2025 Bullshit Backyard Ultra

 

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/ 

The 2025 Bullshit Backyard Ultra (BS Backyard) was one of the greatest experiences of my running life so far. Not because the course was at some extravagant, far off dream destination. It was only about a 3.5 hour drive from home for me to the race location in Lenoxville, PA. It wasn’t because I set a new PR or had to push through any extremely low points when I thought things were going to fall apart. The highlight of the BS Backyard for me and why it was such a significant race for me was because it was a shared experience with my two oldest sons (13 and 10 at the time of the race). They both helped crew me which they have done in the past so while I love having them crew me, it was not a new experience. For this race though, my oldest, Steven, decided he wanted to try running a backyard. And that is exactly what he did.

Before the start of the race.

He first mentioned his desire to run a backyard after the first time him and his brother crewed me at Bob’s Big Timber last summer. Following that experience of sharing the majority of crewing duties between the two of them and getting a much more hands on experience of backyard ultras, he floated the idea to me that he might want to try running one. I loved the idea and made it a goal to make it happen sometime in 2025. As I started planning my race schedule for 2025, finding a backyard that would work to make it happen was a top priority for me. It turned out that the BS Backyard was just about perfect in all aspects I was looking for: not too far from home, the race date worked with the whole family’s schedules, and the course didn’t seem too daunting for a first time backyard runner. So with the Race Director’s (RD), Matt Pfahl, blessing of allowing a 13 year old to run his backyard, I registered both of us for the race!

 

We trained together a bit, talked about backyard race strategy a little, and discussed race goals for both of us leading up to the race. As is normal for me, the race preparation time felt like it went by quickly and before I realized it, it was time to pack the car and hit the road for a boys’ trip. Upon arrival at the race, we got our aid tent set up near the corral just as daylight was running out. We all settled down for one more night of rest before the start of the first yard in the morning.
 

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/ 

I was more nervous starting a backyard with my son than I had been for any other backyard start in some time. I wasn’t worried about my race, but was more nervous for him and his race. I hoped he would do well while also enjoying it. I was worried he would have a miserable experience or just feel like he had a crap race at the end of it. Thankfully, all of those worries were completely unnecessary.
 

We started the race and ran together for nearly his entire race. The race day course was entirely private land, primarily meandering single track trail running along a river and through and around some pasture and hayfields. For the course having a relatively small footprint (maybe somewhere around a total area of 50 acres), it felt more spread out while running it than it actually was when you look at the area on a map. My Coros watch reported 7,799 total feet of elevation gain for my race, so that puts the course at somewhere around 350 feet of gain per yard. It was enough elevation for someone like my son who has mostly trained on flat ground in the hill free area of southern NJ to feel the impact of it after a few hours, but would probably feel pretty mild for anyone accustomed to training with elevation change.
  

Celebrating my birthday with a Poo emoji cupcake!

After a couple yards, Steven was still looking strong and smiling. He had already hit a new distance PR as his longest run up to the race was an 8 mile training run on a treadmill in our basement. The goal we had set for him was to do at least a half marathon distance whether all the yards were completed in time to reach it or not. As we ran the third yard, I was becoming increasingly certain that he would shatter that goal and go a whole lot farther. I mentioned my thoughts to him during that yard and maybe planted a seed for a much bigger goal about hitting marathon distance and that once he’s there he may as well shoot for a 50k. He laughed at it at the time and I wasn’t totally serious, but he was making me believe it was possible.
  

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

I don’t think I noticed any signs of him struggling at all until the fifth or sixth yards. It was around that time he started saying his ankles were hurting and was just beginning to look a bit depleted. He was planning to stop after 6 yards (25 miles). He was feeling spent and looked like he was struggling to keep the pace necessary to come in with just a few minutes between yards. Although he had made up his mind not to go back out on the 7th yard, I told him how proud I was of him for going way above his goal and pushing as far as he did. He was quiet in our aid tent that interloopal period until about 2 minutes before the start of the next yard he said aloud “I wonder if I could finish another one in time?” I believe I responded with “only one way to find out.” And with that he decided to go back out for ONE MORE YARD!
 

When we thought Steven's race was over... but it wasn't!

Only it wasn’t one more yard. During yard 7, as he was pushing through some discomfort and fatigue, he said he would try to get to a 50k distance and complete 8 yards. He struggled a bit and it pained me to watch him put himself through it, but he did it. It was such a relief to see him complete it. He was so proud of the accomplishment and was completely fulfilled by it. The relief for me was not only that he achieved far more than we had said would be a success, but he did it without injury. The last few laps when he was showing signs of struggling I was worried, but certainly did not want to discourage him. I was hoping he wasn’t just doing it for my approval, but because he wanted to push himself. I was at a point where my parental instincts were telling me to tell him to stop to avoid risking injury, but my backyard ultra runner mentality was encouraging him to stay with me so he doesn’t time out before hitting his updated goal. Honestly, those last few laps with him were the most stressful of the race for me.

