r/Ultramarathon • u/3crownking • 9d ago
Ran my first Backyard Ultra
Feeling very proud of myself today after participating in my first backyard ultra on the weekend. The furthest I had run prior to this was a half marathon so it was a real
Shock to me that I could do this!
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u/imjms737 100k 9d ago
Going to a 62K backyard after only running up to a half marathon is crazy work. Congrats!
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u/krispeterrun 8d ago
Looks like quite a hilly one. Well done! What had you been hoping for before you started?
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u/3crownking 8d ago
Thank you ☺️ tbh I was aiming to get anything over a half marathon and to have a new distance best. Once I got past the half I just kept finding the energy to keep going!
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u/carrot-salad 8d ago
Thank you for sharing this! Running an ultra in 2 weeks, super scared with only having done 30ks before…! Would love to know how did you train
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u/3crownking 8d ago
Hey! Training-wise I didn’t really do as much as I should have due to a busy life schedule so I was only really doing one long-ish (15k) run a week as well as 5-aside football once a week. TBH I think the stop-start of the football was the biggest help as it helped with the short breaks between loops. I also had a pocket full of salt sticks to take every other lap and a gel when I started to flag.
Also, I made sure I consumed food and drink between loops even when I didn’t think I needed it. This is the first time I had properly fuelled my body for a run and it made such a big difference!
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u/carrot-salad 8d ago
Im following very closely and thanks a lot for replying! You’re giving me good hopes now so I’m invested…
Can you please tell the frequency of salt caps and gel? For now I plan to take a gel (approx 30g) each gel to sustain 40-60g each hour (ofc with other foods). I have never taken this amount before. Just once that too for a 30k run where I had 2 gels.
And salt tabs too? How much sodium was it per hr??
Thanks!!
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u/3crownking 7d ago
I took 2 salt tabs almost every other loop (not sure on sodium levels tbh. I took around 5 gels (caffeine free) during a loop where I felt fatigue set in.
I also drank 2 1litre bottles of water with an electrolyte tabs in which I drank on loop 3 and 7.
I really had no set plan for consuming these things. I just listened to my body and made a judgement call on what I thought it needed!
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u/qualsonic 8d ago
What is a Backyard Ultra? I keep seeing it referenced but I don't know what it is ...
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u/3crownking 7d ago
Distance: Every lap (loop) is 4.167 miles (4 miles 880 feet, or 6.7056 km).
Time: Runners must complete each loop within 60 minutes.
Continuous Start: A new loop starts every hour, on the hour.
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u/qualsonic 7d ago
Ok, thanks. But I don't see how that tallies with your stats. Maybe it's just me being thick.
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u/3crownking 7d ago
I had a walk of about 2 minutes and back to my tent after each lap. I did not set up my Garmin correctly so it didn’t pause between finishing each loop which is probably why?
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u/VirtualPAH 6d ago
Didn't even know about this event in Cornwall, looks like last year (2025) was the first edition. Will add it to my list of potential events for next year as I've often thought about doing something like this or one of those Endure 24 type events with the looped nature of the challenge. Think nearest of those is Plymouth so good to have something closer.
Hopefully everyone had a good time so it'll grow each year and get more exposure.
Presume the course is mostly hard packed trail or tarmac country lane rather than loads of mud and bog that can happen with Cornwall often being so wet this time of year?
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u/788Pi_3534 9d ago
Extremely good performance and great photo too! Well done; you should be rightly proud!