Backyard Ultra Kit List
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Gods Own Backyard Ultra Leeds
Set in the heart of West Yorkshire, Leeds, God's Own Backyard Ultra is a formidable event in the UK's backyard ultra calendar. As an official part of the Backyard Ultra Series, this race offers a unique chance for one runner to earn a coveted spot at the legendary Big Dog's Backyard Ultra in Tennessee.
This isn't a race against the clock; it's a battle of attrition. The challenge is simple but brutal: who can be the last one standing?
Backyard Ultra Format
If you're new to the BYU format, it's a true mental and physical test.
- The Yard: Competitors must complete a 4.167 mile (6.7km) loop, known as a "yard".
- The Bell: The race starts on the hour, every hour. You must finish the loop and be back in the starting corral before the bell rings again, or you're out.
- The Winner: The race continues until only one runner is left. Everyone else receives an official DNF (Did Not Finish). To win, you must complete one more loop than everyone else, completely on your own.
Course
God's Own Backyard Ultra takes place at Hunters Greave in Hawksworth, Leeds, and the course gives a full flavour of the local area.
- Day Loop: The daytime yard is a varied, mixed-terrain circuit that is emphatically not flat. Runners will cover canal towpaths, farmland trails, sections of woodland, and a bit of tarmac. It's designed to be challenging but achievable within the hour limit.
- Night Loop: For safety, the race switches to a simpler, tarmac-based out-and-back course along the canal towpath during the night-time hours.
The event is set up to support runners for the long haul with a central race hub near the start/finish that allows runners and their support crews to set up camp. This is your personal space for rest, refuelling and recovery between loops. The race organisers provide essentials like hot and cold water, full first-aid and toilet facilities but runners are encouraged to bring their own specific nutrition and food that they've trained with.
Do you have the grit to outlast the rest in God's Own County? For the latest up-to-date details, including registration, please visit the official race website.
