nice slow jog. I’d recce some of the route the afternoon before and chosen the area’s I’d like to run and when I’m going to walk, I finalised this run/walk breakdown over the first two loops and tried to stick to it for the remainder of my race.

I started to get to ask runners around me there names, if they’d done a BYU before and what their targets were to past time and to hopefully build some friendships throughout my time on the course. The first guy I spoke to (Chris) had completed 6 loops the year before and hoped to do more, but training hadn’t gone quite as he had planned so was just seeing what he could do. The guy who I had several good chats with was Murray, who’d completed 13 loops the year before and was looking to improve on that this year.

I checked back at the results to find Chris and Murray and they both matched there previous year’s loops, I’ve spoken with Murray since and wished I’d have made a point of ensuring he came out for that 14th loop, unfortunately at 1:00am I was battling my own demons with the usual stomach cramping and trying to find something I could get down. Switching to anything I could pretty much drink (Tomato soup, rice pudding, porridge, custard) helped me start to turn a corner on the eating front. I didn’t really lose any energy while this was happening, just the discomfort making each loop hard.

No sooner had I got on top of this and started to feel better, even enjoying a few loops, but nothing lasts. I’d tried to manage and protect my whole body throughout the loops by not running to fast, watching my foot placement to avoid jarring my joints, even walking down one of the steep hardpacked tracks to lessen the stress on my body. This can only work for so long and barring injuring yourself, your current weakest point for this course will show itself eventually, for me it was my quads. I ignored it around loops 15/16, but by the time I’d got round I needed to take something to relieve the pain.

This quickly kicked in either from placebo effect or just the tablets working through and the mild ache was manageable. Daylight was soon upon us and the field of runners in the corral was starting to look a bit sparse, I’d had a few chats with Julie Bethune at different points in the race who was looking strong throughout (unbeknown to me she had a good poker face and was hiding a few niggles with her knees). Nearly didn’t recognise Ben Brindley at the finish line watching us come in, we’d had a few laughs earlier in the night and Ben had pushed on through sickness to get a well earned BYU PB. No doubt this has been great prep for his Everesting challenge while pushing a wheelbarrow if it wasn’t a hard enough challenge anyways.

I also spoke with Sarah Perry (eventual assist and new Female GB BYU record holder) about a few of the races she had completed in and talked about my kids, it was soon my walking point and Sarah ran on, which left me thinking about home, my wife and kids. It can be counter productive dependant on were your mind wanders when thinking of home, I have worked hard to get back to fitness in the hope to remain fit and healthy for my family, but the flip side of my chosen events tend to take me away from them for a weekend. Those with children know how quickly the time flies and the thought of missing precious moments upsets me, even now typing this while reflecting on the race.

As I’m finishing this loop Charmian reminds me to wave to the camera as My wife and kids are watching the live stream and hoping to catch a glimpse of me at the start and finish of each loop. Any thoughts of missing them are quickly evaporated and replaced with thoughts of them watching over me and cheering me on. Charmian and Steve feed me up, swap water and gels, while I try and catch 40 winks. The whistle blows 3 times and startles me, I check the time and try and figure out which loop I’m on. It’s loop 22 and the quad pain is building again and I’m starting to worry a little about even getting 24 loops and the 100 mile marker completed.

Lots of chatter amongst runners stopping once they get their 24th loop completed, I’m all on ensuring I can get this loop done. I wave at the camera, quickly sit down and complain about it’s getting hard. Charmian and Steve ignore this and just got me fed and watered, swapped out water and gels and sent me out with words of encouragement. The 23rd loop was hard to start, legs were very sore and heavy and I tried to dismiss chatter amongst other runners about not being able to complete the next two loops.

A lot of determined faces out on their loops, heads down and putting the work in. With not much chatter from me and forgot to take a gel on board half way round, which didn’t help the mood towards the end of this lap. I knew this was the slowest lap I’d completed at 55 minutes and continued to worry about getting the 24th loop completed, the whistle was blowing in no time and we gathered shortly before my final loop to have a picture with all those who were to start the 24th loop and hopefully get back in time.

Unbeknownst to me the 35 who started the 24th loop had all hung on from the 21st loop, from previous backyard ultra results I’d looked over this is a milestone to reach and also when a good chunk of runners (including myself) intend to drop out. There’s doubt in a few runners voices of completing this one, but also a quiet determination in their faces. I was joined by Owen Jackson for most of mile 3, Owen is only 22 and has already had some impressive finishes, including youngest to complete the Dragons Back Race at 20 years old and in 2023 finishing 1st overall at the Nidderdale Way 111 mile ultra.

I try to run in my usual spots, but have to walk a little more in the first half and forcing myself to run all over a later section. I turn the corner near Go Ape and although the time isn’t what I want to see, I’m confident I can get back to finish the 24 loops/100miles and finally sit down and rest.

I’m already thinking that I need to include some strength training into my next block of training to ensure my quads hold up for some of the longer races I have this year. I come walking into the finish and my brother, his partner and dog are here to greet me. They encourage me to run, but I’d not got it in me. No sooner have I sat down, Charmian is feeding me up and I’m saying I’m done. I look at the time and I’ve got just over 3 minutes until I go again, Charmian encourages me that people will not start again after this and I’ll be in the top 30. The whistle blows to signify 3 minutes left, something clicks in my mind and I’m up for another.

