Course Description
The course is a 4.17 mile loop on roads with little elevation change. It consists of a single loop, starting and ending at the Wild Side Running Store. There is a bathroom available and there will be a small fire in the parking lot at night. During the day, there will be customers in the small adjacent plaza, so please be mindful.
What a backyard soul survivor race is
A backyard soul survivor event is different than a typical race. Inspired by the original Big Backyard Ultra in Tennessee first created by Gary Cantrell, these are the basic rules:
At 7 pm on Friday, March 5, 2021 we will start the race on the designated and marked 4.17 mile loop
The time limit is one hour.
At 8 pm we will start the next loop on the 4.17 course.
We will do the same at 9 pm, 10 pm, 11 pm, and so on,
every hour, until only one runner can complete a race within the time limit.
Every surviving runner will be tied for the lead, every hour.
Any runner not in the starting corral for any race, is not eligible to continue.
No late starts!
There is only one winner. No second places, no age groups.
If no single runner can complete a loop at the end,
there will be no winner.
Other than stopping at the porta potty, runners are not allowed to exit the course, or receive aid, until the loop is complete.
Thank you to the one and only Laz for his creativity (he came up with the idea or this type of race years ago) and for his blessing on this race. Hope you can join us Friday night, March 5th!
Aid
Runners are required to provide their own nutrition. Only water will be available, but there is plenty of room for runners to make their own nutrition stations at the start/finish. Along the course, roughly at the start/finish line is an area to set a small canopy tent if runners wish. Please bring your own cups. We are close to numerous restaurants, if a non-runner wishes to get food and bring it at any point. Pizza delivery is also an option. Light snacks will be available through the night(s).
Some easy rules
Race begins at 7:00 PM. All runners must be in the starting corral by 6:57 PM.
All runners must be inside of a starting corral by the start of the start of the next loop. Any runner not in the starting area by this time are out of the race.
Runners must start the loop at the bell. Other than stopping at a porta-potty, runners are not allowed to exit the course or receive aid until the completion of the loop.
Chair areas can be set up adjacent to the starting corral.
No pacers allowed.
There is only one winner.
Awards
There are no awards, no shirts, no medals, no frills. Only pain, agony, broken dreams and one Soul Survivor.
The overall winner will receive a custom race shirt to be mailed after the event is over.
Gary Cantrell
More commonly known as "Laz", we must give credit and thanks for the race concept. One of the more exiting and unpredictable events in ultramarathoning, the original Big Backyard Ultra has become an event to look forward to. With Gary's blessing, we started this race in south Georgia to give runners the opportunity on a smaller scale to experience their own brand of pain and suffering and perhaps one day gain entry into the highly competitive Big Race. We hope you can join us and a Big Backyard thank you to Gary for the inspiration!
Event's current local time: 2:44 PM ET
