Fat Dog BackYard Ultra

TLDR: I ran 88.88km, it took 13.5 hrs. It was hard. My wife is the best! And Gail is inspiring.

Fat Dog BYU - The Loop

Jas - wife and crew!

The long version:

"Backyard Ultra" is a format that requires runners complete a 6.71 km (4.1-ish mile) loop every hour. The course must be completed in less than an hour, otherwise the runner DNFs (does not finish). The format is such that runners who complete 24 hours will reach 160 km (100 miles).

Speed is up to personal taste. The quicker the loop, the longer the rest period, and the slower the loop, the shorter the rest. However, the art is in the balance. How much time is optimal for running vs resting? Especially if you want to go as far as you can... the most important rule of BYU? Don't quit in the chair - make sure you start each lap even if you can't imagine finishing it.

Like in 2023 at the BYU in Salmon Arm, I followed the example of more experienced Backyardigans and settled into a 53-55 mins-per-loop pace with lots of walking. This didn't leave much time for rest, but it meant an easier effort for loops.

There was only one problem. I didn't train for this race. At least not in an ordinary way.

Rewind to January 2023.

Patellar Tendonitis knocks me out of the running game (refer to my blog post on the BC BYU in 2023 for another story). My right knee still bugged me through the summer of 2023, but I made it through all my adventures, often with a knee brace. By Fall 2023, my knee was feeling good, but I tweaked it dancing at a friend's wedding...

Bummer. Back to the drawing board.

In October 2023, I started walking 7km to work, shortly after getting married and moving up Chilliwack Lake Road. Why? Well, Jas and I wake up at 6:30 am for her to get to work, while my shift starts at 11 am... so there's a LOT of time to kill. Walking seemed like the best way to mitigate commute sweat while making the most of my extended morning.

In November and early December, I walked about 10 hours per week averaging 40-50km. I was feeling pretty good! But, then my knee started to complain, so I reduced volume significantly.

By January, Jas and I started ski touring as a new hobby. This offered a new mode of travel in the mountains and a new stimulus for my knees. Perhaps the accentuated eccentric load on the quads while descending on skis helped with the lingering tendonitis.

As my knee started to feel better and better, and by the time March rolled in, I was feeling optimistic. Time to test my fitness!

March 23, 2024, 8:00 am

My friend Dustin graciously agreed to share a tent for the race and had set it up before Jas and I arrived to Abbotsford Exhibition Park. After setting up inside the tent and signing in (bib #43), I shuffled into the small starting square behind the "No Finish" arch. It had been raining steadily all morning, so everyone wore rain shells.

In 2023, I ran 77.77km, so I thought it would be cool to aim for 100km this time (15 loops). And, if I was feeling it, maybe 111.11km for some sweet repeating numbers! Spoiler: I didn't quite make it.

During the first loop, I chatted with Joseph, Andreas, and Dominic, who all ran at BC BYU. We were aiming for 54ish-minute laps and wound up in the back of the pack as everyone else raced ahead.

Joseph and I started to get in a rhythm, checking our watches at different checkpoints to see how we were trending for time.

20 minutes - at the tunnel.

35 mins - back at the tunnel.

45 mins - at the corner tree of the field.

Like clockwork, we hit these checkpoints (mostly) on time. Loops two through five flew past. By loop five, my feet were soaked; time to change socks and shoes. I tried a few different pairs of shoes in the subsequent laps before settling on my bright orange Ultra Glides.

Despite the rain, I was actually grateful for the weather! It helped me remember that there was absolutely nothing else I could be doing outside at that moment. No climbing, no biking. Might as well be running loops in the rain.

It was encouraging to return to the aid station tent each lap to see Jas, change clothes, and eat food. I ate anything from "red-40 dye" in the form of Twizzlers, Nibs, and Swedish berries, to cheeseburgers, sandwiches, granola bars, Spring Energy gels, eggs, carrots, cucumber... you name it, I probably ate it!

For the 5-6 minutes between each loop, I would stretch my quads and hammies, sit down to eat, change shoes, get Jas to rub P3 cream on my legs, and wait for the 3 whistles (3 mins), 2 whistles (2 mins), and 1 whistle (1 min left!). Arriving 1 minute slower than the goal pace felt rushed compared to other loops, so I tried to finish my loops no later than 54 minutes.

At the tent, I enjoyed many visitors from friends, including Andrew, Nate, Jeremy, Carol-Anne, Sam, and Maddy. My family also came to cheer me on: Sharon & Dale, Mom, Dad, and Ella. What a great way to brighten a rainy day!

Undoubtedly, the best part of every loop was my pee spot. A small stand of trees on the side of the path had several alcoves for taking a wiz. I drank about 500ml of Tailwind/LMNT mix every lap, so I had lots to release! The post-pee relief gave me a much-needed second wind halfway through each lap.

Later in the day, I started to get some tightness behind my right knee (origin on the Gastroc?). Joseph, Andreas, and more runners also had the same tightness. Maybe from all the pavement? Paired with my pre-existing right knee issue of patellar tendonitis and arthritis in the big toe, this spelled trouble. By lap 10, my right ankle started to ache. Perhaps my shoes were tied a bit tight, or from the repetitive pavement pounding, or both. Either way, it was getting difficult to dorsiflex my right foot, and my running became more of a shuffle at best.

Lap 11. I was lagging. Dang. Not even as far as last year and I felt like quitting.

Rounding the second-to-last corner before the "no finish" arch, I saw Gail (a 74-year-old ultra-runner legend, with 160+ ultras on her legs). I waited a bit for her to catch me, and we walk-jogged towards the arch. She said she was just about done, thinking of calling it quits. I asked if she would join me for a last hoorah loop... She agreed.

Lap 12. Gail and I found each other in the starting corral, and she informed me that,

"We'll run as much of the first half as we can and then walk the back half."

"Sounds good to me!"

Then she took off at a blazing speed walking pace at the whistle. Pretty soon, we were near the front of the pack.

18 minutes - at the tunnel. Whoa, fast.

33 minutes - back at the tunnel. Whoa, blitzing!

53 minutes - across the line.

My second fastest lap of the day, my new distance PR secured, and lots of time to rest...

"Don't quit in the chair" resounded in my head.

All of a sudden, I'm back in the corral. I spot Gail too! "I thought that was our last lap" we both chide each other. Gail grins and takes off. I can barely hobble up the ramp away from the start. I knew this was the beginning of the end.

I spent the next 95 minutes walking the course by myself from 9 til 10:30 pm. I had to reckon with numerous aches and pains, but my determination to finish the loop usurped any notion of shortcutting the course.

I saw a few runners' headlamps bobbing in the dark en route back to the tunnel.

"Is that you Greg?? Hurry up, you'll miss the cut-off!"

"I'm walking it in!"

Later, after the runners started loop 14, I was on my way to Corner Tree. Kevin, Andreas, and Rene all stopped to give me hugs and congratulate me, and many more said words of encouragement on my walk back to camp.

Isaac (couch to ultra legend) was sitting on the side of the path. He said his body had enough. Mine too. We walked in the last bit together. But, I had to turn around for a few hundred extra meters to get to 88.88km! So, Isaac and I toodled around until we hit the right numbers.

I crossed the line, snapped a photo with Jas, and sat down.

Body depleted. Heart full.

If you want to far, go with Gail