2024 Big’s Backyard - Team World Championships

Team USA at the start of Big's 2025

 

Eighty-eight hours is a long time to do pretty much any activity with little to no breaks from it. But that’s how long I ran for at the 2024 edition of Big’s Backyard. For the vast majority of the time, I was happy to continue on, mile after mile. There were a few low points and some loss of motivation along the way, but overall it was one of the most positive backyard running experiences I have ever had. Now, with over half a year passed since I lived it, I am attempting to capture the experience in race report form.

I’ve taken an extended amount of time to let all of the excitement from running and being the last one standing at Big’s to settle before even beginning to write this race report. It is currently mid May 2025, nearly 7 months after the race ended, as I begin to write. Why did it take so long? For all the reasons you’d probably expect; life is busy and I prioritize my time like everyone. When it comes to the order of importance between family life, household chores, work responsibilities, training for other races, sleep, and writing a race report, there are few exceptions when I would be willing to sacrifice time needed for anything else on that list to work on a race report. There’s a reason why it was the last item on the list. Even though I considered my performance at Big’s to be my best race, I still couldn’t alter my priorities. Additionally, my experience running Big’s was tough for me to comprehend completely. It was a race experience that morphed and confused me while I lived it. Which is an idea I’ll go into later in this report but the main shift in the race experience, or at least my perception of it, was due to the strange dynamic of the Backyard Satellite Team World Championships.

The 2024 edition of Big’s Backyard was a Backyard Satellite Team World Championships year, so slightly different than the Individual World Championship competition. The Backyard Satellite Team World Championships are held biannually alternating between an individual competition (on odd years) held on the original backyard course in Bell Buckle, TN and national team competitions (on even years) run remotely as a satellite competition at the home course of each team. The standard backyard rules apply for both types of competition, but there are some intricate differences between the two types of competitions. The primary differences being the team factor on even years and the satellite locations of the backyard courses.

The last two years (2023 and 2022 race reports) I had huge expectations to have my best performance ever and shatter my backyard PRs. Both years were a disappointment for me and I went home feeling unfulfilled and unhappy with my performances. I knew this year would be different. I had a different set of goals altogether in mind going into this race. The top goal was for Team USA to get the team win in the world competition. As a part of that top goal, I wanted to make a significant and valuable contribution to our team’s overall score. Beyond that, I wanted to run a race that I was proud of and happy with regardless of challenges faced and conditions presented during it.

It's hard to beat a Clif bar as for breakfast before a 366 mile run.

Beyond a different set of goals going into this year’s race, I also had a different mindset. I had lower expectations having experienced more hardships in the backyard race format. I’m mainly referring to my performances at Bob’s Big Timber Backyard and Capital Backyard in 2024. Both of which did not go as I had hoped and ended during the second night. Maybe those races just made my backyard race expectations a bit more realistic by showing me how susceptible I am to my race ending unexpectedly before I want it to. Whatever the cause, I felt a bit less pressure to crank out a huge performance at Big’s 2024 than I had in past years. With that being said, I was still extremely motivated to have a big performance since I felt like I had not run a great backyard yet that year.

It’s hard to summarize four days of running, especially something like seven months after and considering the fact many of the memories were formed while substantially sleep deprived and physically exhausted. Much of the experience just seems like a memory of a dream at this point. Even so, some aspects of the experience still stand out and I remember clearly.

My crew and my interactions with them were one of those aspects. I was blessed to have two crew members supporting me at Big’s: Jaron Holmes and Derek Tinnin. I was struggling to find crew leading up to the race and thankfully Harvey Lewis hooked me up with Derek who agreed to crew me as long as I was in the race. I was lucky to get Jaron as crew a little later after the runner he had already committed to crewing withdrew from the race. Jaron had crewed me at Capital Backyard in 2022 and I knew he was as solid of a crew as you can find and that we worked really well together. Having a two person crew is a huge plus, something I had never had at Big’s (previously I had always had a one person crew). Crewing is tough, physically and mentally draining. Having a two person crew allows your crew to tag in and out allowing them to rest and catch up on sleep lost due to crewing their runner.

