Arrowtown Backyard Ultra 2024
Sat 9 Nov 2024 9am until the last person is standing!
Butler Green (Event Village) & Arrow River Trail (Course)
The event SOLD OUT in 2 days but you can still join the WAITLIST and we will contact you when a spot becomes available.
How far do you think you could run?
Marathon? 100km? 100miles?
Are you interested to see how far you can go?
Test your limits, enter the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra now!
“If you’re going to face a challenge, it has to be a real challenge. You can’t accomplish anything without the possibility of failure”
— Laz
What is a backyard ultra?
The backyard ultra involves competitors running 6.71km on the hour every hour until the last person is standing. Competitors that don’t complete a lap within 1 hour or are not in the starting corral for the start of the next lap are recorded as DNF (Did Not Finish). The winner is the last person to complete a lap when all others have given up.
It’s easy until it’s not!
6 laps is a marathon (well, pretty close) – 15 laps is 100km – 24 laps is 100miles
But why stop there, keep going for ‘just one more lap’!
Run further than you’ve ever run before, enter the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra now!
Are you willing to keep lining up for the next lap?
Then another!
Everyone can’t be the ‘last person standing’.
But you can be your best!
Anything is possible with commitment, tenacity and a willingness to give your all!
The difference between an ultra-run and a backyard ultra is the mental toughness needed to keep lining up for another lap.
With the right mental attitude, you will go further than you’ve ever gone before!
Clock up the miles, meet new people, push your limits, set a new personal best, enter the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra now!
“There is no mercy in a backyard, there is no good try, there is only success or failure”
— Laz
Great course + awesome support crew + supportive atmosphere = personal success!
Course
The Arrow River Trail is the ideal backyard ultra course!
o 6.71km course of predominantly hard packed trail while also including a winding single trail through the bush.
o Follow Bush Creek and the Arrow River, enjoy the shade cover.
o Cross Bush Creek twice, 2 pedestrian bridges over the Arrow River – no wet feet!
o There’s a few small inclines that you will probably walk but otherwise this is a hard and fast course!
o The Strava course elevation is 48m.
o Enjoy your run as locals and tourists cheer you on!
Check out the course video!
Event Village
Butler Green is the ideal event village that will ensure your support crew love the experience!
o The event village is in the heart of Arrowtown, anything you might need (cafe’s, bakery etc) is only a stones throw away.
o Your support crew will be able to soak up the amazing atmosphere while you run lap after lap along the Arrow River Trail.
o This is a self-supported event. You will need to provide your own gazebo, chair, food and water etc.
o For competitors flying into Queenstown, please contact us as we’ll provide shelter and a chair for all competitors flying.
o Each competitor will be able to erect a gazebo (3m x 3m) within the event village.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of the event village is what sets a backyard ultra apart from any other event. The buzz of starting and finishing another lap is always uplifting. Every runner is celebrated as a winner, lap after lap until you find your limit. Every lap provides the opportunity for personal greatness. The loudest cheer won’t be for the last person standing, it will be for the runner that needs to sprint towards the starting corral with seconds to spare and then turns around for just one more lap, that’s the experience we all want to be a part of!
Are you excited to test your limit?
Enter the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra now!
Nervous?
You should be!
You’re potentially on the path to running further than you’ve ever run before!
Schedule
o Friday night gazebo set up: 3pm – 8pm (you cannot stay overnight at Butler Green on Friday night, the Arrowtown Campground is a great option)
o Registration: Friday 6pm – 8pm or Saturday 7:30am – 8:30am
o Race Briefing: Saturday 8:45am
o Race Start: Saturday 9am
o Race Finish: Who knows…100+ laps???
Team Event
o Get your friends together and run as a team of 4!
o Each team member must still enter and run as an individual competitor, it’s not turnabout.
o When one team member DNFs, the other team members keep going, your DNF team member will then cheer you on and support you to continue clocking up laps!
o Race as a team, encourage each other, push each other to achieve your personal bests!
o Teams will be mens, womans or mixed.
o Following entering as individuals, just email brandon@highlandevents.co.nz with your team members and team name.
Race Rules
o Competitors must complete each lap within 1 hour.
o Competitors that don’t complete a lap within 1 hour or are not in the starting corral for the start of the next lap are recorded as DNF (Did Not Finish).
o There will be a warning sound 3, 2 & 1 minute before the starting bell. Note: Due to noise restrictions, from 8pm – 8am, this warning sound will not be loud. Your support crew will be responsible for ensuring you’re in the starting corral on time.
o Competitors must follow the set course (except for toilet stops).
o Supporters (include eliminated runners) are not allowed on the course to support competitors. Note: Public will be on the course and you must give way to them.
o You are not to receive support (i.e. food or drink) during a lap (including just after the start).
o All support must be provided within the event village between laps.
o No artificial aids (i.e. trekking poles).
o No pacing.
o If no runner can complete one more lap than anyone else, then there is no winner.
Entry Cost
Entry - $197
Entries are limited!
Get into it!
Additional 3.6% transaction/credit card fee applies. If you don’t want to pay the transaction/credit card fee, just email brandon@highlandevents.co.nz and we can provide you with bank account details to avoid the transaction/credit card fee.
The 2023 & 2024 Arrowtown Backyard Ultra was SOLD OUT with a WAITLIST.
Backyard Ultra World Team Championship
Do you want to represent NZ in the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship on October 2026?
The Arrowtown Backyard Ultra provides you with the opportunity to qualify for the World Team Championships.
With 15 spots up for grabs in the NZ team, 3 spots will be taken by the winners of the 2026 Silver Ticket events - Riverhead Relaps, Krayzies and Pigs. The remaining 12 spots will be the highest yards achieved by Kiwis during the qualifying period (16 August 2024 – 15 August 2026).
As such, the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra in November 2024 is a qualifying event for the World Team Championships in October 2026. As at Feb 2024, you need to complete 39 or more laps to make the NZ ‘At Large’ list. The Arrowtown Backyard Ultra course is ideal for clocking up big numbers! The Arrowtown Backyard Ultra course accounts for most of the NZ team placings!
The winner of the NZ World Team Championships in Oct 2026 then receives an entry to the Individual World Championships at Big’s Backyard Ultra in October 2027.
Contact Us
If you’re still unsure if the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra is the right event for you, then email brandon@highlandevents.co.nz and we’ll answer all of your questions.
This event is brought to you by Brandon Purdue in partnership with Highland Events.
Photo Credits
@shadowandshadenz IG @tectonic_tammy IG @arrowtownnz Kelly Coleman @highlandevents @atownsamstevenson IG @baileynzphotography IG @niixology IG
There is no finish!
“The true heart and soul of the backyard is any runner who steps into the starting corral to seek their personal limits”
— Laz
