Texas Backyard Ultra Series
Typically 57–75°F · low rain risk
See last 10 years
On this date: rain 0 of the last 10 years
2026
65–83°F
dry
2025
50–70°F
dry
2024
53–70°F
dry
2023
56–78°F
dry
2022
42–60°F
dry
2021
37–43°F
dry
2020
53–68°F
dry
2019
46–71°F
dry
2018
53–71°F
dry
2017
71–82°F
dry
Best months to race in Texas →
About this race
99 athletes aren't on the board yet.
Big Bastrop moved six athletes onto the board, and Rubio's 43.0 points sit on top. 99 more have banked loops from Rodeo, Austin's and Bastrop and are still waiting to unlock. The Official Master Standings only show athletes who have run two circuit events.
Gulf Coast is the last unlock. February 13 at Matagorda Bay. One start line, and every loop you ran this year counts.
See the full circuit standings →FRONTIER
CIRCUIT
No finish lines. No fixed distances. Just one 4.167-mile loop every hour until only one Texan is still standing.
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.
Four seasons.
Four 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 inaugural edition is in the books, and its yards now count toward the final standings.
Race Page & Registration →Where the Colorado finally meets the Gulf, and where the season ends. Packed sand, rock levee, and open beach at the end of the river. Flat, wide open, and the only hill is the wind. The crown gets decided here. Last one standing wins the sea.
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 four 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.
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.
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?
Three venues down. The crown gets decided at Matagorda Bay on February 13. Register and take your shot at the Last Frontier Circuit title.
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.
- 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.
- To be declared the winner of any backyard ultra on the Last Frontier Circuit, the last runner must start the final yard alone and complete it within the hour. If two or more runners start a yard and only one returns in time, that runner must start and complete one more yard alone to claim the win.
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- 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 @lastfrontiercircuit · fitfoundation.org/run-a-backyard-ultra
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