MAD Backyard Ultra

The MAD Backyard Ultra isn’t just about who lasts the longest on race day—it’s about who keeps coming back to the concrete, year after year, lap after lap. 💥🛣️

Since our very first starting whistle in 2022, hundreds of runners have tested their limits on the Camp Jordan paths. While a single long run on this 100% paved course is physically demanding, returning annually to compound that distance requires an entirely different level of joint conditioning and mental fortitude. A select few have logged truly staggering lifetime mileage totals, proving they have absolutely dialed in their shoe rotations and impact resilience.

Top 10 All-Time Mileage Accumulators

Kyle Kalbus — 537.79 miles

Melody Diehl — 279.32 miles

Dusty Elliott — 254.31 miles

Jamie Ryan — 254.27 miles

David Kyle — 250.17 miles

Bob Adams — 241.86 miles

Jonathan McKenzie — 237.69 miles

Patrick O'Hagan — 229.29 miles

Shawn Parnaby — 212.56 miles

Matthew Williams — 208.38 miles

A massive shoutout to Kyle Kalbus for sitting completely alone in the 500+ mile club! Logging over 500 miles across multiple years on a hard-surface loop is an incredible feat of endurance and persistence. The margins in the rest of the top five are razor-thin, with mere fractions of a mile separating some of these legendary backyard efforts.

Who is moving up this leaderboard next year? Drop a comment if you are aiming to add to your lifetime total and hit a new personal best on the concrete! 👇

Trail legs are great. But do you have concrete legs? 🛣️💥

The MAD Backyard Ultra loop is 100% paved concrete around Camp Jordan. It makes for an incredibly fast, predictable, and weather-resistant course—no ankle-rolling roots or deep mud bogs here.

But make no mistake: concrete takes a toll over 12, 24, or 30+ hours. The runners who survive the longest in the yard are the ones who dial in their shoe rotations and prepare their joints for the hard surface.

If you're building a base for 2027, don't just run the soft trails. Get some time on the greenways.

How often do you rotate your shoes during a 50+ mile effort? 👟

Since the very first lap in 2022, the MAD Backyard Ultra has brought together an incredible community of runners. 🏃‍♂️💨 Over the last five years, 222 unique runners have toed the line for a total of 300 race entries. But what truly blows us away is how far you all travel to run with us!

We've hosted participants from 21 different U.S. states and 3 different countries. 🗺️

🇺🇸 States Represented:
Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

🌎 Countries Represented:
United States, Canada (Quebec), and Panama!

It’s amazing to see folks from all over the map pushing their limits on the course. Whether you're driving across town or flying in internationally, our entire crew—including our fantastic volunteers loves welcoming every single one of you to the starting line.

Who's ready to add their home state or country to the list next time? Drop where you'll be traveling from in the comments! 👇

The Great Backyard Gear Debate: Hydration Vest or Handheld Bottle? 💧🤔

One of the best parts of the MAD Backyard Ultra is the format. You are never more than 4.1667 miles away from your personal basecamp.

Because we are running on a fast, flat, paved concrete loop around Camp Jordan, you don't need to haul a massive pack like you might on a remote mountain route. A lot of runners ditch the heavy hydration vest entirely and run light to stay quick on their feet and give their shoulders a break.

I’ll go first: when I’m tackling a short-loop format or pushing through a 6-hour block, I always prefer leaving the vest behind and sticking with a handheld.

What is your go-to strategy for a looped format? Are you packing a vest for the long haul out of habit, or running light with a handheld? Let us know below! 👇

🥇 UNPOPULAR OPINION: WE DON'T GIVE OUT FINISHER MEDALS. ❌🏅

In almost every other sport on the planet, a "DNF" (Did Not Finish) is a disappointment. It's a rough day at the office.

But at the MAD Backyard Ultra, a DNF is a badge of absolute honor. 🛑💪

Because of the way a backyard ultra works, the bell keeps ringing until there is literally only one person left standing. That means every single other runner in the field—whether they complete 3 loops or 30—technically finishes the weekend with a DNF.

But here is the magic: it means you ran until your absolute limit. You didn't stop because an arbitrary finish line told you to. You stopped because you gave the yard every single ounce of grit you had left. There is something incredibly freeing about a race where the goal isn't a clock or a distance—it's simply finding your breaking point and smashing right through it.

To celebrate that exact grit, we don't hand out standard medals. Instead, every runner who finds their limit in the yard takes home our official MAD DNF Coin. 🪙🔥

It's a heavy, hard-earned reminder that you didn't quit when things got tough—you stood your ground until the yard finally won. It’s a piece of hardware that says you left it all out there.

We are a long way out from the January 2027 edition, but the challenge is already waiting. Are you ready to earn your coin? 🛎️

⛺🍳 CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: RACE WEEKEND EDITION 🪵🔥

Describe your absolute ideal race environment:

Option A: Standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowded, chaotic starting corral with 5,000 strangers, checking your watch nervously as the clock ticks down to a single mass start. ⏱️ nervous energy, traffic jams on the trail, and it's over in a flash.