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

Once Steven called it after 8 yards (33 miles) for his first backyard, I sighed a breath of relief that it went so well for him. He was able to relax and recover a bit while my 10 year old that was crewing both of us continued to crew me. With the race having 12 hours of day loops and 12 hours night loops, we were only 4 yards before switching to the night course at that point. Those 4 hours went by pretty fast. It was kind of lonely without Steven on the course, but it gave me a chance to chat a bit more with the other runners rather than being focused just on him. It was during those next few day laps that several runners joked with me about how Steven staying in the race for as long as they did kept them motivated because they didn’t want to get beat by some kid. It’s funny, and I think there is a bit of truth in there.
 

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

The weather also made those last few hours of day loops a little interesting. There was wind, rain, and even some hail. It all cleared up again though and we had sunny skies again before nightfall. Thankfully our newly refurbished aid tent sides and canopy held up through it all. As I ran the night laps my boys took turns getting rest and crewing for me. I was really impressed how quickly Steven recovered and was able to be up much of the night to help me with my race. As the night wore on, the backyard ultra format continued to deplete runners. The night course was less road than I had anticipated. The road portion of the night course consisted of two out and backs totaling only a little over a mile of road. The rest of the night course was similar to and shared a few sections with the day course. The only part of the course that I didn’t like was a stretch of the night course that ran along the edge of a hayfield. It wouldn’t have been bad, but this section was very wet to the point where your shoes would sink ankle deep if you didn’t keep moving (some spots it didn’t matter if you kept moving or not, your shoe was sinking). Thankfully they had set up a row of 8x4 plywood boards along this section, but there was enough space between them to force you to get your feet soggy. With the cold evening and overnight temperatures we ran through, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. What made it worse and caused my lowest point during the race was that we had to run this section as an out and back twice for every night yard. At the point of the first night yard when I realized we had to run that stretch a total of 48 times and I had only done it 3 times it seemed pretty daunting. But I wasn’t going to let that ruin my race; I forged ahead.
 

The infamous night loop boardwalk.
Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

By the time it seemed like dawn was well within grasp as I had been counting down the hours until sunrise and the number of soggy boardwalk crossings I had left, the field was down to just four runners including me. Then a pair of runners decided to call it at the same time after completing 18 yards and suddenly it was just me and one other runner (Daniel Teabow) left. We ran our next few yards mostly at different paces on our own. With only 2 hours left until switching back to the day loop I was greeted at the corral as I returned from my yard by the RD with a big “congrats!” I hadn’t realized it, but the other runner had turned around shortly after going out on the 22nd yard. I was surprised because by that point I was pretty sure he was capable and fully intended to break the 100 mile threshold, but the night, sleep deprivation, and fatigue had become too much for him to continue. After some chatting with the race organizers, volunteers, and Daniel and his crew, I was relieved to have the race over but there was a little disappointment in being so close to running until sunrise and having the race end just a few hours short of reaching it. Not to mention, I would also have liked to have been able to push the race beyond the 100 mile distance for the first time and gone home with a buckle.

Daniel Teabow (assist) and I.
Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

After a little nap, my boys and I got busy cleaning up our aid tent and packing up the car for the ride home. Midway through the process we were invited by Matt to a delicious homemade breakfast of pancakes and bacon with him and his family. I have to say, it was one of the best post race breakfasts ever. Soon after, we were driving home and I was feeling perfectly content and happy with how the whole weekend turned out. It was a beautiful day for a ride in the car and we snacked on all of our leftover aid food as we made the trip and reminisced about the entire backyard race experience we just shared. It was probably one of the greatest birthday weekend celebrations I’ve had.
 

Race Director, Matt Pfahl and I.
Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

As I alluded to earlier, what made this race experience so special for me was sharing it with my boys. Watching them grow and sharing activities with them that I’m passionate about makes the experience far more valuable than me just getting away for a weekend race. A conversation with a buddy not long after the race highlighted the significance of it even more so for me. We were celebrating my youngest son's second birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with his godparents and their kids. After bragging a bit about Steven and how well he did, the godfather congratulated him and said how amazing it was. That part wasn't surprising but then he went on to say something I wasn't expecting and I thought accentuated the most impressive aspect of Steven's performance; he talked about the “grit” required to accomplish such a feat and how grit is something that can't be taught. Grit is a choice to grind through difficulties and continue to move forward in the face of adversity or even likely failure. While it may not be an attribute that can be taught, I feel it is a skill that can be trained for and developed. Every time we accept an excuse we give ourselves to not give it our all, we are shaving away a layer of grit. Do it often enough and even ridiculous excuses become acceptable. Contrarily, rejecting the mind’s excuses builds layers of protection against voluntary resignation and enhances personal grit. It was such a pleasure, although at times a little painful for me, to watch Steven show how much grit he already has. I wonder where it will take him and what he’ll tackle next. I am so happy to be along for the ride!




Scott Snell
2 May 2025

 

Photo Credit: Pfahl Photo Co. https://pfahlphotoco.pixieset.com/

 

Refusing to Allow Fear to Dictate Decisions

My race plans for 2025 have and continue to be somewhat uncertain. A part of the reason for the uncertainty was waiting to find out if my application would be accepted and I would be granted a spot at a race that is extremely difficult to gain entry to and has an entry process notoriously shrouded in mystery. No, I did not have hopes of running Western States this year; I am of course referring to the Barkley Marathons. I was notified via an “unchosen” email just a couple weeks before Christmas that I would not be running the Barkley Marathons in 2025. My early reaction was disappointment, which then gave way to a bit of relief. As a little more time has passed, the disappointment has not reemerged and the feeling of relief has only grown. I believe I submitted my application for poor reasons and if I had been granted a spot, very little if any good would have come of it.

