Having done quite a number of ultra races since I got into ‘the long stuff’ three years ago, the idea of trying a backyard ultra took hold a while ago. For those unfamiliar with the concept: the backyard ultra is a form of ultra marathon race where competitors must consecutively run laps (called ’yards’) of 4.167 miles in under one hour, starting a new lap on the hour, every hour. If you are not in the starting pen when the hour ticks over you are out. If you don’t get back from your lap in time, you are also out. The somewhat odd-looking distance makes sense when you realise 24 laps make 100 miles. The race is over when only one runner remains to complete a lap. This runner is marked as the winner and only finisher, with all other runners receiving a “DNF” (Did Not Finish). The runner who completes the second-most laps in a race is often referred to as the ‘assist’, in the sense that their effort is ultimately what determines how long the race is allowed to continue, there is no predefined end length or time in a backyard ultra, as long as multiple runners can complete each loop within an hour. Backyard ultras are the invention of Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, the founder and race director of the Barkley Marathon. Some backyard ultras go on for days, the current world record held by Harvey Lewis is 108 laps (450 miles) whilst the female world record is 74 laps (308 miles), set by Jennifer Russo.
For everyone, from record holders to ordinary mortals, the challenge lies in maintaining running pace over many hours, getting enough rest and spending the resting time as efficiently as possible, with eating and drinking (and any toilet visits required) being the obvious priority. Having crew to support you in camp will obviously be of great help, however support of any kind out on the course is not allowed. It is possible to do it without crew, you just need to be very organised. At every backyard ultra you will see a camp set up around the starting pen, with the most experienced and competitive runners likely to be found nearest to the pen to optimise efficiency, this obviously requires arriving at the event early.
I entered the Pig on the Hill backyard Ultra Wales, organised by Pen Llyn Ultra, knowing that it is held on a course with substantial elevation (around 600 ft per lap) and that it is regarded as one of the hardest if not the hardest backyard course in the UK. Oh well, I do like hills…..😬 Held on the Llyn Peninsula, where I had never been yet, I was mainly attracted to it by the landscape and scenery, and the date suited me. It was also cheap, only £36 to enter which included camping the night before.
Having come out of the Summer Spine Challenger South in June with shredded IT bands and serious levels of fatigue which lingered for weeks, and with a big race in the Alps coming up in September, I decided to use the backyard ultra as a training run only. In fact I had emailed the organiser, the legendary Huw Williams, and said I wasn’t coming, and he suggested that I come anyway and just run ‘a few laps’, which seemed a good idea. I decided to limit myself to 50 miles (12 laps) as an absolute maximum.
My friend Gill had agreed to come to support me and we set off at midday, facing a long drive to North Wales through busy Friday afternoon traffic. As the sat nav map already showed us there would be lots of hold ups along the way but we finally arrived after about 6 hours of driving tedium at the beautiful location in a farmer’s field about 4 miles from Aberdaron. Surrounded by hills covered in purple heather (a much brighter purple than here in Yorkshire, must be a different variety), with sheep, wild horses roaming free, and the sea beyond, we instantly felt that the journey had been worth it. We went to registration in the marquee where I received my number and tag. The weather wasn’t great, as forecast it was windy and rain threatened, but we managed to get our tents up before the rain started. After eating some food whilst sitting in the car we set out to walk around the course before darkness. Unfortunately it started to rain very hard just after we set off but we persevered, it was good to get a feel for the course, even though we did get very wet and we didn’t quite walk the correct route. I noted that a substantial part of the lap was on narrow single track coastal paths over the moorland, with rocks to potentially stumble over, never my favourite type of terrain to run on as I am not very agile on my feet.
After a reasonable though not great night’s sleep, at times interrupted by the loud noises made by the horses on the hill, I woke spontaneously at 5:20, could hear some people up and about, so I got up to make my breakfast of porridge with blueberries and get ready for the 6:45 race briefing and 7:00 start. It was still chilly but soon enough it was obvious that we were in for a bright sunny and warm day as forecast.
