A race with no finish line

There is no finish line. There is no cut-off time. And, apart from the winner, everyone else is considered DNF (Did Not Finish).

I am referring to the Backyard Ultra.

When I first heard about this, I couldn’t help but marvel at the way race organizers have devised different schemes to challenge — or torture — the runners.

A backyard ultra is a kind of endurance racing format in which runners must complete a 6.7 kilometer (or 4.167 miles) loop on the hour, every hour until they can no longer accomplish the task.

Runners can run as fast or as slow as they want as long as they complete the loop within a one hour period and if they have time left, then can use it to rest and recharge before the next loop begins.

The cycle will then continue for as long as it takes (sometimes for days) until there is only one runner left, who will end up the winner.

Runners are allowed to leave the course only to relieve themselves. While these races are mostly on trails, trekking poles are forbidden.

This race format was conceptualized by Gary Cantrell, also known as Lazarus Lake, of the notorious Barkley Marathons.

Barkley gained notoriety because it is said to be nearly impossible to finish. It consists of five loops measuring 20 to 26 miles each with a total of 60,000 feet of climbing, which is equivalent to two Mt. Everests.

Runners are to navigate their way through with the use of only maps and compass. It is so difficult that in its 37 years only 18 people have completed it.

The Backyard Ultra seems a lot simpler on paper. In reality, it’s just a different kind of torture. Having to repeat the same 6.7 kilometer loop over and over again in a seemingly endless cycle is a test of not just endurance but also mental toughness. No one has any idea when the race will end because it is entirely dependent on when the other runners will give up.

Runners will have to contend with lack of sleep, the elements, and fatigue.

The race has been likened to The Long Walk, a fictional horror story by Stephen King about 100 walkers who are forced to trudge hundreds of miles and are shot when they quit.

According to Lake, most runners get disqualified not because of the one-hour limit per loop, but because of mental exhaustion.

“The hardest part of the course is between your chair and the starting corral,” he said.

When Lake organized the first race in his backyard in Tennessee in 2012 (naming it after his pit bull Big) he never imagined there would be any interest beyond the first event.

Now, it has become a worldwide competition with simultaneous backyard ultras happening in 83 countries, including the Philippines, on 19 October in the World Backyard Ultra Team Championship.

The Philippine race, LaNorte Backyard Ultra, will be happening at the Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte.

Team Pilipinas consists of 15 runners in Ryan Baldovino, Marvin Buizon, Ted Andrew Monsanto, Rowell Campos, Freddie Blanco, Julius Iglesias, Marlou Espela, Jay Bustamante, Alan Gadong, Marjones Abugan, Jomar Ferrer, Julius Taffalla, Nelvin Serfino, Patrick Vasquez, and Thomas Combisen.

The world record to beat is 108 laps or 450 miles (720 kms) achieved by American runner Harvey Lewis during last year’s Big’s Backyard Ultra in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

The Female World Record for a backyard ultra performance is 74 laps or 308.3 miles (496.2 kms) set by Jennifer Russo at the 2023 Capital Backyard Ultra in Lorton, Virginia.

Here’s hoping Team Pilipinas will make its mark in this most challenging race.