Me and my crew: left Derek Tinnin, right Jaron Holmes

Derek and Jaron did everything right and all I had to do was run. They kept me well fed, hydrated, and mostly happy. They always had a variety of food and drinks for me to choose from and any time I requested anything specific, they made it happen. At one point, Jaron even managed to get a hold of some steak which he grilled and served to me which was a major highlight of the race for me. I remember being so surprised and impressed at him actually having a grilled steak for me and how amazing it tasted at the time. Earlier in the race, he made a Domino’s pizza run and brought back a ridiculous number of pizzas for many of the runners and their crews. It’s probably not recommended from a food safety perspective, but that Domino’s pizza still tasted good a day or two after as I have a clear recollection of eating a couple pieces as I headed out into the night loops on the fourth night. Thankfully, I never experienced any ill effects from eating the unrefrigerated pizza (kudos to Domino’s!) that had been sitting in a pizza box in our aid tent.

The rest of the crew work was on point too. Jaron came armed with some banger Dad jokes to keep my spirits up.

• Did you know that in Hawaii it's illegal to laugh loudly? You need to keep it to a low ha.

• How does Lady Gaga like her steak? Raw, raw, raw.

In addition to supplying the Dad jokes, Jaron was prepared to keep me motivated and positive by sharing messages from my wife and kids. Multiple times during the interloopal periods he would say “I’ve gotta show you something.” Then he would have an encouraging video message from my wife and kids to remind me who’s rooting for me at home. Not gonna lie, brought a few tears to my eyes. Even more than being prepared with all these motivational tools, Jaron improvised new tools as opportunities to do so presented themselves. All runners of Backyard Team USA were gifted a copy of the backyard ultra book “There is No Finish” at the beginning of the race. Jaron went beyond the call of duty to have Laz sign my copy and write a personal note to me. Then there were the impromptu reactions to dealing with me at low points. Although I feel like I had very few low points over the course of the race, there were a few and on at least two occasions I voiced those to my crew. Thankfully, Jaron was able to say the right thing to always keep me motivated enough to go out for another yard.

Another aspect of the race that stood out for me are all of the road miles I shared with Team USA under the night skies. Big’s utilizes a looped trail day course and a road out and back night course. Runners must complete 11 day loops (7 am - 5 pm) before switching to the night road course beginning at 6 pm for 13 night laps. Most of those 13 road course yards are in the dark with the sun setting during the first hour and the sunrise during the last. The road course is much wider than the trail course, most of which is single track. This allows runners to run side by side on the road rather than being limited to single file formation as we were on the trail. This tends to lend itself more to group running and usually more conversation (when you aren’t too sleep deprived to actually carry on a conversation).

Team USA in the starting corral.

 It was great getting to chat with teammates from the 2022 team and having the opportunity to get to know new teammates. This year I ran with Harvey Lewis a good deal during night yards. Although I had run with Harvey at Big’s in 2022 and 2023, I hadn’t spent much time with him on the road when there’s a bit more opportunity to chat. In 2022 I suffered from a severe case of imposter syndrome and didn’t chat much with anyone. In 2023 with it being an individual competition year, the course was just extremely crowded with 75 runners. During the second and third nights, Harvey seemed to be struggling a bit and was encouraging the rest of us to join him and run as a group implementing a run/walk strategy. I joined the group for probably the majority of those two nights with just a few exceptions when I tried to pick up my pace a bit for more nap time. Running as a group and as a team was a powerful strategy. It helped keep me focused on my major goals for the race: for Team USA to get the team win and for me to make a significant and valuable contribution to the team effort. While running as a group during those overnight miles, it didn’t feel like I was running a backyard. I didn’t feel like I was competing with anyone in the group I was running with. I just felt like we were all running for a common purpose, to accumulate points for Team USA.

The morning of day two, Team USA looking strong!

