A few minutes before the 2025 Winter Longbridge Backyard Ultra began - my phone rang.
I picked it up and it was the hospital.
'Hello Mr Bone it's X - You know that you came to see us recently about a potentially cancerous mole - and we took some other photos - well I have some concerns - not Cancer - but of sun skin damage - we need permission to have these further analysed."
After some polite and strangely positive chat the doctor said "Are you planning on spending any time outdoors this weekend....'
I mention this event for a few reasons:
We all know that life is precious and also fragile.
We all know that we must be grateful for things - I know it and this call was a gift. My suncream game was going to be good whatever the sun and I was again reminded that running in nature was a gift and I was going to be rewarded every time I decided to do....
One More Lap x
It was equally a strange lead up to Longbridge. I'd had man-flu for over two weeks and like every single other competitor who was coughing and sneezing it did more to influence the chimp-brain than physical ability.
I'd told my Coach and close friends that I was going to make a call on whether to even compete by the Wednesday.
When I turned up (with fellow Camino Ultra Pete Thomason - above pic) I had massively dialled in what I thought I was going to achieve.
Strong Advice One: if you want to do well in Backyard format then back yourself with the best/ most knowledgable crew you can get - mine was great friend Stephen and honestly the excitement he shared for crewing this was off the charts. Stephen was able to come and join me 09:00am Saturday morning which would have been 15 hours in!!!!!
As I ran the first three loops/hours I had a few dark thoughts.
Shall I text Stephen now to say 'It's probably not worth coming' or shall I hang and send him a 5am text to say 'I'm pulling soon so stay home buddy'.
Those first 15 hours were a complete yo-yo.
Having volunteered at the first Winter Longbridge and taken part in Summer version (25 hours and fourth) I knew a lot. I knew Darren the Race Director - is one of lifes most beautiful humans - I knew that the entire volunteer/support team at Longbridge were some of the most upbeat and supportive humans you could ever wish to meet. I knew the course was tough (it is one of the top 10% toughest Backyard courses in the world) - the course was muddy.....and it was Winter x
Strong Advice Two: It's a given that I highly recommend EVERY and I mean EVERYONE should try at least one Backyard - the format is the most inclusive one available. You decide whether you do one lap or One More Lap x My advice though is to pick your Backyard wisely. If your main aim is to try and achieve as many laps as possible then Longbridge isn't the one for you. The UK backyard record is 87 by friend Matthew Blackburn - if your aim is to surround yourself by some of the most incredible humans inside a Backyard then Longbridge should be your first one - FYI there are a few places left for their Summer 2025 version.
Longbridge and Darren:
Not all Backyards are made the same.
Darren (Co-Founder of The Green Runners and creator of Pair-Ups - Poet - Lover of all things Movement - Precious friend) has created something unique at Longbridge. Firstly the people that tend to sign-up all feel that Darren vibe. So the energy and love from the runners and crew - family and friends - the estate owners - Wolo charity that resides here - Cadence Cafe and the Longbridge volunteers (whose never ending support is right up there with the Sri Chimoy and Spine community) is a reason why you should jump at the chance to experience one.
I was lucky enough to persuade a few close Camino friends to join me - Pete, Alex Collins and the new kid on the block Andy Hobbo Hobson - Andy brought along the amazing Alice Kershaw as crew (Alice won Winter Spine Challenger South the week before) and the longest run Andy had ever done was equivalent to about 8 loops. After 12 loops and 50 miles Andy was elated but also super sore. The Longbridge team would scream 'One More Lap'. Andy appeared to love this more than anyone else there. Superstar John Gunnell had done this last year - would Andy be able to do 100 miles - everyone wanted it to happen.
The infectious nature of seeing beautiful people achieve incredible feats 'up close and personal' can really be the tonic you need to do more. Thank you Andy - this is just the start my friend x
Where your Head Goes Nobody Knows.
One beautiful place that my head went was the Lakes. Over the past (at least) fifteen years I have thought often about attempting the Bob Graham Round 66 miles and 8200 m (link is a podcast with great friend Nina Davies sharing her feelings on her successful BGR) and inside Longbridge that feeling returned. In part it is the actual Longbridge course and the elevation. You get a lot of time to observe and ponder - one of my constants was carefully watching runners (especially Nina and also Jan) who seemed to have powerful projection on the uphills. It was beautiful to see how much distance they gained on the rest of us on every one of the ups. Knowing that so many Camino friends long to compete trail events with elevation it was a timely reminder on just how helpful the Longbridge Backyard is purely from a 'come and get as much elevation you desire' pov - what a gift - One More Up x
How to Fuel for 24 Hours +
I have long been a huge fan of Precision Fuel & Hydration.
