Another Race With No Pre-Determined End
My 5th Backyard Ultra | Ultramarathon #083
I have had a dream about getting into Big's Backyard Ultra for a little while now. If you have been following my blog you realized that I dropped out of my last attempt [stupidly] earlier this year back in April (The Game race report). In an effort to save myself for an upcoming A-race at the time: Cocodona 250, I withdrew myself we only 3 runners left after 30 yards even though physically nothing was wrong. I was completely fine with this effort and decision for the longest time, even after running Cocodona since I did manage to have a good performance there as well (Cocodona race report). Later on into the fall and the fact that Big's was upcoming with the entrants list was published and the hype was going around I started to kick myself for not giving it my all at The Game back in April since that was a golden coin race which did give direct entry into Big's itself (The World Championship of Backyard Ultras). Following along with the Big's weekend and tuning into the Facebook Live feed every hour I began to realize, looking back, how big of a mistake I had made not giving it my full effort in order to get into this coveted race. I could not spoil my next opportunity.
My renewed focus for this race was in part due to the fact the entry process for Big's Backyard was revamped due to the exploding popularity in the Backyard style of racing. It now consists of a complicated bracket system for each respective country to get into the Team satellite Team Championship in the even years (i.e. 2022) which then potentially allows entry, via performance, into Big's Individual Championship in the odd years (i.e. 2023). This is a very simple one sentence explanation - if you are truly interested look up the process and the full up-to-date "At Large" list on https://backyardultra.com/. In summary, it is now a lot harder to get into Big's itself due to the popularity of the Backyard format.
Also if you have been following my blog you will notice that I love to race a lot and I will spare the details but essentially I did not know how I would be physically coming into this race given my prior two weekends of racing. Logistically I was dialed and ready - this would be my 5th attempt in the Backyard Ultra format. Mentally I was sound, this was a focus race for me and I was ready to go as long as it would take. The only slight question I had is how my body would hold up. Yes I was fit, but unsure how long I could sustain another big effort given the fatigue in my legs.
With the race starting on Friday morning I actually took off late Thursday afternoon to go pick up my bib and check in for the race, but most importantly to pick out my spot for my half-tent and my homebase for the event. Since it is a fairly short drive my our place I did not mind this and besides it would save me time in the morning since I had majority of my stuff set up and in place. I went home and got a good sleep. Friday morning I was ready and eager to get started. I stopped for my essential morning coffee on my hour drive back out to 7IL Ranch near Cat Spring, TX. I arrived in the chill of the morning just prior to sunset with all the other participants scurrying around getting their own spots set up. I simply sat down enjoyed my coffee and basically got my shoes on. The sun started to peak around the horizon sheading some light onto the ranch in an array of orange and yellow hues of color. It was going to be a glorious sunny fall day in Texas. Then Rob Goyen, the race director, gathered everyone up for the pre-race brief and went over the exact rules of the Backyard. Since this was an official affiliate race for Big's the details were carefully explained for anyone whom had not been in a true Backyard format before.
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Rob Goyen (Race Director) giving out the pre-race riefing.
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| The official Backyard Ultra rules. |
The time was now here, the sound of 3 whistle blasts echoed down the row of runners tents and chairs. It was go time. All the runners gathered up in the starting corral and Rob ensured the corral was proper size to fit everyone for the race (this is one of the requirements of the Backyard). The last countdown was on and the field of 86 runners took off together with the excitement of the start running down the gravel road towards the ever rising sunset. Naturally it was not an all out start since this style of race is all abt pacing yourself for the long haul. Following the excitement of the crowd I did run the first loop in sub-40 minutes which was slightly faster than I wanted. The course was a simple lay out of a series of 3 long out & backs mostly on the gravel/jeep roads of the ranch along with some pasture trails mixed in. The course loop meant that we'd see all the runners at least once throughout the loop due to tall the turn around points. Overall it was around 85 feet of gain per loop so pretty flat and fast. After my first fast loop I tried to dial it back slightly and was aiming for a nice 41-43 minute loop that would give me a good amount of time off feet at end of each loop. I thought this strategy would be a good fit for me.
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Starting corral, race start, 86 runners. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas.
