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/

 

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