I'd happilu use their gels to power most races. With the recent addition of chews and the Mint chews I absolutely love these. I love the carb amounts on the label. I love their choice of non-offensive flavours. When Frank and I recently went to their HQ in Dorset it was the final piece in the jogsaw that saw me know just how much they are dedicated to making ultrarunners succeed the way cyclists have done so well with nutrition for years.
Obviously....the chimp would never be satisfied with just one fuel source.
Added to the fact that onsite at Longbridge they have the Cadence Cafe making great sourdough toasties and coffees - with the organisers providing hot drinks and other delights (mostly all vegan) then everything was catered for - just need to be desciplined and remember that Precision works.
Strong Advice Four: When you buy a 12" pizza just before a Backyard - you don't have to eat it in one scoop!!!!
What's Your Favourite?
As many of my ultrarunning friends already know - you need to have a mindset game to survive the long-game. Inside Longbridge someone (it might have been Pete but forgive me if it was someone else) said 'What's Your Favourite bit of the Loop?' - I didn't have any answer at the time but strangely I kept thinking about it lap after lap. Sometimes it changed as the up became more challenging - sometimes I would laugh about the tractor lines and go 'that's my favourite divot or bump'. Then strangely enough I had this overwhelming warmth and love for one small section - it was a down and you came to a violent left tug and immediately you had to walk - everyone did - it was like 3-4 metres of a guaranteed walk. My favourite was that down - it was clean and pure and you knew that at the end there was rest x
Strong Advice Four: Only Listen to Yourself!
It's funny what we listen to and what we choose to ignore.
I read and heard from others - mud - muddy hilly trail - watch out you will need big lugged trail shoes to deal with the Longbridge course.
I chose to ignore this.
I had my Hylo Impacts - these road shoes coped with the Tunnel 200 miles - Badwater crewing in 53 degree heat and some Cross Country off-grid trails.
Superstar Dan Lawson won the 2024 Winter version in Hylos....so
I knew that comfort is the name of the game with Backyards. Keep those feet as fresh as you can. Re-use the things that work best for you.
For me that's Loomi Merino
For my feet that is Trench Foot Cream
I am not paid by any brand btw - just sharing with you Caminos who are the best in the game based on my running.
The FINAL Chapter - No More Loops.
After all the joy and all the comradeship - after the craziness that I believe ALWAYS happens after the witching 24th Hour - there was just two - Me and the Viking.
Jan had done the Summer Longbridge too. For me personally we had both been schooled by a masterclass by Zoe Salt and Sam Bracke that summer - I truly believe that they were capable of extraordinary mileage that time and I was fine with my decision to end at 25 loops.
So that fuelled my chimp. This was now me and Jan.
On one of our loops Jan told me that Sam was aiming to get a Spartathlon AutoQualifier soon and he would love to crew Sam in Greece - but that he felt he would never be 'good enough' to do the event. I have often marvelled at the way people say they can't when they are already doing something just as incredible. So maybe this was one of many bluffs by the Viking!
From Loop 26 to 29 I tried a few things. I held back a long way and let our shared headtorches be in two different universes - nothing. I overtook Jan doing a nature-poo and we shared some delightful banter and then I pushed harder to finish that loop first - nothing. I then did one of those silly things that's probably a bit out of character and I did a full loop right up Jan's ass - funnily enough he farted a lot on that lap - and he did apologise a lot - so top fella - nothing. On 29 I really analysed everything - there just didn't seem to be any physical chinks in either of us.
Stephen - my beloved crew x
As you can imagine from world-class crew - Stephen was on top of everything on every time we had a few minutes between loop. He would provide me with oaty porridge or double espresso - he'd check in on salt tabs - he gave the best massages and squat lifts - ultimately he wanted this to go on....for One More Lap
Lap 30 and the brain was whirring. I knew a few facts. The Winter course record was 25 loops and the course record 30. Matching the record seemed to be fitting. I took an instant decision to tell Stephen I was done. He said 'No You're Not' - 'One More Lap'. There was to be 'No More Lap'.
I went and saw the Viking and gave him a well deserved victory hug. Jan had been rock solid for 30 hours and he looked focused and driven for another 30. An assist can often help push the other to some incredible distances but on this occasion I am certain that Jan was happy with his winning 31 too.
My volunteer bestie Sam and Darrens better half Jane put me to rest under a duvet whilst Jan went off to do his dance.
