Overview

Early bird $20 registration will end after the first 20 runners sign up for each race or at the end of September, whichever comes first.

Race 1: Soil Mates Backyard Ultra – Georgia's only affiliated Backyard Ultra - Run 4.167 Miles every hour (100 runner limit)
Race 2: One Yard - A single lap for those who want to sample the experience (50 runner limit)

Both races start together at 8:00 am

Description

Come run an ultra in our backyard in Thomaston, Georgia. Some will see if they can be the last one standing when there is no set finish line. Most will see how far they can push themselves to reach a new distance goal or just go out and have fun running for hours with friends until you decide your own stopping point.

Soil Mates Backyard Ultra covers a 4.167-mile loop (aka a Yard) and around 350 feet of elevation gain through pastures and woods. Each runner has one hour to complete each Yard and return to the starting corral. If you are not in the starting corral when we start the next Yard at the top of each hour, your race is over. Other than bathroom breaks, you cannot leave the course or receive outside assistance once the starting bell rings each lap until you’ve finished the lap. These rules will be enforced strictly.

The race is over when one runner finishes a lap solo. The race continues indefinitely if two or more runners are still reaching the cutoff time and making it back into the starting corral each loop.

If you haven’t run a format like this before, you are in for a treat. This can be a very social run since the cutoff time is easy enough for many runners to run, walk, and talk during their laps. It’s easy until it isn’t. With all your new runner friends cheering “just one more lap”, it’s hard to stop, so bring more race food and hydration than you think you’ll need. The focus of the race is distance and fun more than speed, so this will not be a timed event other than the one-hour cutoff each lap.

The start/finish point of the 4.167-mile Yard is in a large open pasture with plenty of room for free parking and crew set-up near the starting corral. Porta-potties will be near the starting corral.

60% of the course runs through pastures with a five-foot path cut through the grass, marked by guide ropes and arrows. 40% of the course covers four different segments on beautiful single track forest trails with plenty of twists, turns, roots, and rocks to keep your attention focused. Once you drive into the starting pasture, you will not touch pavement again until you leave.

More Details

Free camping the night before in the starting pasture is allowed. The cows won’t have access to this pasture until after the race begins.

Average temperature on February 13 ranges from a low of 36 to a high of 60.

This is a cupless race. Please bring your own handheld water bottle and/or hydration pack. Water refills will be available near the start/finish area. The rest of your hydration and nutrition is up to you.

All race starters receive a short-sleeve shirt if you register by January 27, 2027. This is a participation shirt. If you don’t start the run, you don’t get it.

No refunds, so don’t sleep past your alarm.

As an affiliated Backyard event (in process), participants’ performances are eligible to earn a spot on a National Team for the Satellite Team Championships and the World Individual Championships at Big’s Backyard in Tennessee.

Official Backyard Ultra Rules

Course:
1. Loop or out and back
2. Must be 4 miles 880 feet in length
3. Metric equivalent 6.7056 kilometers

Starting Corral:
1. Measured to fit entire starting field
2. Corral stays the same size throughout the event
3. Participants must be inside the corral at the bell

Starts:
1. Each Yard starts precisely one hour after the last
2. Warning must be given 3, 2, and 1 minute before the bell
3. All competitors must start at the bell (No late starts)

Yards:
1. Except for restroom breaks, a competitor cannot leave the course until the Yard is complete
2. No non-competitors may accompany active entrants on the course (including eliminated runners)
3. No personal aid during a Yard
4. Each Yard must be completed in less than an hour to be counted
5. No artificial aids (including trekking poles)
6. Slower runners must yield/allow passes

Timing:
1. Keeping lap times is optional

Winner/Results:
1. The winner is the last person to complete a Yard
2. All others are technically DNF
3. Results of each participant in terms of Yards completed are to be given
4. If no participant can complete one more yard than anyone else there is no winner

Cap:
1. Race must be open ended

Event's current local time: 11:18 PM ET