Big's Backyard Ultra (Big Dog's Backyard Ultra World Championship)
Bell Buckle, Tennessee · October · Backyard
- Distance
- Backyard
- Backyard format
Why runners love it
- The world championship of the format: one 6,706 m (4.167 mi) yard every hour until one runner is left.
- The 2025 individual winner ran 114 yards, 764 km (475 mi), in nearly five days.
- Yard length is set so 24 hours equals 161 km (100 mi), with road yards at night.
- Dropped runners crew others and everyone stays to clean up after the finish.
- The 2026 edition is a team event: national teams of 15 race at satellite sites.
Watch out for
- Not an open race: entry is by national silver-ticket win or at-large selection.
- Only one runner officially finishes; everyone else is a DNF by design.
- Night road yards are hard on feet after rocky trail days; rain makes roots and rocks slick.
- No entry fee, pacer rules or lodging guidance appear on the organiser pages read.
- 2026 is a team championship, not the individual race; the next individual edition is expected in 2027.
Race
How runners feel about it, how well it is run, and the community around it. Counts for 25% of the overall score.
Toughness for its distance: Extreme
- Runner satisfactionBucket list4.5
Reports from 2013 to 2025 are warm: a tight community and a memorable format, though most accounts come from the front of the field. · Medium confidence
- OrganizationWell run4.2
Operations detail is thin; one racer credits the founder's family for holding the event together. Few runners have written about logistics. · Low confidence
- Community and vibeLegendary4.8
Eliminated runners crew others, everyone gathers round the founder after the finish and the group cleans up together (2019 reports). · Medium confidence
Support
Aid stations, crew access, drop bags and pacer rules. Counts for 25% of the overall score.
- Aid stationsGood3.8
Runners pass their own camp every 6.7 km (4.2 mi), but the organiser does not describe aid food, so support is mostly personal. · Low confidence
- Crew accessEvery lap4.8
Crews work at the start line every hour; one 2019 runner's crew talked him out of quitting. · Medium confidence
- Drop bagsEvery lap4.5
Your own camp at the start line is visited every hour, which works like a drop bag at every lap. · Low confidence
- PacersVery late only1.5
The organiser says nothing on pacers, and each runner completes every yard under their own power, so outside pacing is not part of it. · Low confidence
Course
Course marking, scenery, and how runners rate the trail itself. Counts for 15% of the overall score.
- Course markingClear4.4
A short 6.7 km (4.2 mi) loop repeated; the night road was added after runners got lost on trail in the dark. · Medium confidence
- SceneryPleasant3.2
Wooded foothill singletrack and a country road at night: pleasant and social rather than scenic. · Low confidence
- Trail experienceFine3.3
Runners enjoy the day trail yards, but the point is repetition over days, and the night road is hard on feet. · Medium confidence
Course traits, not part of the score
- FootingModerate2.8
Day yards use rocky, rooty singletrack that turns slick in rain; night yards are on pavement. · Medium confidence
- RunnabilityMostly runnable3.6
A jog or walk-run pace of 6.7 km (4.2 mi) per hour is enough early on, with hills on the day loop. · Medium confidence
- ClimbingGently rolling4.2
About 145 m (476 ft) per day yard and 30 m (98 ft) per night yard gives roughly 12 m (39.4 ft) per km (65 ft per mi) over 24 h. · Low confidence
Conditions
Race-day temperature and how predictable the weather is. Counts for 14% of the overall score.
- Race-day temperaturePleasant3.6
About 6 to 27 °C (43 to 81 °F) in 2025 with rain; mild for October, but wet roots and rocks turn slick. · Medium confidence
- Weather reliabilityVariable3.4
Rain fell in 2019 and 2025, and a multi-day race gives the weather days to change. · Low confidence
Course traits, not part of the score
- AltitudeSea level4.9
About 264 m (866 ft) above sea level, per a third-party course profile. · Medium confidence
Cutoffs
How generous the overall and intermediate cutoffs are for the terrain. Counts for 13% of the overall score.
- Overall cutoffGenerous3.9
One hour per 6.7 km (4.2 mi) yard is 14:24 per mile (8:57 per km): easy early, brutal as fatigue builds. · Medium confidence
- Intermediate cutoffsReasonable2.6
A hard one-hour limit every yard, and everyone but the winner is eventually stopped by it. That is the format. · Medium confidence
Not part of the score
- First timer friendlyExperts only1.4
A world-championship field with no beginner pathway. Local backyard races are the place to start. · High confidence
- Getting inLong-odds lottery1.2
Entry is by invitation: national silver-ticket wins or at-large selection, about 75 individual places worldwide. · High confidence
Stay and travel
Getting there, places to stay, race-day logistics and value. Counts for 8% of the overall score.
- Travel easeFair3.0
A small Middle Tennessee town; Nashville is the nearest large airport but the organiser gives no distance or transfer advice. · Low confidence
- Places to stayBook early2.8
A small town and the organiser gives no lodging guidance; few runners have written about where they stayed. · Low confidence
- LogisticsSimple4.2
One site, one hourly start and a personal camp for the whole race, with no shuttles or point-to-point moves. · Medium confidence
- ValueFair3.0
The entry fee was not published on the pages read, so value cannot be judged well. · Low confidence
Key facts
Checked against the 2026 edition on the official race site. Rules change, so confirm before you enter. Blank means the race does not publish it.