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Loop 1 start down the 7IL Ranch entrance road. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas.
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There was literally zero clouds in the sky so it was a perfect sunny fall day out there. Going round and round out there on the roads with all the runners on the first few yards made the time fly by. There was a 72 year old man out there that completed 4 yards but then timed out on his 5th unfortunately. A couple of younger teenagers were also looking solid all day and ended up going into the ultra distance by officially completing their 7th yard which is 29.17 Mi. Truly inspirational to see runners like this pushing themselves in this unique format. One of the great aspects of the Backyard is you get to see all the runners start and finish each 4.1667 Mi yard and see the progression, or regression, as the event unfolds. Another runner story was I was running along side someone on an earlier loop, like the 4th or 5th and he had recognized me so we were chatting. He got to mentioning he was a short distance guy and had never run more than a 22 Mi long run before. I gave him a thumbs up every time after that cause I knew he was at his distance PB and was still going. He eventually finished off the 15th yard completing the 100k distance and earning the belt buckle that was up for grabs. This is just another testimonial story of this format is as one truly doesn't know how far they can go and with the help of the trail community you just never know.
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Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas.
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| Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
The sunset just after the 8th hour and the conclusion of finishing up over 50 km milestone. This meant there was a fair amount of runners dropping as for some this was probably their goal of the day. The darkness crept in and the temperature slowly starting to dive down towards the 60s, then 50s, and eventually into the 40s late into the night, or early next morning, however you want to spin it. Before the start of the 2nd day, the completion of the 15th yard signified the 100 km milestone and another large group of runners called it good and the field size dropped again down to the final 15 runners for the start of the 16th yard prior to midnight.
Like the gradual drop in temperatures throughout the moonlit night, the runner count also slowly dripped down towards the final 5. This happened right as the sun was about to rise to signify the completion of 24 yards or hours. 100 miles complete and there was only the 5 runners that answered the whistles for the start of the 26th yard to continue on and battle it out. Luckily I was still one and kept my motivation high by reminding myself I had to keep running before my crew and cheer squad (my family) would come out to the ranch and support me. I honestly did not know exactly what time they would be there so this did serve as added motivation for me in the back of my mind for sure.
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| Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
It was around the mid-way through my 27th loop my family arrived and showed up to see me come in back to the corral. Coming back into sight our the start/finish area my 3 oldest daughters were there sitting on the fence gate awaiting me to come into sight. It instantly gave me a huge boost when I saw those little humans start to run down the ranch road to meet me. We all ran back to the corral and completed that loop. I went over and kissed my wife and said hi to our 4th and youngest daughter as well. I then got in my chair and kicked my feet up to rest.
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| My oldest 3 daughters greeting me on Saturday morning. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
The sun was finally breeching through the clouds as well warming the air up nicely. It had been a little overcast of a morning thus far, a contrast to yesterday when no clouds were found at all. My feet were really starting to hurt now, but oddly it was between loops where the pain seemed to reach my awareness level in my brain. Every time I would take the pressure off my feet and kick them up in my chair interloop I would get a feeling of small tingles and needles feeling on the bottom of my feet. What seemed backward to me is once I got back up out of my chair back on my feet again to run and got the first few steps underway of the next loop the feeling of pain would all but disappear to the point where I wouldn't even enter my mind until I was back into my chair again. I guess that was bittersweet of this, but clearly my feet were a little damaged by the constant dew from the long grass on the ranch of the pasture trail portion (see my foot/buckle picture at the end).
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The final four. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas.
Back Left: Shawn Salyer - 3rd, 29 yards.
Left: Nick Petterson - 2nd, 32 yards.
Middle: Joel Hagaman - 4th, 28 yards.
Right: Trevor Meding (me) - winner, 33 yards |
With my amazing support crew now in my camp I sent back off with even more confidence and another slight boost. The first out and back of the course went all the away down the main entrance of the 7IL Ranch road and so we actually ran back by our tents and chairs and so my kids were there to give me high fives and cheers as I went by after the first 1.4 Mi mark heading out towards the pasture trail portion. My other 3 competitors at the time appeared to be abetting their time and just slogging through the loops. I honestly don't know how they felt but I did feel like I had an advantage as I was feeling much better after my family showed up, and them just being there was huge for me mentally. Next thing I know we are lining up for the 29th yard and all of a sudden there was only 3 us standing there. I glanced over and Joel Ha was not getting up coming towards the corral. The countdown ticked on....and we set off now down to the 3 of us.
