Backyard Ultras: The Complete UK Beginner’s Guide

A backyard ultra is a last-person-standing race where you run a 4.167 mile (6.7 km) loop, called a yard, starting on the hour, every hour, until only one runner can complete a yard alone. There is no set finish line or distance: you keep going for as long as your body and, more often, your mind allow, which might be four hours or four days.

I’m Lizzie, a UK ultra runner and backyard ultra coach. My backyard PB is 50 yards (which was the new female course record at Sherwood Pines in 2025), I run for England at the Four Nations and I crewed the UK team at the 2026 World Team Championships. This guide pulls together everything I wish I’d known before my first backyard ultra: where the format came from, the rules, the distances, who it suits, how to choose a UK race, and how to train, race and recover. Each section is a summary, and I’ll be going deeper on every topic in its own guide.

What is a backyard ultra?

The idea is beautifully simple. Every hour a bell (or whistle, or horn) sounds and everyone in the starting corral sets off on the same loop. Finish it inside the hour and you get whatever time is left to rest, eat, change and sort yourself out. Then you line up again for the next yard. Miss the hour, or don’t start, and your race is over.

It’s neither a fixed distance race nor a fixed time race. The official rules from Big’s Backyard Ultra describe it as a format where athletes aim to cover as much ground as their ability allows, with only one winner but lots of personal bests along the way (Backyard Ultra Rules, Big’s Backyard Ultra).

What makes it so addictive is that the fast runner and the steady runner share the same corral every hour. Nobody gets dropped, and you’ll chat to more people in one backyard than in a dozen point-to-point ultras.

Where did backyard ultras come from?

The format was invented by Gary Cantrell, better known as Lazarus Lake or “Laz”, who also co-founded the Barkley Marathons. The original race, Big’s Backyard Ultra, was first held in 2011 on his land in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and is named after his dog, Big (Backyard ultra, Wikipedia).

It has since spread worldwide. At the time of writing (October 2026), the official race calendar lists 659 affiliated races in 83 countries (Race calendar, Big’s Backyard Ultra). The sport now has national championships, a World Team Championship and an Individual World Championship, which I’ll explain further down.

I think I first heard about backyard ultra around the time I discovered the Barkley Marathons… I then proceeded to start trying to find out how to get into Barkley, a win at Big’s gets you a guarenteed entry.

Backyard ultra rules: the essentials

Big’s Backyard Ultra publishes a short set of rules that affiliated races follow. Here’s my plain English version (Backyard Ultra Rules, Big’s Backyard Ultra):

• The course can be a loop or an out-and-back, and measures 4 miles plus 880 feet (4.167 miles, roughly 6.7056 km).
• The corral is sized to fit the whole starting field and stays the same size all race. You must be inside it when the bell goes.
• Starts happen every 60 minutes. There are warnings at 3, 2 and 1 minutes before the bell, and there are no late starts.
• On the yard you can’t leave the course except for a toilet stop, you can’t have personal aid, nobody who isn’t racing (including runners who have dropped) can run alongside you, and artificial aids such as trekking poles are banned. Slower runners should step aside for faster ones.
• A yard only counts if you finish it in under an hour.
• The winner is the last runner to complete a yard. Everyone else is officially a DNF (did not finish), and results show how many yards each person completed. If nobody completes one more yard than everyone else, there is no winner.
• There is no cap. The race is open-ended.

The runner who drops last, leaving the winner to run that final solo yard, is called the assist. Some people think the assist is the hardest-working runner in the race, because without them the winner would not have been pushed so far.

What this means in practice

Being “nearly in” the corral at the bell doesn’t count, so get in early. Your crew can’t hand you a gel halfway round, so carry what you need. And because everybody but one person DNFs, a backyard DNF feels a bit different to a DNF in point to point ultras. It’s how the game ends for almost everybody.

Backyard ultra distances: why 4.167 miles?

The yard is 4.167 miles because 100 miles divided by 24 hours is 4.1667 miles. Run one yard every hour for a full day and you’ve covered exactly 100 miles (160.9 km) (Backyard ultra, Wikipedia). In metric, each yard is about 6.7 km.

Here are some useful milestones:

At the very top end, the numbers become hard to believe. At the time of writing (31st October 2026), the highest lap count on the official national records list is 124 laps, shared by Belgium’s Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert at the 2026 World Team Championship (National Record Holders, Big’s Backyard Ultra). That’s around 516.7 miles (831.5 km). Because they stopped together, there was no individual winner in the Belgian race, and reports at the time noted the record was still being checked (Marathon Handbook). The UK women’s record is Sarah Perry’s 95 laps from the 2025 Individual World Championship (National Record Holders, Big’s Backyard Ultra).