- Location
- Bell Buckle, Middle Tennessee, United States
- Region
- Southeast US
- Typical month
- October
- Latest or next date
- 17 October 2026
- Start time
- 07:00
- First held
- 2011
- Course shape
- Backyard format of 6.7 km (4.2 mi)
- Surface
- Mixed: Daytime yards run on hilly, rocky singletrack through the founder's property; night yards switch to a gently rolling paved out-and-back road (iRunFar and yardlore, 2025: 11 trail yards and 13 road yards per 24 h).
- Footing
- Official site gives only the loop length. Yardlore (aggregator) lists about 145 m (476 ft) of climb per daytime trail yard and about 30 m (98 ft) per night road yard, at about 264 m (866 ft) above sea level. Total gain depends on how long you last, so it is not stated.
- Cutoff notes
- Backyard format: every runner must finish a yard inside 60 minutes and be on the start line for the next. The race has no fixed time limit and ends when one runner is the last to complete a yard alone (that runner needs one more yard than the last person to drop). Best at Big's is 114 yards (475 mi, 764 km), Phil Gore, 2025; the 100 mi (161 km) point is at hour 24.
- Drop bags
- Every lap
- Crew access
- Every lap
- Support notes
- Runners pass the start/finish and their own camp every 6.7 km (4.2 mi), so support is by personal crew, not a fixed aid menu. Organiser pages read did not describe aid food, crew tents or pacer rules; reports mention crews acting as pit crews and eliminated runners helping other crews.
- Water notes
- Not described.
- Night running
- Two or more nights
- Entry
- Invite
- Qualifier needed
- Win a silver-ticket backyard race in your country or place among your nation's top at-large performers over the previous two years (qualifying period ended 15 August 2026).
- Entry notes
- 2026 is a team event: each national team has up to 15 runners and the country with the most combined yards wins. The 2025 individual championship had 75 places. Entry fee and invitation mechanics were not published on the pages read.
- Air temperature
- 6–27 °C (43–81 °F)
- Weather notes
- The 2025 championship saw 6 to 27 C (43 to 81 F) with rain over nearly five days; October weather in Middle Tennessee. Slippery roots and rocks reported when wet.
- Stay notes
- Bell Buckle is a small town in Bedford County, Tennessee; Nashville is the nearest large airport but the organiser gives no distance or lodging guidance on pages read.
- Course record (men)
- 114 yards (475 mi, 764 km), Phil Gore, 2025
- Course record (women)
- 95 yards (395.8 mi, 637 km), Sarah Perry, 2025 (women's world record)
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What runners and reviewers say
- iRunFarRaced 2025 · article · Positive
Pace analysis of the 2025 championship: Phil Gore won with 114 yards (475 mi, 764 km (475 mi)) and Ivo Steyaert was the assist at 113. Top-25 runners averaged about 50:50 per yard; each 24 h has 11 harder trail yards and 13 road yards. Everyone but the winner eventually drops, and lap times rise after yard 50.
- Marathon HandbookRaced 2025 · article · Positive
75 runners started on a sunny Saturday and Gore finished alone on Thursday morning after nearly five days. Sarah Perry set the women's record of 95 yards (396 mi, 637 km (396 mi)) before back pain ended her race. Crews, athletes and staff shaped a communal feel.
- The Senior (Australia)Raced 2025 · article · Positive
Gore, 39, says he was confused at times and wanted sleep and a shower afterwards. 72 starters and Belgian Ivo Steyaert, 55, the last to drop after 113 yards. His wife greeted him at the finish.
- Canadian Running MagazineRaced 2021 · article · Positive
2021: 36 runners from 10 countries qualified by logging yards at backyard races worldwide. The loop is chosen so 100 mi (161 km) takes exactly 24 hours; the course switches to road at night, and the race began at 7 am Central.
- VHTRC (Virginia Happy Trails Running Club)Raced 2013 · forum · Mixed
Early report: singletrack trail loop for the first 12 h, then an out-and-back paved road at night that the founder added to make things easier because runners were getting lost after dark. Two runners dropped at 19 and 34 yards; one finished.
Show 5 more
- MassUltraRaced 2018 · article · Positive
Johan Steene won in 2018 with 283.3 mi (456 km), narrowly ahead of Courtney Dauwalter at 279.2 mi (449 km); 34 runners reached at least 100 mi (161 km). Two Massachusetts runners were disqualified.
- Amelia Boone RacingRaced 2019 · blog · Positive
Boone raced her first ultra in over a year after injury and ended at 112 mi (180 km). She found the trail yards beautiful and social, and the night road out-and-back better than feared. Rain made roots and rocks slippery, and blisters ended her day. Dropped runners became crew, and the group cleaned up together.
- Canadian Running MagazineRaced 2019 · article · Mixed
Hayward, a 51-year-old Hong Kong qualifier, found the road overnight much harder on his body than the trail. By day three he could not eat or drink, hallucinated and fell asleep moving. His crew pushed him to continue, and he finished second to Maggie Guterl.
- Trail RunnerRaced 2019 · article · Positive
Maggie Guterl became the first woman to win, running about 250 mi (402 km) in about 60 h on a roughly 4 mi (6.7 km) maze of woods trails. 72 entered, ten of them women. Crews cheered and taunted runners; after the race everyone gathered around the founder, which Guterl joked looked like a cult.
- Yardloreaggregator · Mixed
Course profile: day loop about 145 m (476 ft) per yard, night loop about 30 m (98 ft), 264 m (866 ft) altitude. Table of yards by year: 114 in 2025, 108 in 2023, 85 in 2021, 60 in 2019, 68 in 2018.
Ran Big's Backyard Ultra (Big Dog's Backyard Ultra World Championship)? Your notes on the footing, cutoffs and aid stations help the next runner decide.
Sources
Pages we used for facts and ratings.
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