 

The one night conversation that stands out to me more than any other occurred during the third night. I’m not sure who was all in our group at the time, but I am certain that it included Harvey, Levi Yoder, and I. Midway through the third night we were approaching the 72 hour (300 mile) threshold. At this point we had already exceeded the number of yards run by most of our team to earn their spot this year. The bottom 10 qualifying runners earned their spot on the team with backyard performances that ranged from 49-65 yards. Beyond that, we had three runners qualify with backyard performances in the 70’s (Jennifer Russo with 74, Scott Snell with 75, and Piotr Chadovich with 76). Then there were the two outliers, Jon Noll (98) and Harvey Lewis (108). I had been thinking about this during the third night and how as we run as a team we are likely securing our spots, or at least setting the bar for qualification, for the 2026 team. As I’m thinking about this, Levi basically vocalizes the idea to the group. I was shocked to hear the thoughts in my head come out of his mouth. Maybe we weren’t the only two thinking about it, but it was great to hear Levi share the idea because that proved to me that I wasn’t the only one. I think the conversation bonded us a bit more as a team. Here we were pushing on through a third night as a team, working together to accumulate points knowing that if we all do our individual part we will likely have an opportunity to do it all again with the same awesome group of runners two years later.

Qualification list of 2024 Team USA Backyard
Satellite Team World Championships

 

Midway through the fourth day, 76 hours after the start of the race to be exact, I bettered my backyard PR. It was also around this time that the remaining members of our team still running were drastically reduced. We went from having eight team members at the 300 mile mark to just three a few hours later. Jon Noll dropped after 72 yards. Ron Wireman after 74. Levi Yoder and Greg Fall both ended their races after 75 yards. Harvey Lewis stopped after completing 76. I alluded to it earlier about how my race experience morphed and confused me while I lived it. I believe this combination of bettering my PR, seeing major race goals accomplished, and realizing I would be one of the few runners remaining deep in the race was the catalyst responsible for that change. It was around this point of the race that my outlook and goals started to shift. I felt like I had already achieved my primary goal of making a significant and valuable contribution to our team’s overall score. I was still feeling relatively good and moving forward through unknown terrain with every yard. My focus became more on wanting to find out how far I could push myself rather than how our team would place. With just three of our team remaining (Piotr Chadovich, Meg Eckert, and me), I was presuming most of the team placements had pretty much been settled already. As I ran yards that fourth afternoon, my head was getting bogged down thinking about the strange dynamic of how the Backyard Satellite Team World Championships eventually at some point become an individual competition. I wasn’t prepared for it as I did not expect to be one of the last three runners remaining on the team, but there I was. I had been so focused on the team aspect of the race for so long that the thought of shifting to pushing for my individual performance came as a shock.

The final three at Big's 2024: (left to right) Meg Eckert, Piotr Chadovich, and Scott Snell

Struggling to wrap my head around the shift of team and individual dynamics of the race format, I remember telling my crew at some point during the fourth day that “this is a team effort.” At one point that afternoon I took my one and only fall of the race on the trail. I caught my toe on a rock or root and just could not recover to stay on my feet. I ended up doing a bit of a superman dive and face down in the dirt. I did a quick assessment of myself before I got up. It seemed like it wasn’t bad and as far as I could tell I was uninjured. As I got up and brushed the dust off, I realized how much worse it could have been. Probably less than a foot from where my head had ended up on the ground was a pretty large, jagged stone. I thought to myself how lucky I was that I hadn’t face planted into that rock. As I ran the rest of that yard, I couldn’t stop thinking how close I had come to ending my race with that fall. That’s the point that the thought of the race ending creeped into my head. Once there, it sounded like a good thing. I found myself questioning if I wanted to keep going. It’s dark, but I actually thought to myself about how if I had hit my face on that rock it would have been the end of my race and my ticket home. I knew I had to make a mindshift when those thoughts showed up. Ultimately, it was shifting my motivation to my individual performance that drove me on following that episode. In my mind at the time, team placements had already been decided and my drive to keep going was to push myself as far as possible.

With only two day course yards left, Piotr failed to return on time for yard 81. This shocked me as it had happened so unexpectedly. Piotr showed no signs of struggling to complete yards. I was with him just maybe a mile from the start/finish with plenty of time to make it in when he started to walk and said he needed to make a pit stop. When the bell rang for yard 82 and Piotr had not emerged from the woods I was in total disbelief as Meg and I headed out for another yard as the final two athletes remaining for Team USA. I had just been running with Piotr a few minutes earlier and now his race was over. This reinforced my thought even more that the team aspect of the race had been decided and now it would have to be my individual performance that would have to be my driving force.

 

As the sun set for the fourth time since the start of the race, I found myself coming to terms with and accepting the fact that this was now a standard backyard format, in my mind at least, that would continue until just one runner was left standing. When we switched back to the road from the trail my legs felt good with the change of surface, my mind was thankful for the change of scenery, I was grateful to witness the sun set another time during the race, and I began to gain confidence about running through a fourth night.