The Barkley has never been a race I intended to run. There are races that I'd like to run but because of circumstances (timing/schedule conflicts, travel/registration costs, etc.) would be difficult for me to run. The Barkley was never on this list of races for me. With that being said, what “poor” reasons motivated me to even bother applying? The first is that I honestly thought I had as guaranteed of a spot as possible given the selection process of the Barkleys. Since much of the selection process and criteria is not publicized, it is inherently primarily hearsay. I had heard from multiple credible sources that the winner of Big’s Backyard (regardless of team or individual year competitions) was guaranteed a spot at the Barkleys if their application was submitted properly. Based on this and the fact that I was the last one standing at the Big’s 2025 competition, I thought I had a spot if I just applied. I thought this was an opportunity that could very well never come along again so I told myself that I shouldn’t waste this opportunity even if running the Barkleys wasn’t particularly high or on my list of running goals at all.

Which leads to poor reason number two: I felt somewhat obligated to apply. I felt obligated because it seemed like a rare opportunity and we all know what they say about opportunity knocking. So I attempted to answer that knock at the door, but as it turns out it wasn’t a knock at the door at all. Which explains my initial disappointment. I had gotten myself excited about running this race which so many runners want the opportunity to run and apply to run every year only to be turned away. I became so enamored with the idea of it after Big’s that I decided to stop at Frozen Head State Park on my drive home just to visit the yellow gate. At that time I was pretty certain I’d be back to make an attempt at running the Barkleys. I didn’t have high hopes of finishing or even doing well; but I thought it’d be amazing to be a part of that small group of runners to even make an attempt at the infamous race.

Which leads to what was actually the biggest motivating factor for me to apply and poor reason number three: FOMO, my fear of missing out. In retrospect, the logic really was that simple: everyone else wants to do this and a very select few get to do it, therefore it must be good and I should do it. And that is how I allowed my decision to be dictated by fear. Even if it was the fear of missing out on an opportunity, it was fear nonetheless. Allowing fear to dictate my actions is something I try to avoid. However this time, the fear got the best of me.

I had a sense that applying was a mistake while waiting to find out if I would be granted a spot. I was considering other races to register for in early 2025 and holding off until I knew for certain whether or not I would be running the Barkleys. When I got the “unchosen” email, it was first shock as I was sure I would have a spot, followed by disappointment, and then relief. Relief that I wouldn’t have to travel to a race that I’m not sure I would have enjoyed. Relief that I was now free to register for the races I had been considering with no regrets of missing out on an opportunity due to my lack of effort. Relief and a bit of an awakening as to how I will decide my race schedule for 2025. My schedule will not be decided based on fear or disingenuous obligatory feelings; I feel more free to decide my path this year than in past years.



Scott Snell
5 January 2025

2024 Race Recap

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A post shared by Scott Snell (@beast_coast_trail_running)

I hit just over 875 race miles this year in four races. I failed to hit my A goal at my first three races. The weather and trail conditions were a major factor at Dogwood. A lack of motivation was the biggest problem I had at Capital. Concern of pain being a sign of something more serious and wanting to be in good shape for Big’s led to me calling it quits at Bob's. Big's went nearly flawlessly for me. All in all, it was a great year of running and racing!

Dogwood Ultramarathons 48 Hour - 1st, 154.28 miles

https://www.beastcoasttrailrunning.com/2024/06/2024-dogwood-ultramarathons-48-hour.html

Capital Backyard Ultra - 4th, 175 miles

https://www.beastcoasttrailrunning.com/2024/11/2024-capital-backyard-ultra.html

Bob's Big Timber Backyard Ultra - 3rd, 179.16 miles

https://www.beastcoasttrailrunning.com/2024/11/2024-bobs-big-timber-backyard-ultra.html

Big’s Backyard Ultra - 1st, 366.66 miles

My Comments on the Wall Street Journal article "If Marathons Aren’t Enough Suffering for You, Behold the Backyard Ultra"

Since absolutely nobody asked me for it, here's my "Fact Check" of a recent Wall Street Journal article about backyard format races...

Article excerpt: 

"Last month at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra team championships, Megan Eckert, a 38-year-old middle-school special education teacher in Santa Fe, N.M., made it 362.5 miles. That’s more than three days of continual running—alleviated by, she said, a grand total of two hours of sleep—“at most.” The distance gave Eckert the women’s world record by more than 50 miles.

For her trouble, Eckert received $0 in prize money. In fact, it cost her $250 to enter the race."