My loops were slowly getting a little faster again remaining pushing the 42 minutes mark at this point which was giving me a still nice 15-17 minute break at the end of each loop. I was getting psyched to be running again and feeling good, hopefully putting a little pressure on my fellow runners by not showing any signs of slowing down at this point. We got back into the corral for the 30th yard with the 3 of us standing there. Fist bumps were given, and then Shawn Salyer said "good luck guys" and did not take off instead decided his event was over. With that we were down to the final 2 runners, myself and Nick Petterson. We had survived 29 yards (120.83 Mi) as we whittled down the field from 86 to survive to the final 2, and now it was a race with the stake of the win, the belt, and the prize purse up for grabs.
I managed to hang on and finish off the 33rd yard and win the Texas B.M.F. (Last Human Standing) event. I kind of knew half way through that last loop I was about to secure the win. On the long out and back into the pasture trails I was ahead of Nick and figured I would see him once I turned around at the far cone. However he was not there and was further back than expected based on the past few loops, I did not see him at all as I made my way back. Around the new corner peering past the trees in the field I still did not see him coming. At this point I had that thought of "this is it" come into my mind, but tried to quiet that thought...just in case. Then turning the corner through the fence opening into the third and final out and back portion I knew it was over, as Nick was not there yet and would not have time to complete the loop even if he was in sight at this point. A mere mile left and I would complete the 33rd yard and claim victory.
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| Coming into the finish corral. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
My 3 oldest daughters (Addison, Lily, & Paisley) were all there about the fence gate waiting for me 0.2 Mi from the finish corral. I could hear them faintly yelling through the warm afternoon air that I had won and were jumping up and down. A big smile came across my face as I trotted up to my kids. We then all ran side by each other and headed in to make it official. I glanced over and saw Nick there with his wife and gave him a nod of admiration and respect. I came up to the corral and making it official to have Rob Goyen there awaiting me with the winners belt. He presented me first with a buckle handcrafted by Elevation Culture (everyone that completed at least 100 km/ 15 yards earned one of these). Then he gave me a big hug, congratulating me and passed me the overall winner's prize: a giant custom made belt buckle for this event (by Undisputed Belts). I took this and with a large release of happiness, emotion, and I think pure relief I held it above my head and just let out a yell of "Yesssssss". I had come to the ranch to win and I had achieved my goal. Finally Rob pulled out the prize money and handed it over, a nice cool wad of cash that will help serve our family in shopping for the holidays.
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Buckle presentation. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas.
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| Overall Winner [Belt] Buckle. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
After a moment of celebration I went over and thanked Nick for the assist and presented him the Texas winner's belt. (Technically I won both belts, but I did not see use in having 2 giant belts and so as a gesture of his effort and great performance I gave the other belt to Nick). We gave a hug and got a couple pictures. I wandered over to my chair and sat down ready to get off my feet. Taking off my socks was such a relief. My wife gave me a funny look at the sight of my one foot and asked if it hurt. Rob somehow got a glance as I took off my second sock and said "Trevor, is that your foot? Jeremiah get over here". With that I popped my feet up for a final picture for Jeremiah (TROT Photographer) holding my buckle in between my beat up feet.
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| My feet hurt like they have run 137 MI or so. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
I asked my wife for one more thing before her and the kids took off back home. I had a request of been driven over to the main washroom facility where I would have a nice warm shower to rinse off the ranch dirt and dust. This was a great feeling to get all cleaned up before heading home myself. Once I was in warm dry clothing I emerged from the washroom and found the ranch was nearly empty already. TROT had cleaned up their gear and had headed home to their families already as well. My wife and kids pulled up in the van and I gave my wife a kiss as they headed home. I only had minimal left to pack away in my car as my family took most of it home for me. The hour drive home was a slow solo trek as I stopped a couple time to stretch out my legs. It also gave me some quiet time for me to reflect on what I had just achieved.