70 runners (56 men and 14 women) set off at the ringing of the bell at 7:00, running, jogging and walking uphill along a stony track which turned into tarmac, then followed a flat bit of tarmac which turned to grass before we all filed through a kissing gate out onto the coastal path where we ran an out-and-back loop, this is the section with quite a lot of rocks, eventually back through the same gate. A grassy path down the hill, followed by a steepish climb up to the trig point with stunning views, and then an undulating trod where we were running past wild horses, all the way to the headland where ‘the pig’ was positioned which we had to go round. Not a permanent fixture, but placed there specifically for the race. From a distance it looks like a stone sculpture, but on tapping it I found it was hollow, in fact its legs had to be taped up as there must have been some breakages on the way to get it there I guess. Back along a lower path to the farm and then along a deceptive track (looked flat but was marginally uphill) and a loop of the field to the finish line.
I returned in 53 minutes which gave me plenty of time for an electrolyte drink, some tea and an energy chew. Gill had it all ready for me. The next lap was very similar, and so was the third. By now it was quite warm, though there was a nice breeze on the tops. Somewhere in the third lap I decided to revise my plans and halve the target, to 6 laps, i.e. 25 miles. I found it harder than I thought and the last thing I wanted to do was set my body back with another big race coming up in five weeks’ time. I also thought I would likely struggle to actually make it to anywhere near 12 laps. Interestingly many other runners were finishing their laps in similar times to me (though some did it in 40 minutes), including some very experienced looking people who seemed to really know what they were doing. I could tell though from seeing them out on the course that they obviously had much more pace in reserve than I had. The eventual winner with 28 laps, Iain Bethune, finished his first 27 laps all over 50 minutes and ran his last one in 44! Results here. That tells a story about preserving energy. Whilst I was obviously not going flat out, I had to work just that little bit harder than was comfortable and I felt it would not be possible to keep going endlessly at this level of effort with only 7, 6, or 5 minutes to spare, as I could tell I was starting to slow a little already.
Even though I had to keep motoring over the runnable sections and look closely at the ground over the rocky bits I did manage to look up at the stunning views every now and then, or look at the horses, and I thoroughly enjoyed being there. I envied the people who stopped to take photos and then effortlessly sped up to make up the time. There was no chance of me stopping anywhere! Thankfully Gill took lots of photos on my behalf instead (all photos hers unless otherwise stated).
As the laps went by I had plenty of time to ponder what I liked and disliked here, and what I could learn from this event, my first taste of a backyard ultra. I definitely liked the lap format, and was also very taken with the friendly atmosphere in the camp, much helped by the sunny weather of course. In the rain and/or cold it wouldn’t be as much fun unless you are well equipped with camper van and large tent or gazebo (as many runners are actually, we marvelled at some of the set-ups). We had a normal car and small tents which was perfectly fine in these conditions. I think on an easier course I could potentially run many more laps. Not only would slightly less elevation help, though I don’t mind the odd hill, but a course with wider paths and without trip hazards would suit me much better. I am thinking nice forest tracks with pine needles where I could much more easily cover the distance in 50 minutes or so at a very relaxed pace. I get quite stressed when I have one or more runners right on my heels when going over uneven ground, especially if they are chatting when I have to concentrate on what I am doing. In a standard race you can let them go past and then they are gone, generally for good. Here you are back to the same situation every lap. The point was brought home to me very clearly when I tripped over on lap 5, just as I was pondering letting the people behind me overtake I went flying and landed very hard on my front. No great harm done thankfully, but it could easily have been more damaging. So I was happy to call it a day just before 13:00 when I finished my 6th lap. RD Huw was trying to encourage me to do a 7th lap to get to marathon distance, but I really didn’t feel the urge. 25 miles is a nice number and I have run plenty of marathons and more! Gill and I had a leisurely lunch before packing up and driving home, thankfully the return journey was without any traffic jams and took us around 4 hours. I would certainly consider going back to the Llyn Peninsula to run one of the other (standard) ultras that Pen LLyn Ultra organises, it is truly a beautiful part of the world.
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