Uis to host 100-mile backyard marathon

Namibia will be making history when the first backyard ultramarathon of 100 miles (160 km), called the Brandberg Backyard Ultra, will take place in the "backyard" of Uis on 23 July.

A backyard ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors have one hour to run a loop of 6.706 km – starting a new loop on top of the hour every hour. The loop distance was calculated by dividing 100 miles by 24 hours. So the total distance run by a competitor completes 24 laps in as many hours.

Race director Riana Scholtz explained that when each lap is completed, the remaining time within the hour can be used to eat and recover. “There is no timing. Runners run as fast or slow as they choose, with the only requirement that they are back in the starting corral at the top of the following hour. Runners who fail to make it back in time, or are not in the starting corral in time for the next loop, are out of the race and unmarked with a DNF (did not finish) on the score sheet. The winner of the race is the last person standing – that is the last runner that completes a single loop by him or herself. After this final solo loop, the race ends,” she explained.

The official event launch, which took place in Swakopmund, was preceded by a five-kilometer park run demonstration by some of those who will participate in the ultra. Several talented and experienced long-distance runners will take part. Ten of them completed the 90 km Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa; while another handful competed in 100 milers and multiday events such as the Gondwana 7 in which participants run seven marathons in seven days. Some also participated in a 250 km Racing the Planet event.

The Brandberg event will take place along a trail trough the wild veld near Uis - with the Brandberg serving as a backdrop. It will be a real run through the bundus. The race is the brainchild of the legendary Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell, the creator of the grueling Barkley Marathons in the United States, which 15 people have managed to complete during its 36-year history.

With the backyard ultra-concept, Cantrell wanted to create a fun race for his friends - a race that would be easy to stage with minimum input required. That is when the Big Dogs Backyard Ultra was born (in 2010) in the "backyard" of Cantrell’s farm in rural Tennessee.

Scholtz said that, before long, similar races started popping up everywhere around the globe, and even more during the pandemic. South Africa introduced the race concept last year with a national series of five backyard ultra events. Now, in July, Namibia will join the ranks with its first affiliated backyard ultra, bringing the tally of countries with affiliated races to 60.

He is hopeful that the Namibian race will develop into a national series. “The Backyard Ultra is a race with no finish line,” she said. “The idea of not reaching a predefined mutual end goal and being rewarded for a job well done is harrowing. Especially since all but one participant will finish, no matter how much others put in or push their personal boundaries.”

Most "backyarders" are runners who participate for the love of running, and who want to push their boundaries, train for longer races, test nutrition and gear, or just enjoy the perks of running in a pack with like-minded people for hours on end. Runners who managed to run 24 loops in 24 hours will make it to the final list for a spot in the 2023 world championships at Big Dogs Backyard Ultra, the original event in the US.

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