Just one more they say to me, So I head back into the corral for one last loop. 12 runners didn’t start the 25th loop, obviously some had hit their goal with others just not having the desire for one more loop. I struggled to get running and had to walk a little before I normally stop and quickly found myself at the back of the pack. As I approached one of my “checkpoints” I look down to check the time and “sh*t” my watch is dead, I’d normally put it on charge after 20 hours for 30 mins with a battery pack. This added to the pressure, I’m at the back of the pack and I don’t know if I’m on track or not.

I push on were I can and just hope it’ll be enough, I’m agreeing with my quads as we both curse the hard packed tracks. Some relief with the muddier sections, but it’s hard to keep running and I stop to walk again when I know I should be running here. I catch another runner up and ask for the time, I’m not last, but knowing the time here is useless as it’s no where near a checkpoint so I push on. I ask someone for the exact time and it’s 12:47, I’m nowhere near the corner of GoApe and should be there 45 minutes past the hour. I continue to push on, turning the corner of GoApe again I ask a random person for the exact time, they reply “ten to one”.

I’m not sure if that was exact or rounded up, I try a little run and stop within meters. I think this is probably it, I try to march as fast as I can while listening for whistles to signify the closing time. I push on, no one ahead of me, no whistles blowing and not bells ringing, I might actually make this. I turn onto the final straight and see the clock and I’m good for 3 minutes. with promises that this is the last loop I walk it in and try to ask Eric, if I just start the next loop and immediately return, will I get a higher placing on the results. A bit confuse and Charmian is trying to get me to prepare for another loop, I’m done.

I’d set my support crew the task to not let me quit in the chair and potentially they may have worried they let me down by letting me quit in the starting area. This wasn’t the case then and now I’ve had time to reflect it isn’t the case now. I didn’t want to quit in the chair because “I didn’t want to do another lap”, because I was bored or just couldn’t bare another lap due to energy levels, tiredness etc. I was tired, my energy was a little low, but my quads were killing me. I might have been able to get the 26th loop done and maybe 27 or even the 28th, but at what cost. I didn’t get the result I fully wanted, But I got the one I’d prepared for.

Post-Race Reflections

Area for Improvement: Food and Eating

I’m still working through my GI issues once I get to around the 8-10 hour mark, I was eating well and tried to load up on more fruit early on to keep my stomach moving. ultimately this ground to a halt only to be brought back by eating drinkable foods (soups, porridges, custard, rice pudding). I’m going to try and look harder into this area and have plenty of training sections and races this year to continue to experiment with what works for me.

Area for Improvement: Address Weaker Areas

I’m no spring chicken and advice is post the age of 35 to incorporate strength training into your program to help maintain muscle strength and endurance, while fending off injuries. This will be incorporated into my training as a must do, even if it means forgoing weekly mileage to ensure it’s done.

Area to Maintain: Foot Care and General Condition

Other than two small blisters, my general approach to taping, sock choice and footwear worked well. those two small blisters would obvious increase over further mileage so sock change, talcing and vaseline maybe as we enter the daylight loops again would keep issues from building into bigger problems down the line.

Area to Maintain: Mental Strength

So there was a few moments that I could have used as excuses to stop, my stomach issues cause me some real discomfort and were making the loops not so pleasurable (appreciate it’s not pleasure island). but when my stomach was ok, generally my mind was in a good place.

Did I Push any Boundaries?

So I’ve ran/moved for over 24 hrs in the past, I’ve ran 105 miles in under 24 hours (with this BYU being 104 miles in under 25 hours). So feel this isn’t my longest event by time or mileage, but it is definitely up there.

Future Backyard Ultras?

Charmian messaged me shortly after asking if my “Backyard Ultra itch had been scratched” and I joked “with a little more training……”. A few more days have passed since then and now I’ve had a practice run I think it would be worth seeing if I can better my performance next year, so I’ve already signed up for it which should tell you something about the format and me for that matter. I believe this format is going to go from strength to strength and this year alone will push the boundaries for the UK with regards to women’s and potentially men’s GB records.

I know some of my friends see the “going around in circles” as boring and why would you want to do that when you can adventure across open fells, or across national trails or even mountain sky races. I haven’t quite got it in words that I can succinctly describe, but it’s something about the not knowing how far you’re able to go and then the constant pace required to stay in the race that remains the attraction for me. I’m wanting to see how far I can go with regards to distance and see these BYU’s as a way to go hand in hand with races and my journey towards finding my limits.

Final Thoughts

I’m a little hooked on the scene at the moment and will be doing some further research on stats and possible publish a separate article on Backyard Ultra’s later this year. For now though I’m concentrating on recover for my next race in 2 weeks is the Hardmoors 55, then I head off to enjoy a holiday with my family, with more racing over the year. My focused training for the next year BYU will start at the back end of this year to be ready for the middle of February and tapering into the Rasselbock Backyard Ultra 2025.

Special Thanks

Thanks to my super support crew Charmian and Steve who took it in turns to support me over the weekend, thanks to Paul Wilson who spent a lot of time with Charmian and giving her lots of good advice with regards to support and for me to take on board, thanks to David, Daniel, Anna and Koby for the event side support, thanks to Mark for getting me into this mess, thanks to all the Rasselbock crew for putting on a superb event and to all the runners I spoke to along the way and last but not least, thank you to my wife and kids for all the support leading up to this and via the livestream.

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