The Format
Last person standing wins. Everyone else is DNF. That's backyard ultra.
- The course is a loop, 4 miles 880 feet (6.7056km)
- One lap, every hour, on the hour
- Miss a full lap inside the hour and you're out
- The winner is the last person to complete a lap when nobody else can complete one more than them
- If two or more runners stop at the same time, with no one able to go one further, there is no winner
Starts
- Each yard starts precisely one hour after the last
- Warnings given at 3, 2 and 1 minute before the bell
- All competitors must start at the bell. No late starts.
Starting Corral
- Measured to fit the whole starting field
- Stays the same size all event, however many runners remain
- You must be inside the corral at the bell
On The Course
- Except for restroom breaks, you cannot leave the course until your yard is complete
- No non-competitors on the course, including eliminated runners
- No personal aid during a yard
- Each yard must be completed in under an hour to count
- No artificial aids, including trekking poles
- Slower runners must yield and allow passes
Results
- The winner is the last person to complete a yard
- Everyone else is technically DNF, and that's not a dirty word here. Every yard completed gets recorded and given back to you.
- If no one can complete one more yard than anyone else, there is no winner
Misc
- Keeping lap times is optional
- The race must be open ended. No fixed finish line, no cap on how far this can go.
Beartown-Specific
Astbury Mere is a public space and we won't be closing it for the event. That means:
- Volunteer wardens will be on course throughout, monitoring for fair play
- Non-runners or eliminated runners offering pacing, tactics or advice to an active competitor will be flagged
- Tactics and pacing can only be discussed between a runner and their crew, maximum two people, when the runner is off the course
- Crew can only assist their runner in the start/finish area, before or after a yard, never during
- No pacers. Once your yard starts, you're on your own until the bell.
- Media accreditation will be issued for filming on course, but time spent alongside any one athlete will be limited if it starts to look like pacing
- The wardens' and race directors' decisions are final
Parking
The Astbury Mere car park is pay and display, and every penny raised goes back into the country park.
- 60p for up to 2 hours, or £1.50 for longer. The machine takes card (contactless and chip and PIN) or coins
- The car park has limited spaces. Please park considerately of other users, follow our wardens' directions, and be prepared to move your vehicle if asked
- The car park normally has no overnight parking, but the Astbury Mere Trust is keeping it open for the event, and our wardens will marshal it through the night
- Overspill parking is available at West Street Car Park in Congleton, also pay and display, about a 12-minute walk from the Mere
- You and your crew are responsible for your own parking for each day you are on site
- If the car park is full, please don't obstruct Sandy Lane, road junctions or local residents