Little Bitty Backyard

Event Overview

The Little Bitty Backyard is a last person standing endurance event held at the Wildlands Conservancy South Mountain Preserve in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The competition follows a backyard ultra format where participants must complete a specific loop every hour on the hour. The event continues indefinitely until only one runner remains and completes a final solo loop. Participants who fail to be in the starting corral when the bell rings for the next loop are disqualified.

Course Details

The course consists of a 3.4 mile loop featuring more than 350 feet of elevation change. The terrain is described as providing a higher level of difficulty compared to standard backyard ultra courses. In addition to the main backyard event, there are two shorter race options:

• Backyard: A repetitive 3.4 mile loop performed hourly until one participant remains.
• Blackout: A single nighttime lap of the 3.4 mile backyard course.
• Beer Mile: A distance of one mile where participants consume one non-alcoholic beverage every quarter mile.

Race Logistics

The event site is located at 101 Klines Ln, Emmaus, PA. For the backyard portion, every runner is allotted a 10x10 space for a tent, cot, or personal aid station. Crew members are permitted to assist runners in this transition area, but pacers are not allowed on the course. While the Blackout and Beer Mile are chip-timed, the backyard event is not timed based on speed, only on loop completion within the hour.

Sustainability and Charity

This is a zero carbon event that accounts for and offsets emissions related to the race, including participant travel. The organizers collect monetary donations for the Wildlands Conservancy and accept gently used sneakers to support the Sneakers 4 Good program. On-site food services are provided by a food truck during specific afternoon and evening hours. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.