Event Description
FRONTIER
CIRCUIT
No finish lines. No fixed distances. Just one 4.167-mile loop every hour until only one Texan is still standing.
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4.167
Miles per loop
One yard. Exactly 100 miles every 24 hours if you last that long.
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:60
Minutes on the clock
One loop per hour, on the hour. You're in the corral or you're out.
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1
Soloist remains
There is no finish line. Only a last one standing.
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3
Texas venues
Three landscapes. Three seasons. One frontier circuit.
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across Texas.
Brought to you by the team behind Run A Backyard Ultra, The Last Frontier Circuit is a multi-venue points series that crowns the ultimate endurance champion of the Lone Star State. Complete two or more events, stack your yards, and climb the master leaderboard.
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2+
Events Required
Compete in at least two circuit races to unlock your spot on the master leaderboard.
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1.5×
Rodeo Multiplier
The brutal Rodeo terrain pays 1.5 pts per loop. Stack your advantage early.
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+5
Last One Standing
Win any event and earn five bonus points. The crown stays in play all season.
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Three seasons.
Three kinds of suffering.
Each race is its own battle. Together they determine who rules the frontier.
Rugged, technical Hill Country terrain designed to test early-season limits. The most demanding course on the circuit, and it rewards you for it.
Texas Hill Country at the edge of summer. An unforgiving late-May sun that challenges the state's most serious endurance runners.
Race Page & Registration →Set deep in the iconic lost pines and sandy loam. The perfect autumn crucible to build your series yardage heading into the final standings.
Race Page & Registration →How Points Work
Backyard ultra scoring is simple. The series layer adds strategy. Here's exactly how your loops turn into the championship title.
To appear on the official Master Circuit Standings, you must record completed loops at a minimum of two of our three circuit events. Run one event and your points still bank, but your name doesn't unlock on the master leaderboard until you hit that second starting corral.
Your score is based entirely on distance not position, not pace. At Big Bastrop, every loop you finish before the 60-minute bell earns exactly 1 point. At Austin's Backyard it earns you 1.1 points.
Not all trails are equal. Because of the brutal terrain and sheer physical toll of the Rodeo Backyard Ultra, every completed loop is worth 1.5 points. Grind out a 50-miler (12 loops) at Rodeo and you're banking 18 points — not 12.
| Loops | Distance | Bastrop / Austin | Rodeo (1.5×) |
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| 4 loops | 16.6 mi | 4 pts / 4.4 pts | 6 pts |
| 12 loops | 50 mi | 12 pts / 13.2 pts | 18 pts |
| 24 loops | 100 mi | 24 pts / 26.4 pts | 36 pts |
The deep-mileage battles that happen when the field thins out deserve extra weight. Flat bonus points go to the last two athletes not affected by the Rodeo multiplier.
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+5
Last Person Standing
Win the race. Earn five bonus points on top of your total loop score.
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+3
The Assist
Complete the second-to-last loop. Three bonus points for making it a battle.
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If you want to win the circuit, you can't cruise through one event. You need massive yards and you absolutely want to take advantage of the point-heavy Rodeo course to launch yourself up the standings early in the season. The crown stays up for grabs until the final yard is run.
THE LAST TEXAN
STANDING?
Register for all three events as a bundle and lock in your spot on the Last Frontier Circuit master leaderboard.
Backyard Ultra: Official Race Rules
Backyard Ultra is a unique format of endurance running. It is not a race for a set distance, nor a race for a set time. The objective is for each runner to cover the maximum distance possible for their level of ability. There is only one winner, the runner who covers the greatest total distance, but every participant plays a role in the outcome, and many runners will achieve distances they never thought possible along the way.
1. Starting Corral
All runners must be inside the corral before the starting bell.
2. Starting Each Yard
Each "Yard" (one loop of the course) begins exactly one hour after the previous Yard started.
Runners will receive warnings at 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and 1 minute before the starting bell.
All runners must start at the bell. Late starts are not permitted. If you are not in the corral at the bell, your race is over.
3. During a Yard
Once a Yard begins, runners may not leave the course except for restroom breaks.
No non-competitors, including runners who have already been eliminated, may accompany an active runner on the course.
No personal aid (food, water, pacing, coaching, etc.) is allowed while a Yard is in progress.
Each Yard must be completed in under one hour to count. Any runner who does not finish the loop within the hour is eliminated.
No artificial aids of any kind are permitted, including trekking poles.
Faster runners have the right of way. Slower runners must yield and allow themselves to be passed.
4. Timing
Keeping individual lap times is optional and left to each runner's discretion.
5. Winner and Results
The winner is the last runner remaining who successfully completes one more Yard than every other competitor.
All other runners, including the second-place finisher, are officially recorded as DNF (Did Not Finish).
Final results will list every runner's total number of Yards completed.
If the field cannot produce a runner who completes one more Yard than all others (for example, if the last two runners both stop at the same point), no winner will be declared for that edition of the race.
By registering for this event, all runners agree to abide by these rules. Any runner who does not start at the bell, leaves the course during an active Yard (except for a restroom break), receives outside aid, or fails to complete a Yard within one hour will be marked as eliminated.
Follow the journey on Instagram @runabackyardultra · fitfoundation.org/run-a-backyard-ultra
Contact Form
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Event Location
Lake Bastrop South Shore Park
375 South Shore Rd.
Bastrop, TX 78602 US
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