Time for one last hug and some trippy exchanges which I no longer recall - but the feelings were warm and beautiful - the grateful cup was full x
WINNER OF WINTER LONGBRIDGE 2025 - ANDREA HARWOOD:
"I love a good race journey - Dragon's Back twice, Beacons Way, Lakes in a Day, South Downs, North Downs, Cape Wrath next year - so that's why I surprised myself by entering a Backyard Ultra (BYU). This involves running the same short course repeatedly and endlessly, on the hour, every hour until you're entirely spent and can go no further.
I'm always intrigued by something different (you could call it nosy). So I went along, full of curiosity, sprinkled with some scepticism, to help out when this new race hit my local trails last winter. I was probably more attracted by the attitude and approach of the awesome Race Director, Darren Evans of Green Runners, along with the intimate microbrewery farmyard venue with its fire pit and drummers. The atmosphere was friendly, relaxed and supportive. Darren's line is "Run with Joy" and he oozes constant, infectious positivity. Last weekend it was my turn to run the winter edition of the Longbridge BYU and I had no idea whether I would fare well at this new venture or not. It turned out that running back into that welcoming base camp every hour between laps was like coming home to friends. There was an amazing sense of being part of a special occasion, or even a party.
The Spine had just finished and I had followed it avidly. Now, as I ran my 'yards', I was mentally listing everything we had that they didn't - They had hours and hours between distant checkpoints, I had a warm comfy van and a caring crew waiting for me every 52 minutes. I had access to a proper loo - no shovel needed! What's not to like about that?! I had time to get gravel out of my shoes, refuel, tape toes, slurp some hot soup and head out again. I even had my dressing gown waiting for me. Less than 50 runners, less than 10 women, but the ladies who were there were soooo friendly. The pace on a BYU is so slow that it's just a chat-fest. You get to know everyone and you see them several times on the 2 x dog leg 'yard' course so there's lots of stories being shared or singing of 1980s children's TV show songs if you're David Bone.
Four hours in, I reflected on the fact that I would have usually completed a marathon in this time, but I had only done 16 miles under this race format - strange. But I knew that it doesn't get harder til much later on. I had heard that the real race starts when you put your head torch on for the second night. I had done quite a lot of research ahead of the event, devouring podcasts, videos and books. I had the theory all in my head, now it was time to embed it with real experience.
My amazing crew (Littledave) and I had set up a training 'yard' with similar elevation at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs. We had completed 6 dark yards one Saturday night to practice and see what it felt like. I'd also gone out quite a few times with my dog to do 3 hilly out and back 'yards', returning to my car every time as a makeshift aid station. At first it felt so weird to wait around for the next o'clock to set out again. I even read the news whilst I was waiting!
During the real event, I had the privilege of running with a total BYU champ - Vic Owens, who I had seen triumph as last female standing in the previous winter Longbridge race. I knew she was on her 12th BYU in just 10 months. Vic had been a role model for me as a BYU novice and as I saw her out there again this time, helping others keep going and sharing her experience, I was full of admiration. There is such a great sense of togetherness as everyone moves around the course again and again.
I'd heard that the hardest part of the race is getting from your chair to the start line, finding the mental strength to keep going. I also knew it could be limiting to have a particular target number of yards in your head, so I avoided that. It was amazing to hear so many people say that they had run further than ever before. That was one of my goals too, along with running the 100mile distance quicker than I had previously. I had other goals in mind but I'd just been floored by the flu for a fortnight so all in all I was just thankful to have made it to the start line to have a go.
As the hours went by, there was time for a bit of everything - fun and banter alternated with silent contemplation whilst running alone.The race starts in darkness, straight into the long winter night. I wasn't much looking forward to that but it was fine, we heard an owl, no stars or moon due to the clouds but we were settling in and then busy chatting and getting to know one another. Before we knew it, the marshals were hiking to their outposts with a "good morning" greeting that raised my hopes that dawn was on its way.
I felt astonished to have got through the night so easily. The weather had been perfect - cold, but dry, still and calm. My yard times had varied between 47 minutes in the early hours to 52 minutes. I had asked myself whether I should be slowing down - after all the prize is not for who gets round quickest, but who can keep going the longest - but everyone has a comfortable pace and mine was power hiking the ups and letting go to run the downs - "free energy" as Vic Owens told me. In fact, everything on that course was either up or down - there is a lot of elevation on that short route but I had trained for that and it suited me.
The variation kept it interesting, I was switching pace every few 100m at most, no monotonous endless plodding. I broke the 4.1 miles down into little chunks and ticked them off each lap. We had a steep corner, a stinky corner, a muddy corner and the token turn. It wasn't easy taking a tiny wooden token from a little drawer and carrying it all the way back to base with hands that were not fully functioning due to the cold and tiredness but it was immensely satisfying handing it over at the timing desk - another yard ticked off.
