What is a backyard ultra marathon?
A 6.7km lap (ours is 6.66km)
You have 1 hour to complete 1 lap.
Every hour, on the hour, you start the next lap.
The event keeps going until the last person completes a lap with no other participants remaining.
The Origin Story
The format was born from the mind of Laz Lake — the same guy behind the Barkley Marathons. The very first Backyard Ultra (called Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, named after Laz’s dog) took place in Tennessee.
The loop? 6.706km (4.167 miles).
Why? Because 24 laps of that distance = 100 miles in 24 hours.
Simple. Brutal. Brilliant.
Since then, the format has grown into a global phenomenon — with Backyard Ultras happening all over the world, all year long.
Why we’re doing it
woowoo is a group of normal people, doing extraordinary things.
We help people do things they think they can’t do.
Like running further than ever before.
Like doing one more lap.
This isn’t just a race — it’s a mindset.
We created one more because it’s raw. It’s honest. It forces you to get real with yourself, loop after loop. There's no crowd to chase, no PB to beat — just you vs you, until you say “I’m done.”
And doing it with a crazy group of people who think fun is running laps around a park and eating snacks from the boot of their car.
Who is this for?
Everyone.
Really.
Inclusivity is at the heart of what we do at woowoo. Our community is made up of people at every stage of their journey. This challenge is for all of them—and for you. You don’t have to be fast. You don’t have to be a marathon runner. You just have to be curious.
That’s why it’s free to enter. We want it open to anyone who’s ready to give it a go. Grassroots style. Cars as basecamp. Big hearts, big smiles.
This is a personal challenge, and you get to define what success looks like.
You don't need to run far. You can run 1 loop or 21.
You just need to show up.
One loop. One hour. One more.
