Backyard Ultra

I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not but O’ well.

I’ve signed up for the Arkansas Backyard Ultra Championship (ABUC)!

After the Ouachita 50 Mile I was NOT looking for something new. Definitely not a totally new racing format.

For anyone who doesn’t know the format for a backyard ultra, its:

The backyard ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must run the distance of 4.167 miles (6,706 meters). Each “yard” starts approximately 1 hour after the last. Ex: 0600, 0700, 0800 and so on until there is only 1 person left. Everyone who cannot complete a yard will be marked as DNF. If no one can complete the final yard, no one wins.

This year ABUC has a team option along with the induvial race. I was approached a by a few different people to join their team and compete after the OT 50. Running peer pressure kicked in full force! Could I really say no to an opportunity like this?

Soo to go backwards about 12 months. I was at the inaugural race last year. I was not participating but merely a spectator. My restaurant was the food sponsor for lunch and on top of that I was crewing a fellow runner. The scene is very different but oddly the same as other ultras. There are loads of people ready and willing to help their runners when they come through. Tents and canopies set up everywhere and enormous amounts of energy from the crews, volunteers, and RDs. It’s very different because as your summer comes in you can’t just send them back out there. They have to wait until the start line is ready for them again. There isn’t this overwhelming sense that your runner got lost out on the course. 2 miles out and 2 miles back or a loop. There isn’t this unspoken vibe of who can get back first. It’s is it’s own race.

I joined a team named “JUNK MILES”. We are fortunate enough to be sponsored by JUNK. It is a stacked team. 10 folks, most of which have ran 100+ miles. I’m definitely the newbie on the team. My goal is to push everyone farther while accomplishing new limits for myself.

I’m excited, nervous, and itching to get out there

What I’m excited about:

• Learning something new
• Challenging myself
• Challenging others on my team
• Leaning a new racing format
• Trying different strategies
• Meeting new people
• AND SOO MUCH MORE

There won’t be a live tracker because it’s 4.1 miles reset every hour. I will be updating my Facebook throughout the event, so follow along there! ABUC also has a Facebook page they will be updating.

Run Arkansas!

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