How long does a backyard ultra last?

As long as the last two runners keep going: under a day at some small races, several days at championships. Your own race lasts as long as you do.

If you’d like a guaranteed finish time, look for a time-capped event. Big’s rules allow “Backyard 24” style races with a defined finish of up to 24 hours, named for their length (for example a Backyard 6 for six hours). These have no winner: you either finish or DNF, and all the other backyard rules apply (Backyard Ultra Rules, Big’s Backyard Ultra).

Who is a backyard ultra for?

More people than you might think! The hourly cut-off is generous compared with a road race. If you can cover 4.167 miles in under 60 minutes, you’re in the game. That works out at an average of 14:24 per mile (8:57 per km), including any toilet stops. Lots of runners use a run-walk strategy from the very first yard.

It tends to suit you if you like company, routine and a bit of a puzzle, you’re curious how far you can really go, and you like the idea of a camp and crew without any navigation.

It might not be for you (yet) if:

• You’re new to running and haven’t built a consistent base. Get some steady months under your belt first.
• You hate repetition. Seeing the same tree again and again is part of the deal, though I’d argue you can train your mind for that.
• You’re carrying an injury. Repetitive loops are not kind to niggles. Get it checked by a physio first.

You also don’t need to have run an ultra before. Many BYU I have done, I have met and chatted to people who are using the BYU as a way to complete their first ultra. At Rasselbock’s Sherwood Pines backyard, 66% of runners in 2024 and 72% in 2025 had never run a backyard before (Rasselbock Backyard Ultra: Sherwood Pines, Forestry England). Always check each race’s entry requirements, though, as some organisers ask for previous experience.

Choosing your first backyard ultra in the UK

The UK backyard scene is thriving, and there’s a race for almost every taste. The official calendar lets you filter by country and month, which is a brilliant starting point (Race calendar, Big’s Backyard Ultra). For every UK race with a confirmed 2027 date in one place, grab my free UK backyard ultra calendar for 2027. Here’s what I’d consider.

Flat or hilly?

A flat course is usually kinder for a first race: the yards feel more even and it’s easier to judge your pace. For example, the Kent Backyard Ultra Series event at Sholden runs on a flat out-and-back gravel trail across coastal marshland with around 8 metres of climb per yard (Kent Backyard Ultra Series: Sholden, Hellfire Events). Hilly courses can be fantastic, and the hills give you natural walk breaks, but they add up over many yards.

Trail or road, loop or out-and-back?

Trail is softer underfoot; road and gravel can be easier in the dark. Out-and-backs lets you see everyone else, which is a lovely boost. Pick what matches your training and what your legs like.

Mini and time-capped options

If a full open-ended backyard feels too big, you have options. Some events run a capped challenge on the same course and rules alongside the main race. The Kent series, for instance, offers a 7 Hour Challenge capped at seven yards, just over 29 miles (Kent Backyard Ultra Series: Sholden, Hellfire Events). These are a superb first step: you get the full corral experience with a definite finish.

Practical bits

• Field size: bigger fields are buzzy. Sherwood Pines had 166 starters when I set my PB there (my Sherwood Pines 2025 race report).
• Camp and facilities: how pitches work, toilets near the corral, catering and shelter.
• Travel: you won’t want to drive far afterwards, so plan a bed or a lift.
• Entry rules: dates, prices and requirements change, so check the organiser’s page when you enter.

As a first race I’d recommend one of these: Sherwood Pines 27th March 2027 for the beautiful course and professional running of the event. God’s Own BYU 29th May 2027 for a real community vibe and the fact a day and a night loop keeps things interesting, or Trails and Tarmac 18th September 2027 if you fancy a bit of everything – flat, hills and of course trails and tarmac!

Training for a backyard ultra: an overview

You don’t need speed. You need durability, routine and a well-trained mind. Training looks a lot like any ultra plan, with a few backyard twists.

• A consistent base. Regular, mostly easy running, built up gradually over months.
• Back-to-back runs. Running on tired legs on consecutive days teaches your body to keep going.
• Power walking. You’ll almost certainly walk on the yard, so practise walking briskly, especially uphill.
• Strength work. Twice a week if you can. It helps your legs cope with hours of repetitive loading.
• Fuelling practice. Eat on every long run, from the start of your training.
• Simulations. A home “sim” is the single best rehearsal you can do.