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While I found it to be mostly true, the author fails to recognize the true "prize" of performing well at a backyard race. Not only did Eckert receive $0 in prize money and have to pay a registration fee ($269.75 with the processing fee) to run as a member of the USA National Team, her impressive performance has most likely earned (although not guaranteed) her the opportunity to do it all again at the 2025 Big's Backyard Individual Competition, a race that sets an extremely challenging qualification standard. Yes, that is correct. If you do well enough you get the opportunity to enjoy an uncertain number of days and nearly sleepless nights of running a 4.167 mile course repeatedly until you can't do it anymore or everyone else there DNFs, whichever comes first. I write that in a somewhat facetious manner because I have witnessed Laz saying something along those lines. I believe he's used the phrase "and now you get to do it again" in a tone that seems sarcastic to me. Whether it's intended to be sarcastic or not and although I am being a bit facetious, I do mean it seriously as I do consider the opportunity to run at Big's an honor and a privilege. On team competition years (even years) you are literally on a national team representing your country and competing against teams of runners all around the world. On individual competition years (odd years), you are still representing your country as an individual competitor; I guarantee that people are looking and tracking how many runners from each country qualified and how well they perform. I view both forms of the competition as a great honor in which to participate.

Lastly, what I would consider the greatest "prize" of backyard races is the essence and spirit of the race format: to push yourself to your personal limit, to know that you gave everything you had to a race and completely drained your tank. To know you pushed beyond your previously self perceived limitations to a new personal record that you had not thought possible is the ultimate prize of the race format. Which brings me to my final point. The victor of a backyard race, the runner that outlasts all other runners that started the race, does not receive that ultimate prize. The question of how many more yards was that runner capable of completing remains unanswered leaving the last one standing uncertain of what their limit was on that particular day with the given circumstances. To me, that is one of the most intriguing aspects of the backyard race format.

Full Wall Street Journal article available here ⤵️

If Marathons Aren’t Enough Suffering for You, Behold the ‘Backyard Ultra’

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/fitness/marathons-backyard-ultra-running-distance-fitness-5a3def48?st=iDTfk5&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink&fbclid=IwY2xjawGz6G9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRLOduwp-wj1JIHKKv75w_BI5rXcK1n4cZf3eHvaSGbtvvIFtIASlbmhAw_aem_IQuffXrJxqn8TsWeESL5lA

2024 Bob’s Big Timber Backyard Ultra

My motivation to run Bob’s Big Timber Backyard started out almost as a joke and I failed to hit the primary distance goal I had set for myself going into it, but all things considered, I am truly happy with how it turned out and so grateful for the race experience as a whole. The joke part started during a conversation between two sleep deprived, exhausted runners after their races ended on the 57th yard at the 2023 Big’s Backyard Individual World Competition. Those two runners, neither of whom were likely operating totally rationally or at full mental capacity given what they had just experienced for the last two and a half days, were Levi Yoder and me. Only a matter of hours after our backyard races had ended, we were already talking about which races we would be running next. That’s when Levi mentioned that the Race Director for Bob’s had gold belt buckles he had been waiting to hand out to anyone who ran 200 miles or more at his race. Thus far, he had not had the opportunity to do so. I immediately commented that if we both ran his race, I think he’d be handing out at least two of those buckles. And that’s how I decided I would sign up for and run Bob’s Big Timber Backyard, to get my hands on a silly gold belt buckle.

Truth be told, the belt buckle motivating me to sign up was mostly a joke. Sure, the special gold edition belt buckle would be cool, but there were other, more meaningful, reasons for me to run Bob’s. The first being the people. I knew Levi would be running it and I always enjoy sharing miles with Levi at backyards. Plus, with it being a backyard in a state where I have never run a race before, I’d get to meet new runners from a different area which is always a fun experience. Which leads to reason number two, it was a new backyard course for me. It had been a while (several years) since I had run a different backyard course, so I was looking forward to a bit of a change from races and courses that were starting to feel like a bit of a routine. The final major motivating factor that pushed me towards running Bob’s is that we were planning to make it a bit of a family trip, not just a race I abandoned my family to go run by myself. For the most part, all those motivating factors came to fruition, factors one and two completely. Factor number three with the family came about halfway to panning out. My wife and I decided that having her care for our younger boys (1 and 4 years old) while helping to crew me was going to be a bit too troublesome, so after a bit of debate I was able to convince her that our two older boys (10 and 12 years old) would be capable of crewing me on their own. Once she connected with Levi’s wife, Carolyn, and had a contact at the race, most of her major concerns were addressed and it was all systems go!

 

The drive from NJ to OH with my older boys made for a fun road trip. The drive wasn’t too far to make in one day, but certainly long enough that I was ready to be out of the car when we arrived at the Hunter Family Tree Farm where the race is held. Upon arrival, Levi greeted us, introduced us to some of the race organizers and volunteers, and even helped us get unloaded and set up at our aid station site he had saved for us. By the time we got everything to a point that I felt it was ready to go in the morning, it felt like it had been a long day. We were all ready to relax a bit and sit down for a good meal before heading to bed for a good night’s rest. We decided to head to the Buckeye Deli which is only about 15 minutes away from the race location to try out their pizza. The buffalo chicken pizza was delish (“bustin” according to my kids)! With full bellies, we headed back to our aid/camp site at the race venue and crashed for the night.