During the first road yard of that fourth night, Rudy, the cameraman on site at the Big’s competition location, did what he had done the previous three nights, he rode his bike alongside runners getting some footage to share with the world via the YouTube livestream. The main difference this time was that there were only two runners left to tag along and chat with. Rudy would engage with us a bit and ask a few questions while riding near us. After three nights of it, I felt pretty comfortable with it and enjoyed the chats with Rudy. But by the fourth night, I think sleep deprivation had started to take its toll on my brain function and conversing was a little tougher and felt like it took more concentration than the previous nights. As I talked to Rudy I felt like I was failing to provide any decent content for the livestream as the main thing I remember saying during the chat was just that “I have to keep moving.” It wasn’t meant to be self motivational talk, but just felt like a statement of fact. My only purpose at that point was to move forward and complete yards on time.

The sun was setting on day four. 

As Meg and I completed yard after yard in the dark, we ran most of our miles alone. I can’t say for certain what Meg’s mindset was at the time, but I’m guessing we were both focused on individual performances at this point. It made for some quiet miles on that dark, lonely Tennessee two lane road. With the sleep deprivation, it made for great conditions for shadows to take the shape of random objects along the course. I had the most vivid hallucinations I have ever had during a race during those few hours between the fourth sunset and the end of the race. My four year old son was really into construction machines at the time and I started seeing shadows that looked like large excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks. This was in addition to the animal faces that my brain usually forms for me in trees and shrubs during sleep deprived backyard night loops. Then during the last few night loops visions started forming in the gulleys alongside the road. At one point I thought I saw the roadside was completely littered with McDonalds happy meal boxes. Later the same area produced the most realistic vision I’ve ever had, a group of kittens hiding amongst the stone in the gully just watching me as I ran by. This was the only hallucination I have ever had where I actually stopped to look more closely to make sure it was not real.
 

As my mind was playing tricks on me and keeping me entertained with visions, Meg’s body was causing her some struggles. I wasn’t aware until I was on my way back from the turnaround of yard 85. The Big’s road course is a single out and back with a couple turns. It’s about a half mile between the final turn and the turnaround. When I made that turnaround I didn’t see a headlamp anywhere in the half mile stretch of road. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I couldn't help but think that Meg may have turned back. As I ran back it started seeming more and more likely with every step I took without seeing a headlamp round the corner. Eventually, Meg did round the corner, but it seemed like she would be cutting it very close to the cut off. As we approached each other, she stopped to tell me that she was having issues and didn’t think she would make it back. I kept the conversation as short as possible and told her that she had time and could still make it. I believe I said not to waste time talking to me and just keep moving. And that’s what she did.

This led to the most stressful part of the race for me. The whole time coming back after that conversation all I could think about is whether this was my last yard or is she going to recover and we will run through the rest of the night? When I got back into camp it only got worse. Everyone in the timing tent was talking about how she wasn’t going to make it. I assume they were basing this prediction on her recorded time at the turnaround (halfway) point of the road course. I overheard this talk and stopped to ask a few questions as I headed back to the start/finish to complete my yard. I tried to tell them that she was still moving well and not that far behind me. I was trying as much to convince myself that this race wasn’t over as much, probably more so, than I was trying to persuade any of them. I completed my yard and went and sat in my chair and waited. It felt like the longest interloopal period of the race. Some race volunteers were saying that she was done and there was no way she would make it back and others standing at the road shouting encouragement into the dark. I tried not to think about it and just focus on doing what I had to do to keep going but that was a losing battle given the excitement and commotion going on at camp during those few minutes. Eventually her light became visible from camp and there was a huge cheer from the onlookers. Meg hammered it in and completed yard 85 with only about a minute to spare.