Time for a couple of zero days now...
Race Progression
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ...... 0 yards | 0.00 Mi completed - 86 runners toed the start line
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ........ 7 yards | 29.17 Mi completed - 58 runners remain (*marathon/ultra distance)
.......... .......... .......... .......... .... 8 yards | 33.33 Mi completed - 44 runners remain (*50 km distance)
.......... .......... ....... 12 yards | 50.00 Mi completed - 27 runners remain
.......... ..... 15 yards | 62.50 Mi completed - 15 runners remain (*100 km distance)
.......... 17 yards | 70.83 Mi completed - top 10 runners remain
..... 24 yards | 100.00 Mi completed - top 5 runners remain
.... 27 yards | 112.50 Mi completed - 4 runners remain
... 29 yards | 120.83 Mi completed - 3 runners remain
.. 30 yards | 125.00 Mi completed - 2 runners remain
. 33rd yard - both runners started the loop, 1 dropped & 1 finished (137.51 Mi completed).
Results & Random Data
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| My own data analysis post-race of all my 33 loops in terms of time vs. interloop time. You can see the visual on the graph shows how I slowed slightly in the night hours as the temperature dropped, but then I started to get back to original pace as it warmed back up. |
UltraSignup Results: https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=83084#id1222957
My STRAVA activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/6285733756
My 83rd ultramarathon run -- completed 81/83 (97.59%).
My 27th 100 Mi(+) ultra -- completed 25/27 (92.59%).
My 5th Backyard Ultra format -- I have 2 wins now.
33 yards is my new Backyard PB -- prior was 30 yards.
I have run a total of 672.69 Mi on the 7IL Ranch since moving to Texas and running with TROT at the end of 2017 -- this represents my 4th most popular run location thus far. More to come out at the ranch?...tbd.
My goal for this race was to put up a 35+ yards performance and get myself a decent spot on the "At-Large" list for Team Canada in next year 2022 Big's Team Championship. I think I may have squeaked into the top10 at the moment but the qualifying window is open all the way until next August, so there is lots of movement to occur yet. Not sure if this performance will be enough, I may just have to find myself another Backyard next year sometime. To be determined...
My Gear Used
- kit (top): rabbit (rabbitELITEtrail '21 team singlet), Trail Racing Over Texas (Team TROT singlet), a couple various long sleeves during the night loops
- kit (bottom): rabbit 3" FKT shorts
- arm sleeves: rabbit
- jackets: rabbit let 'er zip hoodie
- gloves: rabbit (BOCO gear)
- hats: rabbit (BOCO gear)
- Gear bags: Victory Sportdesign (Kodiak)
- Lights: a NATHAN Halo Fire headlamp (did not use too much due to the moonlight being bright enough to run with).
- Flasks: NATHAN 20oz handheld (x2)
- Socks: Drymax (x2 pairs)
- Shoes: HOKA ONE ONE Challenger ATR 7 (test pair)
- Anti-Friction Body Lube: Trail Toes
- Watch: Garmin fēnix 6X Pro Solar (finished at 50% battery still = right on track for the 66 hrs total battery life in full GPS activity mode)
- Eyewear: goodr (Sorry, Not Sorry (But Actually Sorry) edition)
- Chair: Magellan Outdoors Oversize Anti-Gravity Lounger
- Coolers: x1 YETI & x1 Coleman (with a bunch of goodies, snacks, and some refreshing Athletic Brewing Co. beers)
My Backyard Essential Tips
*originally posted on my blog in 2021-Apr
1. Maximize the time off your feet.
2. Get a your base camp set up as close as possible to the starting corral.
3. Ensure you have a good chair with your own preferred snacks/drinks located directly within reaching distance when sitting down.
4. Get as much sleep as you can.
5. Have your watch settings dialed in ahead of time.
6. Have a great support crew.
*for detailed explanation of each of these 6 points refer back to the original post (The Game race report).
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| Quick shuteye interloop. I did mange a few 10 minute naps. Photo: JJustis Photography | Trail Racing Over Texas. |
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Thank you for following along.
Next Up: Brazos Bend 100 Mi (Dec-04)
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