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2. Edition, SATURDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2024
NEGORSKI BANJI, GEVGELIJA, N.MACEDONIA

REGISTERED RUNNERS 2024

RACE BRIEFING

Starting fee

The question is, are YOU ready TO TEST YOUR LIMITS?

REGULAR PERIOD

10.07. - 10.10.2024
€ 25
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Event details

Punk's Backyard Ultra is no ordinary running event. It’s not just a race, it’s the ultimate measure of human endurance. Where is YOUR limit? Is it 5 or 15 loops? Is it 24 or 100 loops? The only sure thing about Punk's Backyard Ultra, is the clock doesn’t stop until the last one is standing. Situated in a MTB velopark in Negorski Spa Center near Gevgelija, PBU is in a league of its own. The 6.7km course will take you through well-established MTB track, pine forest, urban park and vineyards with amazing vistas towards Kozhuf mountains.

BACKYARD ULTRA CONCEPT

The race format of a Backyard Ultra is quite simple. You have to run a 6.7km loop within the hour, every hour, until there is only one race participant left. 
GPX TRACK (soon)

BACKYARD STRATEGY

So if you complete a loop in 45 minutes, you have 15 minutes before the next loop starts. What you do with your time is completely up to you, but you MUST be at the start line before the next loop starts. There are three, two and one minute warning bells so all participants are aware of the impending start time. In essence, there is a new race every hour. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you run the loop, as long as you make it back to the finish line before the 1 hour cut off. In a traditional Ultra Marathon, you can hit a low point in the race, but regather yourself for 30 minutes at the nearest aid station. Unfortunately you don’t have that same luxury in a Backyard Ultra. You can’t afford to have a ‘bad’ loop. The clock never stops.

BACKYARD TACTICS

Why am I running 6.7km continuous loops in a pine-forest at two o’clock in the morning? Why am I putting myself through unnecessary suffering while my friends are enjoying their veal broth and warm bread? Why start a race where failure is almost guaranteed? These are questions only you can answer. What we CAN guarantee, is that Punk's Backyard Ultra will be etched in your memory for all time. See you on the track!

Backyard Ultra Rules

1

COURSE

Loop or out and back.
Must be 4 miles 880 feet in length.
Metric equivalent 6.7056 kilometers.

2

STARTING CORRAL

Measured to fit entire starting field.
Corral stays the same size thru out the event.
Participants must be in the starting corral at the bell.

3

STARTS

Each loop starts precisely 1 hour after the last.
Warning must be given 3, 2, and 1 minutes prior to start.
All competitors must start at the bell (no late starts).

4

LOOPS

Except for restrooms, competitor may not leave the course until each loop is completed.
No non-competitors on the course (including eliminated runners).
No personal aid during a loop (common aid stations are allowed).
Each loop must be completed within an hour to be counted… including the final lap.
No artificial aids (including trekking poles).
Slower runners must allow passes.

5

TIMING

Timing of the loops is optional.

6

WINNER/RESULTS

The winner is the last person to complete a loop.
All others are technically DNF.
Results of each runner in terms of distance covered are to be given.
If no runner can complete one more loop than anyone else, there is no winner.

7

CAP

Race must be open ended.

8

TEAMS EVENT

Teams Event
Teams of 4 people
Give yourself a name and dress up if you like.
You each enter as an individual runner and run as normal but your laps will also be totalled together for the team competition.
Support one another to keep going. When a member DNFs support the others.

National and World Backyard Championship

For the first time, on October 19, the National Championship in BACKYARD will be held here in conjunction with the Satellite World Team Championship.
Propositions:
- Each country selects a representation of 15 people who will run in a backyard organized in their country.
- Each backyard starts at the same time (14:00 on October 19, 2024 CET)
- Each completed lap per team member is scored with 1 point.
- All the races will have an internet connection where every hour the athletes who will finish that lap are marked in a google sheet.
- Results will be immediately online for all national teams, so you always know how your team ranks.
- The result is quite dynamic, teams gain and lose position every hour, according to how many athletes they still have in the competition.

The competition between countries is divided into classes based on the experience of the members of the national team. Team N.Macedonia would compete in the smallest class because we don't have an athlete with previous 24-hour experience in BACKYARD. So our team will be competing against teams of similar abilities. But it is a great experience for all participants, because they are in a race, where everyone is part of a team and that requires a lot of mutual support. Each runner is scored, so each of the 15 national team members is equally important.

In the end, the winner of Punks Backyard Ultra 2024 will be considered the national champion of N.Macedonia in backyard.
And the top 50 national champions (according to distance covered) receive an invitation to the world individual championship in October 2025 in the USA.

Team selector for N.Macedonia - Dejan Krle, in order to be a part of the national team, if you think you can contribute to a world-class result, write to me or call me. Criteria for selection will be based on ultra running experience, ITRA points and in mutual agreement.

Difficulties in running a Backyard Ultra

Backyard ultras are the invention of Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell, who is also one of the founders and race directors of the Barkley Marathons. 
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
In contrast to usual ultramarathon races, untrained people can join a Backyard Ultra — and not drop out during the first handful of rounds, as the required pace is quite low: 8.9 minutes per kilometer. Thus, the challenge is rather a mental one: No participant knows when the race will end, and the participant's ranking does not depend on themselves, but on whether their competitors are giving up.
As every runner has to start the next round at exactly the same time, a fast runner does not have an advantage over slower ones. While running too fast will burn the energy reserves, a slow speed will not allow enough rest before the next round. Thus, the main challenge lies in maintaining the running speed over dozens of hours, getting enough rest, and spending the resting time as efficiently as possible — with either a massage, a power nap, a restroom visit, or getting food and drinks. The most successful Backyard Ultra runners strive for a resting time of 14 to 18 minutes, forcing them to run 6.706 km in 42 to 46 minutes.
According to Lazarus Lake, most runners do not drop out because of missing the per-round time limit, but because of their diminishing mental strength to carry on. This is well illustrated by Lake's statement that "[…] the hardest part of the course is between your chair and the starting corral".[8] When a runner displays pain or fatigue, it often motivates the other runners to carry on because they expect him or her to give up.

Proudly supported by

punksbackyardultra@gmail.com

Dejan Krle, race director 
+ 389 71 246 423
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www.trex.mk
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