At that point I knew I was going back out. I thought maybe she was spent. Maybe just one more. But that’s what the backyard always requires: just one more. Meg completed yards 86 and 87 closer to the pace she had been running before the close call. As we started yard 88 at 10 PM, I believed we were going at least until sunrise. When I hit the halfway point and started back from that yard, I was shocked again not to see a headlamp. I was not about to put myself through the mental stress again of wondering if it was over or not. Even though I didn’t see Meg’s headlamp, I just kept telling myself I would have to go back out. I came up with several scenarios as I ran back to explain why I didn’t see her headlamp. I told myself that she may have just turned her headlamp off and I didn’t notice her when we ran by each other, certainly possible in my sleep deprived state. I also thought that maybe she turned her headlamp off to make a pit stop along the road and I passed by without ever seeing her, still a pretty feasible scenario. My last explanation was less likely, but I wouldn’t totally rule it out. That scenario was that for whatever reason, Laz had decided to change the road course to an out and back in the opposite direction and I wasn’t aware. I thought maybe Meg would already be back at camp having completed the “new” road course. That was completely just fabricated in my head and not reality.

 

As it turned out, Meg was back at camp when I got back; she had headed out on yard 88 then turned back soon after due to persisting calf issues. I never let myself believe that I was running my final yard of the race the entire return trip until I got back to the light of camp and Jaron was hollering and cheering for me that we had done it. I crossed the line, hugged Jaron and Derek, and then sat down in a camp chair in the corral to be congratulated and chat with everyone still at camp. It was a surreal feeling sitting in that chair in Laz’s driveway after running the most yards of anyone on our team. When I first applied for a spot to run Big’s in 2018 I wasn't sure if I would ever actually have the opportunity to run the race. I never would have expected to be the last one standing at Big’s when I first hit that “waitlist” button on the Ultrasignup page, but there I was with the single commemorative gold coin in hand surrounded by my crew, teammates, and all of the race support volunteers that helped me achieve my greatest backyard performance. The only thing missing in the moment was my wife and kids that have always supported my persistence to put in the work to improve in the backyard format but I knew they were watching and cheering for me at home. And soon enough, after a little rest and a recovery run, I would be on my way home to celebrate with them.

When I finally knew it was over.

Scott Snell
8 July 2025

Photo credit to Alyssa Justice Photo

2025 Capital Backyard Ultra

 

Who Says You Need Clear Goals to Achieve Success?

It’s kind of tough going into a backyard without having really clearly defined goals, but that’s what I did for this year’s edition of Capital Backyard. Granted, I had a list of items that I would be happy to see accomplished but for the most part they really weren’t specific black and white items that I could check off as completed. The primary goals were to enjoy myself and run a race that I was proud of. Obviously, measuring success there is a bit more ambiguous than a goal such as complete x number of yards. My measure of success for those two goals could also very well fluctuate throughout the course of a backyard; news alert - backyards aren’t always fun and enjoyable for me from start to finish. Even though I prefer the clarity of binary goals, these two were my focus at Capital 2025 in large part due to my current status for the qualification standards for Big’s 2025 and 2026. As the gold ticket winner of Big’s 2024, I am guaranteed a spot at the World Individual competition at Big’s 2025, so there is no pressure this year to secure a spot in the starting corral. My 88 yard run at Big’s last year also gives me a pretty comfortable spot on the at large list for the 2026 US Team; currently #1 of the eight available at large slots for the team. While it’s not a guaranteed spot, it would require eight US runners putting up a greater than 88 yard performance between now and mid August 2026 to knock me off the at large list. It’s certainly possible, but I do not believe it is highly probable. Hence my lack of feeling pressure to put up a huge performance at Capital this year and why my goals were a bit more open ended.

With my less than definitive goals in place, my headspace was a little funny leading up to the race. Thankfully, I had a chance to chat with Marty Fox (my running idol that crewed me at Big’s 2023) about it while setting up my aid tent the Friday afternoon before the race. I’m not sure if Marty knows it or not, but he’s kind of my unpaid, unofficial sports psychology coach. After talking with Marty and voicing my concerns, I felt better about my plan as a whole. He seems to always give insight and guidance that helps to right my ship.

 

Race Director Sarah Smith giving final instructions before the first yard.

