Red Dirt Backyard Ultra 24 hour

2023 RED DIRT BACKYARD ULTRA – 24 HOURS

Our Red Dirt Backyard Ultra is an ultramarathon event set around a  6.71km loop (or yard as it is known in the Backyard Ultra world), where  participants run a loop on the hour, every hour until there is only one  participant left – known as the Last One Standing (LOS) – and everyone  else is deemed a DNF or Did Not Finish. 

The concept of the Backyard Ultra is the brainchild of Lazarus Lake  (Laz) of Big Dogs Backyard in the USA. Laz came up with the idea to see  how far runners can push themselves, but in a more approachable format.  Anything can be achieved in the backyard!

The backyard ultra is an exciting event format and WA is home to the  biggest Backyard Ultra in the world – Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra, brought  to you by Ultra Series WA and run at Herdsman Lake in Perth. Ultra  Series WA also facilitate Birdy’s Backyard Ultra at Lake Towerinning in  SW WA, another spectacular event hosted on a spectacular private  property in the cold winter months.

This year the Pilbara Trailblazers Red Dirt Backyard Ultra will run as a  24-hour event, located on a 6.71km course that starts and finishes at  the Bayview Road Caravan Park in Nickol. The course is trail, with a  mixture of gravel, hard sand, and red dirt. Although it is flat (no  elevation) the mixed terrain and sometimes uneven surfaces become  interesting after you’ve done a few loops! 

In our inaugural RDBU in 2022, we had 39 solo participants, with the  event winner, Levi Winman, and his assist Ben Lyon, completing an  amazing 80km over the 12 hours. In 2023, we are upping the stakes –  offering solo entrants the opportunity to challenge themselves for up to  24 hours – and introducing a team entry for up to four people to  compete together. For those in teams, each runner must run at least four  yards during the event (equivalent to 26.84km), in whatever order the  team chooses. If you have ever wondered about a backyard ultra, this is  the year to give it go in your Pilbara backyard.

The Australian male record holder for the Backyard Ultra is Phil Gore  with 76 yards (509.96km) and the Australian female record holder is  Jessica Smith with 39 yards (261.69km). Both of these fabulous humans  are WA runners and both of them are very supportive of Pilbara  Trailblazers. You never know, you might even see one or both come along  to support our event this year! 

The world record for the Backyard Ultra currently stands at 101 hours – a  massive 677.71km, 4 days and 5 hours which was set by two Belgium  runners in 2022 – Laz amazingly allowed them both to win and didn’t  force a DNF – but how could you not, with such a spectacular effort.