Loop 1 of Dead Cow Gully in 360º [2024]
Click-and-drag the screen to move the camera around to watch a full loop of the Dead Cow Gully 2024 Alternate Track. The tyres in the creek crossings were replaced with wooden planks at about loop 4.
At the time of publishing, Sam Harvey, Ryan Crawford, and James Blanton are still battling it out for the prize of $10,000, and possibly breaking Harvey Lewis' world record of 108 loops, and Phil Gore's Australian record of 102 loops at the Australian Backyard Masters at Dead Cow Gully in 2023.
Thanks to Tim Walsh, the Walsh family, all the support crew, Patto for his live video work. Huge thanks to my wife, Jeanne-Marie, brother Lindal, and my two little girls for being the best support crew to get me to 17 loops in my first Backyard Ultra. Ran with friends, Reto, Colin, and Mauritzio who were great company, and thanks to Reto and his amazing support crew, Beck, who introduced me to this whole thing and helped me train!
Filmed on GoPro Max 360º camera.
About the Backyard format:⏳👟
Backyard Ultra Marathon was founded by Lazarus Lake.
A backyard ultra event is a unique ultra marathon race that typically takes place on a looped course, starting and finishing in a backyard, or other small, contained space. The race format involves runners completing a 4.17 mile (6.7 km) loop, within an hour.
At the end of each loop, runners must be ready to start the next loop again when the clock starts for the next hour. This means the runners must manage their pace and energy levels carefully to ensure they have enough time to complete each loop within the time limit.
The 4.17 mile distance is derived from dividing 100 miles by 24, meaning that if a runner lasts 24 "loops", or "yards", in the race - they have completed 100 miles. Someone who has completed 100 miles is called a "miler".
The event continues in this format until only one runner remains, or until no runner can complete a full loop within the time limit. There is only one winner, and everyone else receives a DNF (did not finish). For records to be broken, at least two people must last until the previous record of loops, so because of this - the person who is eventually second is called "the assist", as they helped the eventual winner to the end.
If all of the final runners cannot complete the same loop, there is no winner. There are often tactics employed to give runners an edge, such as the speed of their loops, or hiding injuries to not show any weakness. Typically, runners help each other, and the community is vibrant and positive.
To go a long way, runners usually require a support crew, who are permitted to help the runner at the end of their loop, in a 3x3m tent, near the start/finish line. If the runner receives any assistance during a loop, or turns back to grab something after they began the loop - they are disqualified.
Sleep deprivation is a real challenge, and after days of racing, can become the factor that differentiates the winner. Hallucinations are common for runners that fail to get adequate sleep during their breaks between the hourly loops. Runners use noise-cancelling headphones to help them get a few minutes of sleep between loops.
This format makes the backyard ultra event unique in that it is not a race against other runners but rather a race against the clock and oneself.
#running #trailrunning #ultramarathon #backyardultra