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