Option B: Hanging out at a personal basecamp tent with a cooler, your favorite people, hot food sizzling on a griddle, sharing stories, and stepping up to the line every hour just to see how far your legs can take you. ⛺🥓

If you picked Option B, you’re already speaking our language.

The MAD Backyard Ultra isn't just an endurance race—it’s essentially a massive, weekend-long camping trip wrapped inside a running challenge.

In the backyard format, the "race village" at Camp Jordan becomes a temporary city. Your crew sets up a home base with canopy tents and lawn chairs. Neighbors share supplies, crews cheer for every single runner coming through the chute, and the community bonds over hot coffee and midnight pancake flips.

You aren't competing against the person next to you; you are surviving with them. Everyone supports everyone until there is literally only one person left standing.

It’s a completely different vibe than any standard road or trail race you’ve ever lined up for. If you’ve never experienced a backyard race village, you're missing out on the absolute best part of ultra culture.

We are a long way out from the January 2027 edition, but it’s never too early to start planning your basecamp setup. Who are you bringing in your crew? 👇

⚡ THE ULTIMATE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAP ⚡

"The hardest part of a backyard ultra isn't the distance. It’s the comfort of the chair." 🪑❌

Think about it. In a traditional race, you lock into a pace and run until you physically cross a finish line. The format takes care of the ending for you.

But a backyard ultra? It plays by entirely different rules.

Every single hour, you finish your loop and come back to camp. You sit down. Your crew hands you food. You get warm. And then, the three-minute whistle blows.

The true test of a backyard ultra isn't how fast your legs can move. It’s whether you have the mental toughness to actively choose to leave a warm tent, stand up out of a comfortable camp chair, and walk back into the starting corral when your body is screaming at you to stay put.

The race doesn't stop until you decide to quit. It forces you into a completely raw, honest conversation with yourself about your true limits.

If you stepped into the yard to test your mind against a format like this... how many times do you think you'd have the grit to say "yes" to the bell? 🔔👇

Standing Champiomship

👋 MEET THE TEAM BEHIND THE MADNESS! 🌀

We might be a long way out from the January 2027 edition of the MAD Backyard Ultra, but putting on an event like this takes a village—and a lot of year-round planning. Since the mind game for 2027 starts now, we wanted to officially introduce the team that rings the bell, corrals the runners, and keeps the energy alive at Camp Jordan!

❤️ What's in a Name? The "MAD" Origin
Ever wonder where the "MAD" in MAD Backyard Ultra comes from? It’s not just about the crazy format—it actually stands for Mandy and David! This race was born from their shared passion for the endurance community, turning a husband-and-wife teamwork dynamic into the ultimate backyard challenge.

🏔️ David Lane – Race Director & Founder
David is an RRCA Certified Race Director and the mastermind behind the Chattanooga Ultra Championship. If it involves running in circles for hours on end in the Chattanooga area, David probably has his hands on it. Along with MAD, he directs the Locomotion Endurance Event, Circle Endurance Event, and the upcoming handicap-style Wauhatchie Trail Race. He lives for the strategy of endurance sports and loves watching runners smash through their mental limits.

⏱️ Amanda "Mandy" Lane – The Glue & Volunteer Coordinator
They say behind every great race director is an even better team, and Mandy is the ultimate glue holding it all together. She assists with logistics across all events, but her most crucial role is Volunteer Coordinator. From managing the 3:00 AM shifts to making sure the pancake griddle stays hot, Mandy ensures our volunteer village is unparalleled.

📢 Michelle Sledge – Co-Race Director, MAD Backyard Ultra
We are thrilled to introduce Michelle as our newest official member and Co-Race Director for MAD! While the title is new, Michelle is backyard royalty. She has been involved with MAD every single year as our Start Line Master of Events. If you’ve stepped into the MAD corral, you absolutely know her—she’s the commanding, high-energy voice behind the megaphone keeping you on schedule when the countdown ticks away!

Whether you are a seasoned backyard veteran or just starting to look into what this "4.1667-mile" thing is all about, this team is already working hard to make 2027 our best year yet.

Drop a comment below to say hello to the crew, or shout out your favorite memory of Michelle’s megaphone from years past! 👇🛎️

Ever wonder why a Backyard Ultra loop is exactly 4.1667 miles? 🌀🤔

It’s not just a random number plucked out of thin air. There is some beautiful, brutal math behind it:

If you run 4.1667 miles every hour on the hour for 24 hours... you hit exactly 100 miles. 💯

That means the backyard format is the ultimate equalizer. You don't have to be the fastest runner on the paved loop to hit a legendary milestone. Speed doesn’t win here—pacing, relentless consistency, and pure mental grit do. You just have to be able to finish the loop, grab a snack, check on your crew, and step back into the starting corral before the next bell rings. 🔔

At the MAD Backyard Ultra, we watch runners completely redefine what they think their bodies are capable of. Whether your goal is 3 loops or 30, the yard will test you like nothing else.

We are a long way out from the January 2027 edition, but the mind game starts now. Have you ever wondered how many bells you could survive?