It had been a while since I had run a race where camping was offered right at the start/finish area. It was refreshing just waking up in a tent mere feet from the starting line knowing all I had to do was dress and prep myself a bit to be in the starting corral ready to go. My boys were excited for the race to begin and to be crewing me, so we got a few pre-race photos and videos. I was so excited to have them there with me and to have them crewing me, although a bit nervous about how it would go. The time between waking up and the ringing of the three minute warning bell (Race Director, Bob Hunter, rings a bell 3, 2, and 1 time in place of the traditional warning whistles) went by fast and before I knew it we were off on our first yard to start the race.

 

I spent the first few yards just getting to know the course and conversing with other runners. Early on in the first yard, I was a bit worried about what I had gotten myself into. After running a flat lap around most of the starting area, the course dips off into the woods for the biggest and steepest descent of the day or night course. It was a really fun downhill to run, but with it being a backyard race I was taking it as cautiously as possible to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on my quads. Once you reach the bottom, the trail heads straight back up the other side. My watch (Coros Apex 2 Pro) recorded an elevation gain of 48 feet for the first mile alone. Based on the rest of my watch elevation data, each yard on the day trail course entails about 110 feet of elevation gain, so nearly half of the elevation change occurs during the first mile of every yard. Running the rest of that first yard and learning that the remainder of the course was relatively flat was a bit of a relief to me.

 

The bulk of the first day went really smoothly. It got a little warm reaching a high of about 73 °F, but with the mostly shaded trail course it never felt hot to me. As the day went on and my boys prepped food for me and kept my water bottle filled, all of my worries (would the fight with each other, would they be ok using the camp stove, would they get bored and complain, etc.) about how they would do crewing me disappeared. They actually really surprised me at one point when I realized a nut had come loose from my zero gravity chair and had fallen off. I figured I would just have to be really careful with a loose bolt supporting a part of my chair for the remainder of the race, but at the next interloopal period I came back to find the chair fixed! They had found the missing nut and tightened in back on the loose bolt to give me a pretty proud dad moment.

The first night went as smooth for me as the first day. My boys took shifts waking up to crew me between laps so they could both get a decent amount of sleep. They impressed me again with how well they handled themselves for the overnight portion of the race and took care of me.

The night road course was relatively flat compared to the day trail course; my watch elevation data showed that each yard on the night road course has about 60 feet of elevation gain. It took a few laps on the course for me to get comfortable with it, mainly because of the multiple out and backs it involved. First there was a lollipop type out and back then a short out and back, both to residences. Following that there was a little distance on the country, two lane road followed by two more out and backs. It wasn’t a bad night course but following Bob Hunter as he led the group on the first night yard on his ATV I got a little nervous at how many opportunities there were to take a wrong turn or miss a turnaround if I wasn’t paying attention or was just extremely drowsy. After a few hours of running it though, I started feeling more comfortable and less worried and was able to just coast through most of the night.

 

Day two started feeling a bit tough. It got warmer reaching a high of about 77 °F and it felt much warmer than the previous day. The heat was manageable, but I was feeling the toll of the miles on my body. My boys did everything right to keep me going. They kept encouraging me, feeding me, prepping ice bandanas and cold towels, and staying positive throughout. Even though it was feeling like a struggle at times, I still thought I had a good shot of going far and possibly being able to outlast the rest of the field. It was at some point in midafternoon that I started experiencing just a bit of pain at the back of my lower, left ankle. I didn’t think much of it at the time and just hoped it would ease or disappear completely. As the afternoon wore on though it did not disappear, it only seemed to creep a bit farther from my ankle and up to my calf. It wasn’t worsening, but the fact that it wasn’t getting better and seemed to be spreading started to concern me.

With the majority of the trail laps done for the day, I hoped that when I switched surfaces for the night laps it would improve so I soldiered on for the rest of the day trying not to give the pain much thought. The first couple of road laps did give me hope as it seemed like the ankle/calf pain went away. But over night it came back and seemed worse than at any point during the day. We worked on it and did what we could between yards: CBD pain relief cream, icing, heat pads, and some theragun work. None of it solved the problem. Somewhere in the regime of treatments I did a sock and shoe change that seemed to help for one yard, but then the pain returned just as bad as before.

By the midpoint of the night I was weighing my options. The field had been reduced at this point to just me and two other runners, Ron Wireman and Michael Stutzman. The pain was bad, but it wasn’t preventing me from running and comfortably completing the yards within the hour. I felt like I could push through it. I also wasn’t sure what kind of damage I was causing and how that would impact my training leading up to Big’s Backyard which was only about two and a half months away. My biggest concern was that I would cause enough lasting damage that would not be able to get in the training I wanted for Big’s. I was assessing how both Ron and Michael were looking, neither were showing any signs of quitting. I figured they would both likely make it through the night and once the sun rose again, who knows how much farther they would both be wiling to push? But more importantly to me, who knows what kind of shape my ankle/calf would be in? With all those thoughts and a good degree of uncertainty, but firmly believing I was making the smartest, safest decision given the circumstances, I decided to end my race during the 44th yard. I completed less than half the yard when coming back from the second out and back I had made up my mind to turn back to camp and not complete the remaining two out and backs.

