Backyard Ultra’s are a thing and they are becoming a bigger thing very quickly. Started a few years ago by Gary Cantrell , aka Lazerus Lake, on his property. The idea is simple, the course is 6.7k (4.16miles) and you have to complete the course within an hour, you then need to front up at the start line on the hour and go again, and again, and again, until there is only one runner left, everybody else is a DNF. At 24 hours you’ll hit 100 miles, 48 hours 200 miles etc; thus the reason for the 6.7km loop; simple math.
Ultra Series WA produced a superb runners village for the event.
Running 6.7k in one hour is easy right ? Well it is to start with but here’s a thing the clock never stops ticking. In a normal ultra, say a 100 miler, you can stop for a good break, even a nap, and then continue on your merry way. In a backyard ultra there is no real resting unless you can finish the lap with plenty of time before the next one starts. Eventually the clock normally wins. To quote Lazerus Lake ‘a backyard ultra is easy until it isn’t’. Remember this is the same guy who gave us the Berkley marathon so he knows a thing or two about setting hard challenges, with the Barkley marathon considered the hardest event to complete globally. ( http://barkleymarathons.com/ )
Once every two years there is a World championship called Big Dogs, again at Lazerus’s backyard, where the best 75 backyard ultra runners compete to see who can last the longest, this was won by Harvey Lewis , for the second time, in 2023 with 108 yards (laps/hours) at the time a World Record. From the backyard ultra website ‘In October 2025 the best Backyard Ultra runners in the world will converge at the Big Farm in Short Creek, Tennessee (USA) to compete for the coveted title of the Last Man on Earth. Under the watchful eye of the the entire world, they will run laps of the yard until only one man (or woman) can complete the final yard. Every runner in the field will have earned their place at the start line, as champions in their own right. National Champions from the 2024 Team Championships and the top runners from the worldwide At Large List…. This is truly the ultimate test. A test of not strength or speed; but a test of the pure will to win.’ ( https://backyardultra.com/races/big-dogs-backyard-ultra-individual-world-championships/ )
As well as the individual championship every two years there is a World Team Championships (alternate years to the big dog’s backyard) and last week I had the privledge of watching the Australian team go about their business in Perth, my home city, thanks to Shaun Kaesler and the Ultra Series WA team. ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) This format is slightly different in there are 15 runners per country , there were over 60 countries taking part this year, who run laps and their cumulative total is then used to judge the winner. Again the teams keep running until there is only one runner left, their total laps are added together and this total is then ranked. All teams start at the same time , which was 8pm for Perth, and keep going until fourteen runners stop.
Lap 95 and Ryan is done leaving Phil to take out the win and take Australia to second place in the World rankings.
In Australia’s case Phil Gore was the last man standing and he lasted until 8pm Wednesday , after starting 8pm Saturday. Good for 96 yards (laps/hours) ; or four days / 400 miles. As a team Australia came second behind Belgium, who won with an astonishing 1,147 laps.
6 of the remaining 7 runners on lap 70. Phil was ahead or in the toilet.
So what makes this race harder than the normal Backyard Ultra, simple, you’re running for your mates and your country so you’re going to go harder and longer than if you run for yourself. The benefits of running as a team are huge but the main one is you want to do well for your brothers , or sisters, in arms and add in the national pride factor and you are gong deep, real deep, into the pain cave. This was on show for all to see in Perth last week as the fifteen Australian runners went well beyond their personal bests and just kept on digging deeper and deeper in the pain cave. It was special. When the team was down to just the final two they were behind the States by quite a margin but when the last American finished you knew that Phil and Ryan would do whatever it took to crawl over the line into second place. In the end this meant Ryan stumbling to lap 95 leaving Phil to take out lap 96 for the win and also second place for Australia, it was scripted perfectly by Shaun Kaesler, the pied piper of all things ultra running in Western Australia.
So there you go, the hardest and one of the longest events you’ve never heard off and you’ll need to wait two years to see its like again. If you fancy competing for your country get onto the backyard ultra website and dig around, you’ll find what you need to get onto your countries team. For me, in Australia, that boat has sailed but if you’re from Mauritius or Zambia there may be hope, and if you can get on your team make sure you do, it really is an incredible format but bring your shovel as you’ll be deep in the pain cave before you know it !
It’s a wild race and is founded in ultrarunning, so doing ultrarunning definitely helps rather than ploughing right into it. I do a variety of races throughout the year, and I do races that have a lot climbing in them. So, I did the Canadian Death Race this year, in Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies. I enjoy the trails. But then I also like running on the roads – I did the Badwater 135 – which is in the hottest place on the planet. So those events really help you to get ready for this race. You also have to be strong both on the trail and on the road. So you can be a really amazing trail runner, but if you beat yourself up running on asphalt, it just destroys you, so you have to be able to enjoy liking both.
I run back and forth to work every day
My mileage varies a lot. I run back and forth to work every day. So it’s 5km each way but a lot of days I’ll run further – I’ll do, say, 15km on my way to work or 15km on my way home. Sometimes I run 110 miles a week but [in preparation for this race] I sometimes ran more than that because I did the backyard ultra in Australia – that was 375 miles – and then I did Badwater 12 days later, so that was a really tight turnaround.