I remember my first backyard ultra simulation, 12 yards from my front door. It was an amazing experience and a fantastic dress rehearsal. A sim lets you practise your kit, sock and shoe combinations, your pacing, toilet stops, temperature, food, a run-walk routine, and you start to see where your mind wanders when it gets tough. I go through this in more detail in how to prepare for your first backyard ultra.

If anything hurts in a way that doesn’t settle with rest, please see a physio rather than training through it. A generic plan can’t adjust to how your body is responding, which is why I build every backyard plan around the individual.

Race day: the big picture

Pacing

You’ll get lots of advice on this, and most of it boils down to: don’t rush, and be consistent. Running faster gives you more time in camp, but it also costs energy you’ll want later. At Sherwood Pines I aimed for around 53 minutes per yard (my Sherwood Pines 2025 race report). Andy Wilson, one of the UK team, put it perfectly when he shared his top tips with me: slow down when your legs feel fresh, because they’ll thank you later (2026 World Championships UK team round-up).

Here’s how lap time translates to pace:

Remember, the 3-minute (or 2 or 1 depending how you roll!) warning means “time to head to the corral”, so your real rest window is shorter than the last column suggests.

The reset

What you do between yards matters as much as the running. A good reset covers the basics in a set order: food, drink, feet, clothing, toilet, then sit down and rest. Plan it during the last half mile of each yard so you walk into camp knowing exactly what you need.

Fuelling

If you under-fuel on a backyard ultra, it will catch up with you. For single-stage ultras, the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests around 30 to 50 g of carbohydrate per hour, with total energy of roughly 150 to 400 kcal per hour, and fluid of about 450 to 750 ml per hour, adjusted to the individual and the conditions (ISSN position stand on ultra-marathon nutrition). The same paper stresses practising your nutrition in training well before race day. I test my athletes’ fluid and sodium needs because these really do vary person to person. If you have a medical condition or a history of disordered eating, please speak to your GP or a registered dietitian before changing how you fuel.

Real food is a big part of backyard life, and as a vegetarian I always check the catering van menu early!

Night

Unless your race ends early, you’ll run through the night. Night yards feel different: everything slows, it gets cold, and your head torch becomes your whole world. Have your night kit (head torch, spare batteries, warm layers, hat and gloves) ready before it gets dark, not when you need it.

Sleep

In a race that might last a day or two, most runners don’t sleep properly, but many grab a few minutes with their eyes shut between yards. In a survey of 636 ultra runners, the proportion who slept during a race rose with race length: 16.4% in one-night races, 55.6% in two-night races and 94.6% in races longer than two nights (Martin et al., Sleep habits and strategies of ultramarathon runners, PLOS ONE). The same study found that extending sleep in the nights before a race was the most common strategy, used by 54.7% of respondents. UK team runner Andy Miles told me his number one tip was to bank sleep as early as possible (2026 World Championships UK team round-up).

Camp admin

Organisation is key. Knowing where everything is will save you precious minutes at 3am. Popular set-ups include labelled shoe racks, compartmentalised boxes, clear bags, clothes hung up ready to grab, “in” and “out” trays, a gravity chair, lighting for overnight, a cool box and a way of charging your devices. There’s no right or wrong way, just what works for you.

Crew

You can run a backyard without crew, and plenty of people do. A good crew, though, is gold. They fetch food, refill bottles, remember the things you forget and keep you laughing. Andy Miles’ view was that it’s more important to have a crew who understand you as a person than one who understands running (2026 World Championships UK team round-up). Before the race, write down your known problems and how to fix them (hot spots, nausea, cold hands, sleepiness), so your crew can work through the list when your brain has gone to mush.

I learned a lot when I crewed Dave Phillips at the 2026 BYU World Team Championships – not surprising really as he completed 90 yards! Organisation is crucial, being able to ‘read’ your runner, having a routine yet also being super flexible are all critical.

Mindset: the real backyard ultra skill

I’ve seen hundreds of backyard DNFs. Some are injury, some are timeouts. But the bulk? The mind is unwilling to go on. I know, because I’ve been there myself. Even some timeouts start in the head: the runner decides they won’t make it, slows down, and then times out.

The brilliant thing is that mindset can be trained, just like a muscle. A few things that work for me and my athletes:

• One yard at a time. Don’t think about yard 30. Think about this yard, and getting back to camp.
• Reframe. When something goes wrong, look for the humour or the positive and turn it around.
• Problem plans. Write down what usually goes wrong and how you’ll fix it, before you get there.
• The party yard. After a few bad yards, I put my headphones on, play great music and dance and skip my way round to remind myself I’m alive. (Check your race’s rules on headphones first.)