 

My walk back to camp was slow and painful. It was like once I made the decision to not suppress the pain anymore it had free reign in my brain. Michael and Ron both passed me looking strong as I walked back. I was happy to have one more opportunity to wish them luck before returning to camp myself. Levi was there to greet me when I hobbled back. Him and Carolyn had been helping my boys crew me since Levi ended his race at a little over 100 miles (this was a “long training run” to build up for Big’s). I chatted a bit with the race organizers before retiring to my tent to get some rest before the sun came up.

 

After waking up I was expecting the race to go on for a while longer, maybe even into a third night. I was surprised when Michael returned back to camp during the 49th yard. He had reached the 200 mile mark and decided that was where he wanted to end his race. Ron had no problem completing the yard to take the win and the silver ticket, securing his spot on Team USA at Big’s. When the race ended far sooner than I had expected (I only woke up maybe an hour before the end) I started questioning my decision. A big wave of regret popped up. I would have been in the final two had I just stuck it out for a few more hours. As I write this, several months later, that regret no longer exists and I realize it was impulsive and reactionary. Even if I had stayed in to be the assist and challenge Ron for the win, who knows how much longer we would have gone? Who knows how much damage I would have done to my ankle/calf and how that would have affected my training for Big’s? As much as I thought about it and questioned my decision following Bob’s, I was still confident that it was the smart decision to prepare for Big’s, so there was no where near the disappointment that I felt after ending my race at Capital. I also felt zero shame about it unlike my race at Capital. With the advantage of a few months passed and knowing how my training for and my race at Big’s all played out, I am so thankful I made the decision I did and when I did. While it didn’t end exactly as I had hoped and I didn’t go home with a gold belt buckle, I did have a great time, I got to run a new backyard course, meet lots of great folks, and made some wonderful memories with my boys.


Scott Snell                                                         
15 November 2024

                                   

2024 Capital Backyard Ultra

Antifragility When Facing Failure

After 175 miles of consistently running 4.167 mile laps (yards as us backyard folk like to call them) every hour on the hour for 42 hours, I laid down on my back on the hard concrete surface of the multi-use path that is the Capital Backyard Ultra night course and stared at the night sky. I thought about how my race was now over, my decision made to return to the start/finish area after only completing the first of two out and backs required for a full night course yard. I thought about how bad my body hurt, how tired I was, and how I just didn’t seem to be able to find the fight in myself to push on through it as I have at previous backyard races. I felt like a failure. I felt weak, insignificant, and disappointed in myself. I was a quitter. I was very aware at the time that I was experiencing all those feelings as a result of my free will, my choice to end my race when it got hard. I was not happy about it, but I just could not convince myself at the time that I wanted anything that continuing the race would lead to more than just being able to have the race be over.

https://youtube.com/shorts/o5guY6qUEog?si=KC4kze3K_Zg2ocWL

It was a bit of an experience to get to the point I was at when I was laying flat on the pathway with all those thoughts swirling in my sleep deprived brain. It has been an even longer process for me to get to a point where I want to put those thoughts and experiences into words and share them. Today (November 5th as I write this) it has been a little over 160 days since I forced myself back upright to make my slow walk back to the start/finish area to officially end my race.

The race started well enough for me. The first day was smooth and my body felt good. I enjoyed catching up with the runners I already knew and chatting with runners I had just met that day. The weather was a bit warm, but nice; I had no idea how bad my attitude would get as the race progressed. The first night went well with minimal sleepiness. I got some short naps, so I should have been set up well to have a good race.

Starting to get warm.

The second day started well enough. It is always energizing and rejuvenating when the sun comes up again and switching back to the trails for the day course. I felt positive to start day two, but that would all start to change early that afternoon. For whatever reason, the motivation just began to fade as the second day wore on. It was warm, but I don’t blame the weather. I usually handle the heat quite well. This was caused by more than just unpleasant running conditions. As I pushed on and tried to turn my attitude around, it just wasn’t happening. I kept sinking lower and lower mentally.

During some of the later afternoon yards, I got so low and negative that I started thinking about how all my training runs were a waste of time. I look forward to my normal 1-2 hour training runs. They are my time to decompress, sort through my thoughts and emotions, and invigorate me to continue facing daily challenges. Yet here I was viewing them as wasted time. I don't know how many times I have replayed conversations in my head while running and reevaluated things I've said and done, oftentimes attempting to view the situation from someone else's perspective. I've left for runs upset about a recent argument or heated conversation knowing I was right and after a long run analyzing the situation and what was said have returned home knowing that I was in the wrong and owed someone an apology. Any activity that can help you experience empathy and recognize your faults while motivating you to rectify them is by no means a waste of time. But that's what I was telling myself at one point before the sun had even set for the second night of the race.

Prepped for night miles, this is gonna be awesome!

