PIRATE BACKYARD ULTRA 2024 VOL.2

CONCEPT OF BACKYARD ULTRA

The concept of Backyard Ultra is more than 50 years old. Created by Gary Cantrell, a.k.a Lazarus Lake, the man behind The Barkley Marathon. 4 miles in under an hour, every hour, until only one person could complete the run. 4.16666667 miles (6.706km) an hour would come out to an exact 100 miles each day.

With no pressure to run fast, nearly everyone can participate, and it is an excellent format for socializing. Runners who would ordinarily see each other for minutes at the beginning of the race, can run together as much as they wish, and every hour ends with the entire field gathered together. For those who drop, it is a time to sit, eat, talk, and watch the event continue to unfold, almost immediately.

The Pirate Backyard Ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run a 6.7km lap of a pre-determined course in less than one hour. When each lap is completed, the remaining time within the hour is typically used to recover for the next hour's race.

Exactly one hour after Pirate Backyard Ultra’s first lap (2.00 AM), the competitors must run the next 6.7km lap with a one-hour window for completion. These distance loops are repeated hourly. The race ends when there is only one person remaining on course and they complete their final 6.7km loop and cross the finish line. The distance the runners race each hour is set at 6.7 km. The total distance run by a competitor who completes 24 hours is exactly 160km (100 miles). The race will end when the last runner completes a solo loop within the allotted time.

Runners will have 1 hour to complete the 6.7KM loop, and be at the start line ready to go again exactly one hour after the previous loop. You must complete each loop before the clock reach the next hour, for example 9:59:59 is ok but 10:00:00 is DNF.

3, 2, and 1 minute warnings are given prior to the start of a new loop.

If a runner does not start a loop on time, they are disqualified. No late starts once the bell is rung. You must start each loop on time and be gone from the start area within 1 minute or you are DNF.

Runners cannot leave the course or receive aid during a loop.

The winner is the last runner to complete a loop. All other runners are DNF. If no runner completes one more loop than all other runners, there is no winner.

Each loop must be completed within an hour to be counted... including the final lap.