I don’t just run – I cross-train too
I run with my backpack while I’m running back and forth to school. And I go to the gym and do some lifting at least once a week. And I also do swimming, seasonally, when I can, and get out with my dog, Carly, hiking. Carly is an amazing trainer. She’s a rescue dog and she loves running so much.
Listening to your body can stop you from getting injured
I don’t have a coach. [US ultrarunner] Courtney Dauwalter and I are very similar in a sense that we go off what our bodies are saying. So if I feel really good, I’ll just go run around for three or four hours. So two days ago, I went out and ran for, like, three hours, just up and down hills, training for the Barkley Marathons. But then yesterday, at the end of the school day, I was just really tired, and I thought, I could injure myself [if I do too much], so I just ran four miles home. I do train every day and I do train really intensely at times, but I listen to my body, and I think it’s more fun that way.
I love the camaraderie among the runners [at backyard races] because, usually, the first day or two, you’re really able to run together, whereas in standard races, most of the time you’re spread out a lot. I like that people can have success with reaching personal bests, just like in any race, but it’s really neat to be right there by their side. So, for example, someone might come in and say, they made their first 80 miles; seeing people keep pushing themselves is pretty amazing to me. I also really like Lazarus, who organises these races. He’s such a very interesting personality and it’s fascinating to be engaged with him. He’s indescribable, honestly.
I paced it off intuition
I go off my intuition. On the first day, I was running loops that were, like, 48 minutes or something close to that, and I would have 10 minutes where I could lie down, and then on the third and fourth night, I was completing loops in, like, 55 minutes. So it was tight, with just five minutes to turn around. So I would have a minute or two to lie down. And it just felt right. It felt good. It was just a mode that I could maintain for a really long time. But that wouldn’t work necessarily for everyone. Because different people respond differently to sleep deprivation and pace.
For the first three days, I didn’t sleep
The night before the race wasn’t a good sleep night. I only got, like, three hours of sleep – that was my third worst sleep ever before an event. And then it ended up that, for the first three days, I couldn’t sleep; I was just lay there with my eyes shut. But then on the fourth night, I got to the point where I could just fall asleep instantly for like a minute or two. So that was amazing. And then I felt pretty good. By the fifth day, I could just take a nap for a minute and it felt like I’d slept for a long time.
I felt I could go on forever
I got into a frequency where I felt I could go on forever. It’s interesting because [in backyard ultrarunning] the mind is ready to go on but the body might be like, I’m done. But the mind is so determined. So it doesn’t matter. You just keep on moving.
Being vegan means I can eat massive amounts of food
I think I just out-eat everyone. I’d definitely say I consumed over 40,000 calories across the five days. I eat all plant-based foods and it really helps me not to get an upset stomach and also means I can consume a massive amount of food. It’s one of the things that makes a big impact.
Self-belief plays an important role
I think a lot of people believed they were going be the last person standing. I imagine at least half the people there probably thought they were going to be the last person standing, or at least 15 or 20 people. I mean, I don’t have an approach of being very outward and saying, oh, I’m going to go in there and obliterate everybody. But in my head, I know what I think.
I was just willing to go as long as it took
I was prepared to keep going for as long as it took
I had no idea how long he [Ihor Verys, who finished second, or as ‘the assist’] was going to last for. And I wouldn’t ever want to predict that because I was just willing to go as long as it took. But I actually wasn’t expecting it to just end. It kind of took me by surprise. I was prepared to go a lot longer. It’s very exciting to have that dream and have it come to fruition, though. I had so much gratitude and said a positive prayer on that last loop coming back, I just soaked it all in. I was just so grateful after all the time and energy I put into my preparation.
I teach my students that we have a lot more in ourselves than we realise
The idea that we have a lot more in ourselves than we realise is a big thing for all of us. So it’s the principle of perseverance; you don’t have to be the strongest, the smartest, the wealthiest. You have to be the most determined. Just the power of pure determination and how that can play out, that’s definitely a strong lesson I like to convey. I struggled in school. I really was a bad student, all the way up to my junior high school. So I really try to bring the point home that, whatever it is, you can overcome it with enough energy and time.
In long-distance running, you need to be patient
For me, it took a long time. I’ve actually been running ultras for 27 years. When I was first running, in middle school and high school, I was in the back of the pack. And it took years and years and years of grinding it out. But now I’m arguably the strongest I’ve ever been as a runner. It’s kind of wild that it can happen when you’re in your 40s. A lot of times people expect things to happen in six month or a year. And they would think it’s impossible some of the stuff that’s happened, but it is possible.
I’ve ran 10 backyard Ultras in the last four years. Birdy’s Backyard Ultra three times, 24, 28 and 36 laps (hours). Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra four times 47, 34, 28 and 24 laps. Hysterical Carnage twice 37 and 27 laps and finally No Time to Die 33 laps (for my only win) .
That’s a total of 318 laps (hours/yards) and 2,130 kilometres, over 13 days running around in circles. That’s a long time running around in circles but the format is so much more than that, it’s the ultimate social ultra. Every hour , on the hour, you get to start at the front of the pack and it’s the runner who finishes last , not first, who takes out the win. Basically taking racing and switching it on its head, taking out the physical benefits and substituting them with mental toughness (albeit you still need to be able to run 6.7km loops in the hour of course.)
In case you’re sitting on the fence regarding this format I’ve written a post on each BYU I’ve ran, plus a post on the growing popularity of the event. It’s becoming a force of nature…
Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in. It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong, storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
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