Things didn’t improve for me when we switched to the paved night course and the second night set in. I tried to grind on and at least just embrace an attitude of apathy as it seemed like the lesser of two evils compared to the negativity I was feeling. It worked for a few hours, but it wasn’t enough. I went to my Hail Mary that has saved me at previous backyards and called my wife. She said the right things, but I didn’t want to hear them. It didn’t reignite my passion or fight, but just hearing her voice and efforts to motivate me were enough to keep me grinding on for a few more hours. Several yards later, after experiencing what seemed like the worst pain at the time and difficulty in getting my legs to move at the start of every yard, I started what would be my final yard attempt. I’d force my legs to start a run as they resisted and complained with every muscle and tendon only to inadvertently revert back to a walk after a few paces. After repeating this process many times for the first half mile or so of the yard, I began to realize my race was done. There was sadness and, I’m ashamed to admit it, but also a sense of relief. A short time later, I was flat on my back staring at the dark sky contemplating it all.

Why? It’s always the “why” everyone talks about in ultrarunning. “You must know your ‘why.’” We hear it and read it all over the place: podcasts, blogs, social media etc. Having had a few months to reflect on my race, I believe my “why”, or lack thereof, is the explanation for me having the performance that I was so disappointed with. A big part of why my race ended as it did, I attribute to motivation. Honestly, my heart just wasn't in this race. I registered for Capital pretty early this year because it was a silver ticket race and because I thought it'd be really cool to be the last one standing at a race of Capital Backyard’s stature for three consecutive years. Why would someone not want that? But it takes more than just wanting that outcome because it sounds impressive to do well in a backyard race. A competitive backyard is almost sure to have low points and the “why” is what provides the motivation to push on through them. For me, as amazing and cool as a threepeat of winning Capital sounded, it wasn’t enough to for me to push myself through that second night.

Comparing my race experiences running Capital Backyard in 2023 and 2024 is almost like a textbook case of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations. My main motivation in 2023 was to prove to myself that I could still compete at a high level at backyard ultras after my wife and I welcomed our fourth son into our family. Being a bit older as a father this time around, having three older boys to attend to and care for, and having a two-month-old baby at home made me question whether I was going to able to be competitive at backyard ultras anymore. Thankfully, I got the answer I was hoping for and was the last one standing at Capital Backyard in 2023. Contrast that with my completely shallow and extrinsic motivation (it’d be cool to say I won this race three years in a row) for running Capital Backyard Ultra in 2024 and the results are not surprising to me. In fact, the contrasting forms of motivation and results encourage me. In a sense, I believe they provide some evidence that I am running these types of races for the “right” reasons. I’m not just chasing the fame, fortune, and all the other accolades that come with doing well at backyard ultras (yes that was sarcasm there) but am running these races for my personal reasons and motivations.



Scott Snell
5 November 2024

A prerace photo with the infamous Topher Swift.

A Tale of Two Training Runs

After I was done pouting about what I considered a disappointing performance at Capital Backyard last month, I decided that I had become too comfortable with my training. I was no longer practicing “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable” or acclimating myself to the discomfort that is almost guaranteed to occur at some point during a multiday backyard race. So I decided to induce some discomfort during my longer training runs as I begin my build up for my next race. My goal was to cover 25 miles with a 20 ounce bottle of water and single SIS gel for my first long run. It was successful in causing a good degree of discomfort, but I bailed on the plan and made an aid stop after a little over 21 miles. After quickly chugging some water and cola, I got back out and finished the last 4 miles feeling great. The goal for my long run the following weekend was 20 miles with the same amount of water and single SIS gel. It was pretty uncomfortable in the heat of the day again, but this time I exceeded my target and covered 21 miles. Will intentionally making my training runs less comfortable help me at my next backyard ultra? Who knows, but I’m excited to find out!

Scott Snell 

21 June 2024

2024 Dogwood Ultramarathons 48 Hour

It’s been almost a month since running my first 48 hour race as I begin to write this report, so I’ve had plenty of time to digest and reflect on the experience. Of course, that also means I’ve had plenty of time for the details and my memory of the experience to become a bit faded and less reliable. Even so, I hope to still present an accurate recollection of the experience as best I can. I’m sure I’ll still get all of the major points correct: I had a big goal, it was going well, weather and trail conditions got bad, my main goal became unattainable, and eventually I settled for a new goal to stay motivated to continue. That’s the summary without any of the details or my thought process throughout. If that sounds like it could be interesting, here’s the full story.
  

I had been considering the possibility of attempting a six day race ever since running for 75 hours at Capital Backyard Ultra last year. With my inexperience in longer timed races fueling me, my naive thought was that if I can last for 75 hours in a backyard format race I should be capable of putting up a solid performance in a six day timed race. Although I was pretty confident of that at the time, and still am, I didn’t want to do anything too rash and just dive into a six day race with the longest timed race I’ve ever done having only been a 24 hour. That was my reasoning for attempting a 48 hour race this year, to test the waters of a longer timed race event. I wanted to see how my motivation would hold up for 48 hours without being forced to hold the required pace at a backyard format race. Which made my target mileage goal pretty simple for this attempt, to hit 200 miles in under 48 hours and then see how I felt and how much farther I could go before time ran out.