My biggest concern and a factor that was pretty much out of my control this year was having my family join me for the race, the first time that had happened in about four years (last time being at Backyard Squatch). My two older sons would be my primary crew while my two younger sons would be there for moral support and to cheer on all the runners. My wife, Amanda, had the toughest task of keeping our wildlife out of trouble, mostly happy, and fed. I was confident my two older boys could handle crewing me with no problems as they have done it before multiple times (Bob’s Big Timber and BS Backyard) and both times impressed me with how well they handled it. My main worry was my two younger boys (ages 2 and 4) and Amanda’s stress level at keeping them entertained and safe for several days. I say it often, but it bears repeating, my wife is a saint. It was comforting to know that in the worst case scenario Amanda could bail from the race and take the little guys to a nearby hotel.

A live stream of the start.

After what I felt like was a pretty darn good backyard training block, all the travel logistics sorted and fallen into place, and the aid tent set up was complete, it was the morning of the race and I had my whole family there to cheer for me. It felt great and I was feeling extremely confident before the yard 1 bell rang. The only thing missing was other members of past USA Backyard Teams. The last two years of Capital had felt like mini Team USA reunions, but this year I was the only returning Team USA member running Capital. It was nice catching up with them after the last couple years so I missed that, but it also gave me the opportunity to meet and run with other backyard runners. There were a couple runners that had been the last ones standing at races that ended too early to qualify them for the team (Steven Carr, 33 yards at Little Dog’s Backyard) and Julian Long, 44 yards at Death at Dupuis) so I was looking forward to running some yards with them and getting to know them. This also leads to one of the factors I was using to assess whether I ran a race that I was proud of. I wanted this race to be an opportunity for any backyard runners looking to earn a spot at Big’s this year or on the team next year. If I could play a role and assist in pushing the distance of Capital this year for another runner to qualify for either of those, that would have been an accomplishment to be proud of regardless of whether my race ended as the last one standing or not.

Day 1 went smoothly for me and I felt like I was causing minimal stress to my body, largely in part thanks to the ideal temperatures we were treated to. The forecast leading up to the race called for high temperatures of around 70 °F Saturday - Sunday, a huge change from the higher temperatures I had run through at Capital the previous three years. With the less stressful temperatures and keeping my body well fueled and hydrated, I was expecting this would be a great year to push the distance of the Capital course.

Day 1, enjoying dill pickle chips with the crew!

Night 1 was as smooth and painless as running through the night can be. I battled some drowsiness off and on, but that is to be expected. I was trying to avoid caffeine as long as possible to fall asleep more easily between yards and bank more sleep expecting the need for sleep in the long run with the distance I was expecting the race to go. Around midnight it became too much for me and I needed some caffeine as I found myself dozing off during walk breaks. I chugged half a can of Rockstar energy drink and put my headphones on just before 1 AM between yards 17 and 18. It gave me a bit more of a boost than I had planned and I ran my fastest yard (47:44) of the night. The pace increase was short lived, but it did keep me from dozing off while upright.
 

An animated chart of my yard splits.

By sunrise, we had already lost nearly half the field of runners with only 17 remaining of the total 37 that were in the starting corral for yard 1. The drop that hurt the most was Marty Fox. At 74 years of age, Marty dropped after 19 yards only 5 yards short of a 100 mile backyard performance. I really thought he was going to get his 24 hour backyard this year, and I was really sad to find out he had dropped.

As day 2 progressed, runners continued to thin out. I was surprised because the weather and course conditions were great. I was expecting a long race, potentially pushing the course record beyond 75 yards. I still hoped for it, but with the declining numbers it seemed less and less likely. Eventually, the field declined to just five runners: Steven Carr, Julian Long (both mentioned earlier), Andrew Janeway, Megan Alverado, and myself. Andrew was the assist to Steven’s win at Little Dog’s last year and the two of them seemed to have a fun, friendly competition going between one another. I thought this was awesome as it would fuel both of them to continue to push far. Megan I was aware of because she was mentioned in a Capital Backyard predictions Reddit thread I was looking at leading up to the race. This was her first backyard, but she is an accomplished 24 hour runner and has represented the US on the National 24 hour team. With that background, she was a bit of a dark horse at her backyard debut. I hadn’t talked to her at all during the race because she was running her yards way faster than I was running mine. She was looking strong all the way through the second day as was Julian. Steven and Andrew were just talking about trying to survive into the second night. With only a few hours of day course yards left, I was expecting Megan, Julian, and I to run through the second night and push the distance of the race but the backyard always has surprises.

