On Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. ET, Gary Cantrell a.k.a. Laz Lake will blow the starting whistle for the Team World Backyard Ultra Championships, and across the world, 15-member teams will begin running laps of 6.71 km (4.17 miles) every hour on the hour, continuing until only one runner is left. There are 945 runners representing 63 countries who will all compete at satellite locations around the world.
The backyard ultra concept was created in 2012 by Lake, the famous race director of the Barkley Marathons, on his property in Bell Buckle, Tenn. This challenge does not determine who the fastest runner is, but who is the most enduring: the one who remains standing while all others have given up. Big’s Backyard Ultra, held every other year, brings the top backyard ultrarunners from every participating country to Cantrell’s property to compete in person. In even-numbered years (as this year), a satellite championship takes place. Last year’s Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championships saw American ultrarunner Harvey Lewis outlast Canada’s Ihor Verys in a dramatic duel; Lewis completed a mind-blowing 108 hourly loops—724.248 km in total—to shatter the previous backyard ultra world record by more than 40 km.
A new course with eastern-Canadian flair
The team organizer, Big Wolf’s Backyard, has partnered with the city of Edmundston, N.B., bringing a backyard race to the province for the first time. Organizers have created a wooded, flat, easy course to help the runners preserve strength, and warming tents, volunteers and medical staff will be available to help runners when they come out of the corral at the end of every lap (runners can receive aid only once they have exited the race course and into the aid area).
The first satellite event
The inaugural 2020 satellite event featured 21 teams and captured the hearts of viewers across the globe. Karel Sabbe of Belgium set what was, at the time, a backyard ultra record, running 75 hours/laps (called yards, in backyard ultra terminology) or 502 km. In 2022, in B.C., Team Canada finished fifth in total laps and this year the team kicks off in seventh place worldwide, according to the individual records of each athlete. This represents an impressive total of 749 laps—5,019 km for our 15 Canadian runners, with an average of 334.5 km—equivalent to 50 hours of running–for each. Canada will be chasing the U.S., which leads the pack with 1,030 laps—6,902 km at the start for their runners.
Meet Team Canada
Quebec
Éric Deshaies (66 laps – 442.3 km)
Marco Poulin (53 laps – 355.2 km)
Nicolas Poulin (52 laps – 348.5 km)
Cédric Chavanne (51 laps – 341.8 km)
Pierre-Alexandre Beaulieu (50 laps – 335 km)
Stéphanie Simpson (47 laps – 314.9 km)
François Decelles (46 laps – 308.2 km)
Sébastien Roulier (45 laps – 301.5 km)
Ontario
Amanda Nelson (57 laps – 382 km)
Viktoria Brown (49 laps – 328.4 km)
Justin Wright (47 laps – 314.9 km)
Nova Scotia
Lee Alonzo Murphy (54 laps – 361.8 km)
Tim Fitzgerald (44 laps – 294.8 km)
Saskatchewan
Preston Schaffer (35 laps – 234.5 km)
Alberta
Matt Shepard (53 laps – 301.5 km)
As the final days and hours count down toward the lighting of Cantrell’s cigarette, Team Canada says they’re ready. “I’ve had enough of the planning part, I just want to get to the running part!” says N.S. runner Murphy. Ontario’s Brown, one of three women on the team, says that Team Canada is stronger than ever, with a world-class setup that includes volunteers, chefs and health professionals to ensure the team members can each go as far as body and mind allow.” Brown, who finished second at the 6-day World Championship only a month ago, says that while she has no idea how far she will go, she’s rested and prepared with high hopes. Shepard describes the overarching theme of his year of training to prepare for this event: “finesse over force.”
To follow the event live, head to this Youtube channel.
Check for updates on @cantrailrunning and @canrunning on X throughout the event. To learn more about the World Backyard Ultra Championship (satellite edition) head here.
