Notes from between the loops.

The Backyard Ultra format, the crew's side of the race, and why we are building software for it.

• 25 Sept 2026A starter catalog for the crew boxTwelve race-day products with per-unit carbs, sodium, fluid, caffeine and kcal, what an hour of them adds up to, and the list as a CSV to download or copy.
• 24 Sept 2026What a Backyard Ultra actually isOne loop of 6.706 km, every hour, until only one runner is left. How the format works, why nobody knows how long it lasts, and why the hour is the whole game.
• 24 Sept 2026The minutes between loopsA Backyard Ultra is decided in the 9 to 16 minutes after each loop. The pit sequence, the pacing that buys those minutes, and the care that has to fit into them.
• 24 Sept 2026Fuelling a Backyard Ultra by the hourCarbs, calories and sodium per hour, loop bags, hot meals and night food, and what to do when the stomach rebels. Why the crew keeps the record.
• 24 Sept 2026The crew runs everything elseIn a Backyard Ultra the runner runs the loop and the crew does the rest. Roles, briefings, labelled boxes, shifts, and handing over at 4 a.m. without losing anything.
• 24 Sept 2026Why paper fails at 3 a.m.Most Backyard Ultra crews run the race on a notebook, a phone alarm and memory. Why that breaks down exactly when it matters, and what race-day software has to do instead.