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Running

WIP (mini) Backyard Ultra 2026

In which I "win" a race for the very first time.

Jon Hickman

• 3 min read
A group of people in running gear, posing outside of the WIP pub, Lichfield, UK
The 8-lap finishers, winners all

(With very heavy caveats) I just won an ultramarathon for the first time.

Backyard Ultra is a popular endurance race format where runners go out on a 4.167 mile (6.706 kilometres) loop every hour, on the hour, as many times as they can. There is only one finisher in a true backyard event—when one only one person remains willing to start a loop, if they complete that loop, they are the finisher and winner. Everyone else is a DNF.

The WIP Backyard had an 8 yard time out, so it was not a "true" backyard, but it was a good intro to the discipline. Anyone completing the 8th and final loop was a joint winner of the day, and I was in that winner's circle. We all got a free pint, which is the finest trophy one can get.

Roll Up Roll Up! Wonderful Prizes to be Won!

Here's a quick brain dump review of the day:

  1. I ran pretty well. I was Mister Consistent for most of the day, getting back to base between 42 and 43 minutes each yard until yard 7. I was such a metronome that it became a bit of a recurring gag: I would chug past the faster runners who all walked the hills, and then they'd all jog past me on the flats.
  2. I wasn't overthinking it... but I did a bit. Main objective was to try to keep in my watch's green HR zone for as much of the time as possible. I think I read that somewhere. Anyway. Seemed to work well.
  3. It was nice to not have to run with full kit. I relied on race HQ for all my fuel and drink needs, until the last two yards when I did grab my vest and start carrying water with electrolytes.
  4. Flat coke. It's just the best drink for an ultra, isn't it??!
  5. This is a great format for stretching a distance goal. The yard distance means that none of the major milestone distances line up with loops very well. If you want to do 10km, you need to do two loops, which is nearly 13km. A half marathon? That'll need you to complete 4 laps, and you'll do over 16 miles. Marathon? 7 laps baby. Oh you actually just did 29 miles! Some would say you're an ultra runner now (I would!). So it just pushes you a bit more. The brief rests, and the "one more lap" mentality pushes you further yet. One of the finishers said she only came to do 3 laps (she's my hero, honestly, what a cool lady!).
  6. I did get bored. Loop races are a mental challenge as much as a physical one. The loop we were on even had a secret bonus loop inside that I hadn't planned for (we ran around Beacon Park 1.5 times). Your brain will go before your legs. And I did need to plug into headphones for lap 7.
two sweaty chumps
Very proud of Stu's 16+ mile distance PB ❤️

I'm not sure if I'd do a full BYU. I'd not have enough in me to be competitive and would probably just drop off around 8 laps anyway. But I had a lot of fun at this event—great people, great format, and really well organised.

I don't want to see Beacon Park again for a long time.

Man and sign, sign says Lichfield. Cos that's where I was. Over and over again

Thanks WIP for hosting this!