UK team winner Dave Phillips’ three tips were wonderfully simple: keep smiling, chat to people, and don’t stop (2026 World Championships UK team round-up).

I’ve had plenty of low moments on a BYU and it’s my mindset, ability to laugh at myself, my sense of humour and capabilities to re-frame are what sees me through.

Championships, at-large lists and silver tickets

You don’t need any of this for your first race, but it helps to know the language. The Big’s official site lists Individual World Championships in 2021, 2023 and 2025 and Team World Championships in 2020, 2022 and 2024 (Big’s Backyard Ultra), with another Team Championship starting on 17 October 2026 (Road to Big’s, Big’s Backyard Ultra).

For the World Team Championship, every country runs its own race at the same moment, and teams of up to 15 runners score the combined yards of everyone on the team (Big’s Backyard Ultra). National team places come from winning a Silver Ticket race, or from the at-large list, which ranks runners by their best performances in the qualifying window (Road to Big’s, Big’s Backyard Ultra).

I made the UK at-large list with my 50 yards in 2025 and was a reserve for the 2026 UK team, so I spent the championship crewing instead of racing. Dave Phillips won the UK race with 90 yards, and I wrote about the whole incredible experience in my 2026 World Championships UK team round-up. Before that, I ran for England at the 2025 Four Nations at the Highlander, which you can read about in my Highlander race report.

After your backyard ultra

However far you get, treat the next few days with respect:

• Get home safely. Don’t drive yourself if you’ve been awake all night. Sort a lift or a bed nearby before and after the race.
• Eat, drink and sleep. Your appetite may be all over the place for a day or two.
• Look after your feet. Clean, dry and check them, and keep an eye on any blisters.
• Ease back in. Walk, stretch gently and rest. Return to running gradually and listen to your body.
• Get help if something’s not right. Swelling, unusual pain, very dark urine or feeling unwell after a long ultra deserve a call to NHS 111 or your GP.
• Debrief. Write down what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d change. It’s the best training tool you’ll have for next time.

And then, almost certainly, you’ll start looking at the calendar for the next one!

I had a holiday immediately after my 50 yards and I must admit, I belive this greatly slowed my recover. A long haul flight with already swollen feet, ankles and legs was not the best idea Ihave ever had! It was a good number of weeks before my running felt back to normal.

Frequently asked questions

Is a backyard ultra harder than a marathon?

It depends how far you go. Six yards is 25 miles (40.2 km) at a relaxed pace with rest every hour, so in one sense it’s gentler than racing a marathon. But once you go beyond a marathon, through the night and into sleep deprivation, a backyard ultra becomes a much bigger test of body and mind.

How long does a backyard ultra last?

There’s no fixed length. The race continues until only one runner completes a yard alone, so it might be less than a day at a small race or several days at a championship. Your own race lasts as long as you keep starting yards.

Do they sleep in a backyard ultra?

Not in the normal sense, as you only get the time left in each hour. Many runners close their eyes for a few minutes between yards once they’re into the second night, and some use slightly faster yards to buy a slightly longer rest.

Is a backyard ultra a real ultra?

Yes, as soon as you pass marathon distance. World Athletics describes ultrarunning as any distance longer than a traditional marathon of 42.195 km (World Athletics), and you pass that during your seventh yard.

Ready to give it a go?

If you’ve booked your first backyard ultra, or you’re thinking about it, I’d love to help. As a specialist backyard ultra coach, I cover training, nutrition, mindset, sleep, camp admin and crew planning. If you’re already running and want a focused boost, my Backyard Ultra PB Package is three video calls (two on mindset, one on tips and tricks) plus a PDF homework pack, £250 at the time of writing (October 2026). And if you just have a question, drop me a message. I’m always happy to talk backyards!

Sources

• Backyard Ultra Rules, Big’s Backyard Ultra
• Big’s Backyard Ultra
• Race calendar, Big’s Backyard Ultra
• Road to Big’s, Big’s Backyard Ultra
• National Record Holders, Big’s Backyard Ultra
• Backyard ultra, Wikipedia
• Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert Stop Together After Breaking the Backyard Ultra World Record, Marathon Handbook
• Rasselbock Backyard Ultra: Sherwood Pines, Forestry England
• 2.3. Kent Backyard Ultra Series: Sholden, Hellfire Events
• International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing
• Sleep habits and strategies of ultramarathon runners, PLOS ONE (via PMC)
• Ultrarunning: Introduction, World Athletics