I began searching for 48 hour races not too far from home that wouldn’t conflict with other races on my schedule for the year or work and family plans. I finally decided that the Dogwood Ultramarathons at Twin Lakes State Park in Green Bay, VA was the race best suited for me to make this test run. It seemed like it was fate pushing me there as this was the first year the race offered a 48 hour option and the timing was good for all other aspects of my pretty crowded schedule. The course is a 3.35 mile trail loop with about 246 feet of elevation gain which makes for about 7,380 feet of gain for every 100 miles when you do the math. Based on elevation, this didn’t sound like a ridiculously challenging course to attempt two consecutive sub 24 hour 100 milers so I felt like my A goal was well within the realm of possibility. I wasn’t able to find any information on how technical the course was, but from the pictures I had seen everything looked runnable. Without finding anything to discourage me or think otherwise, I registered for the race with a pretty high confidence level of reaching my A goal of exceeding 200 miles.

My training went splendidly and I arrived the morning of the race feeling rested and ready. Although I felt a bit rushed between arriving at the venue and the start of the race, the first day started off really well. The course wasn’t very technical, just a few roots and rocks to remain aware of. The two water crossings were a non factor the first day as the water level was low enough that a couple steps on rocks and you were across with dry feet. The elevation changes were mild with just a few short climbs and descents, none of which were steep or treacherous. I ran my first few laps under my target past comfortably and learned the course. There were a few trail intersections, so you just had to be careful at a few points to make sure you didn’t inadvertently go off course but the course marking made it pretty foolproof.

Everything was going great for me pretty much the whole first day. I felt good and was on pace to get 200 miles in with plenty of time to spare. I didn’t feel like I was over exerting myself to maintain the pace. My stomach felt good and I had no sign of any digestive issues. It seemed like everything was falling into place as I hoped. The only factor left that I was concerned about was the weather. Forecasts predicted storms and steady rain starting overnight after the first day of the race and continuing through the end of the race. The forecasts were pretty accurate; it started raining lightly not long after dark. After a few hours of light rain, it picked up. The trail got sloppy and slick in spots. The water rose at the two water crossings. I got damp and chilled. I tried to just keep moving and run through it, but it was taking a toll on my pace and mental state. After multiple clothing changes and a fall at an especially slick turn on the trail I found myself back at the aid area shivering, feeling pretty chilled. I was at about 84 miles at that point and had been steadily slowing down. The rain was coming down heavy enough that putting on dry clothes had become pretty pointless. I decided it’d be best for me to get warmed up and dried off while at the same time getting in a nap so I could recover a little. It was around 3 AM and I decided to go to my car to do just that.

I hoped it would work out that I’d be rested and refreshed and the bad weather would be over when I woke up. Unfortunately, I woke up to the sound of rain hitting my windshield. I had slept a few hours and felt ok, but really wasn’t feeling like getting chilled and running in the rain for another 24 hours. I checked the forecast and it was promising, reporting that the rain should clear out within an hour. This gave me a bit of hope. My A goal was most likely out of reach at this point, or at least much harder to achieve. I checked the race live results to find I was still in the lead, but my lead had been reduced to a pretty narrow margin. Clinging to the lead became my new motivation for going back out and finishing the race. I thought about just packing it in and going home, but continuing to move to hang on to the lead is what drove me back out to run.

Once back out on the course, I was surprised at the first turn when new runners for shorter timed races took a different route. After a quick chat, I found out that the course had been rerouted due to the water crossings becoming too dangerous to cross because the water had risen so much from the steady rain. The course was now a 1.1 mile loop around a lake near the start/finish aid station. Ok, no big deal I thought. During the first loop I learned how much of an impact the rain really had on the trail conditions. A good stretch of the new course was on trail and much of it was a sloppy mess from all the rain. I’d estimate about a half mile was shoe sucking mud. If you’ve ever tried to run on shoe sucking mud, you know how difficult it is to maintain any kind of decent pace. Especially when you have around 100 miles on your legs already. After becoming accustomed to the new trail conditions, I accepted the fact that my 200 mile goal was now definitely out of reach. Without having my A goal to chase, I continued to plod on “running” laps on trails of standing water hiding ankle deep shoe sucking mud.

To make a long story short. It wasn’t much fun from that point on. It was tedious and slow going. It was a constant mental battle. But I didn’t quit and I hung on to the lead being pushed by the second place runner (Aaron Bowers) until about 3 AM. At that point, I felt like my first place finish was almost a guarantee based on the pace Aaron had been running for the last few hours and the amount of race time left. What I was most proud of was that I managed to push on through terrible trail conditions and falling temperatures (it got quite cold and windy after dark that second night) for another 70 miles during the second half of the race to finish with 154 miles total. A huge thank you to Aaron for continuing to push on as without him steadily adding to his distance, I likely would have called it and quit much earlier than I did.

I may not have hit my A goal, but I did go home with a valuable lesson. I was reminded that variables completely out of my control like the weather and trail conditions could have a huge impact on overall performance at a longer timed race. I guess that should be pretty obvious, but having a refresher lesson in the fundamentals never hurts. Additionally, the longer the race goes, the higher the likelihood that one of these events will occur just by the window of opportunity being extended. So how does one control a variable such as inclement weather to be sure it doesn’t have a chance to impact your race? The answer is simple, select a timed race event held at an indoor race venue. Which leads to what may be my target, my A race next year: Six Days in the Dome.

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Scott Snell

5 June 2024