I spent most of the second afternoon running with Steven, Julian, and Andrew as a group. For the sake of strategy to try to push us all farther and make the upcoming night yards more manageable, we formed what we called our “wolf pack” and did a little howling. As we headed out howling for the first night yard, Megan didn’t take off fast out the gate as she had been consistently doing. I was surprised when she matched my pace as we ran the first out and back of the night course which was cool because one more member of the wolf pack would help get us all through the night. We chatted a bit during that time and I didn’t really pick up on the fact that she was struggling until she said she was thinking about stopping. Initially I thought she meant just taking a walk break but she meant the race as a whole. I tried to be encouraging and offered to run together through the night if she thought it would help. We talked a little about her goals and I suggested setting surviving the night as an additional goal. This interaction brought me back to my race goal of running a race that I was proud of. In order for me to be proud of my race, I had to give it my best shot to encourage her and keep her in the race. Eventually after a little walking and talking, she said she would finish the yard on her own and told me to run my pace. In retrospect, I wonder if I could have said more or something else that would have reignited a drive to continue on through the night, but what, I’m not sure.

One fueling option, although I think my crew drank more of it than me 😅

So in extreme contrast to what I had predicted just a few hours earlier, the final three runners in the race were Steven, Andrew, and me. Julian unexpectedly timed out on the second night yard (38) and Megan went out for one more after that which she timed out on. At this point, Steven and Andrew were both moving well and I thought the three of us may make it through the night. Just a few hours later, Steven hit me with the surprise that he had made the decision to end his race and stop after the current yard we were running, yard 41. I’m not sure of his entire thought process in his decision, but he seemed confident in it and just asked that Andrew and I get a picture with him at the end of yard 41.

In what felt like a whirlwind development, the race was down to the final two runners. Andrew was still moving well so I still thought we would make it to sunrise. But again, the backyard surprised me. After completing yard 42 with no apparent issues serious enough to be race ending (Andrew had mentioned that he was experiencing some acid reflux) I emerged from my tent about 10 seconds before the bell to start yard 43 and didn’t see him. I scanned the edge of the corral and there Andrew was hunched over in a chair just outside the corral line with his head in his hands. Then the bell rang as his crew and a race volunteer tried to stand him up and I heard someone say “it’s too late.” Having just woken up from a quick nap and still being groggy, I wasn’t sure what was going on but I thought he was hunched over vomiting. All I knew for sure was that to follow the backyard rules and not be disqualified myself, I had to begin forward motion out of the corral when the bell rang (as per Backyard Ultra Association rule 3.3: “All competitors must start at the bell (No late starts)” - https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=123339). As I walked out of the corral to start my unexpected final yard of the race I just said to Andrew that I was sorry the race ended this way.

I ran my final yard with mixed emotions. I was happy and relieved I would be the last one standing and secure another win at Capital, but at the same time I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that the race would end far sooner than I had expected and had prepared myself mentally to go. I returned to find Andrew bundled in a blanket and laid back in a zero gravity. Still thinking that he failed to get in the corral due to stomach issues, the first thing I said was how sorry I was that the race ended that way and so abruptly. Andrew told me that shortly after I left to run that yard he passed out. It turns out he wasn’t vomiting or about to vomit, but was about to pass out. After hearing that, I was relieved that he didn’t go out on that yard and pass out after getting out on the course. As scary as it was to hear he passed out at the corral, it would have been far worse and scarier if it had happened out on the course. Thankfully, he seemed fine after a little rest in the chair and the next morning after a few hours sleep he was in good spirits and seemed in pretty good shape all things considered.

The finish with Andrew recovering.

Although the race didn’t go as far as I expected or planned for, it felt like a huge success for me. I felt like I accomplished my two goals going into the race: to enjoy myself and to run a race that I was proud of. I felt like I ran a race that displayed determination and the results of consistent and dedicated work towards a goal for my two older boys crewing me to observe. On top of it all, all my family (wife and little guys included) also had a great time which was probably the greatest relief for me of the entire experience. Amanda enjoyed it so much that she was checking out races on Ultrasignup within a day or two of our return home to find other races that looked ideal to merge a family camping trip with a race! After seeing that, I’m pretty sure there will be more races in my future where I’m happily loading up all of our camp gear for another family camping/race adventure and I couldn’t be happier about it!


Scott Snell
4 June 2025

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