Throughout the race I did lots of number play in my head. I had planned my race in blocks of three laps: pizza waiting for me after the first block (9pm), start on the caffeine after the 2nd block (midnight), allowing myself music after the 3rd (3am), dawn will come after the 4th - always something to look forward to and a mark of progress.
A stunning valley emerged from the darkness on the first leg of the race as morning arrived. It was a privilege to be a small person out there moving through this quiet, hidden landscape. Through the day I had no idea what time it was, we just kept moving forwards. We saw flying pheasants, heard a woodpecker, the tractor was ploughing - life was going on around us and we kept running.
Night came again in the 22nd hour and we kept going. The field of runners had dwindled now and there were just two ladies remaining. I popped on a 'mood booster' playlist as a pick me up and it was effective. Vic ran two more yards after that, then after reaching 24 she called it a day. I didn't hear what she had said to me in the starting corral before I set out with the four remaining men on the 25th yard as I had motivational music pumping in my ears and wasn’t 100% sure that she had actually finished. It had taken me 55 minutes to complete lap 24 and that took some effort. I knew I needed to keep pushing to get back in time on the 25th. But my watch battery had run out and I had no idea of the time. I was behind the men but not by a huge margin, so I just kept going. It took all my effort to run down those hills with trashed quads, but I knew it was my final yard and I was going to give it my all.
I was so delighted to return to the farmyard and achieve furthest female distance. I was totally spent. There was no chance of 'one more lap'. When the last two men stepped up to head out again a few minutes later on lap 26 I wished them well for the remaining battle, which continued for another 5 hours before David called it a night claiming the 'assist' and Jan had just one more to do in order to claim his victory.
It is a fascinating race concept, demanding lots of patience and mental stamina - perfect if you have a stubborn streak but it is also a relaxed, fun thing to do and seemingly a surprisingly easy way to run further than ever before. People ask if it was boring but not at all. The simplicity is so appealing. Just have a go!"
WINNER AND VULTURE JAN VOORSPOELS:
"It's not easy to pick one thing I loved best during this backyard, so many moments made it special.
As soon as I arrived, the first person I met was David, who gave me a big hug. I guess we both knew somewhere inside what was about to happen.
30 laps later, I had the best lap of the whole race, the best, not the fastest, since I got to share that moment of being together on the trail with a fellow freedom loving soul. That connection I felt with so many other people at Longbridge as well. The love for what they do, for nature, for human connection. In one weekend at Longbridge I get more hugs than in a whole month.
Before the start I had a nice number in mind, 48.
Actually 50, since that was the minimum to stand a chance to get selected for the Belgian national team.
As I was battling David in the last 5 laps I felt that with less 'battle' and more 'relax and enjoy' I could go quite a bit further. So rather than wondering every lap if David would show up again, I focussed on my own milestones. 25 winter course record, 29 Zoe's laps, 30 to match Sam, 31 New course record, 34 personal record, 38 sunrise, ...
This would be my main tip, go in without putting limitations on yourself. You are capable of a lot more than you think. You are in charge of your mind, you can change the way you think. If you learn to controle your mind during a backyard and let yourself run free from your self imposed limitations, life after the race will become very different as well. Life might not be a race, but from a race like Longbridge, you certainly can learn how to live."
SUPERCREW STEPHEN reflections:
"Many of you will know that crewing is always a rewarding experience. But as I tried to get to sleep after Longbridge eventually came to an end, I had the same relentless race imagery going through my mind as if I’d run it.
The word that kept coming to mind was spirit. Race Director Darren and his beautiful entourage of souls have created an event that is very special on many levels. The connections made between participants, crews and volunteers have run deep.
Picking up my duties at 8am (14 yards in) I found the Pied Piper of Hackney already feeling the effort and battling a cold. It’s such a tough, elevated course. It was joyful however to observe him seemingly get stronger, happier and more relaxed at every turnaround, benefitting from a two seater sofa made from hay bales.
Before we knew it, all of the many comfortable looking rock star runners still in it, dropped after the 100 miles threshold, and there were only two, and it got quiet. That’s where the race really began.
Many of you know David. To see him go head to head with Jan was epic. They seemed so very different on the outside but so wonderfully aligned on the inside. Electric.
But it wasn’t to be. David wasn’t 100% on the start line. That it had gone this far was extraordianry. Alas the tactics of ‘let’s just get through the next yard and reassess’ at 30 wasn’t enough and it was sensibly called.
What an event. What a battle. And what an beautiful memory this one will have… So blessed to there….Well done Champ, super proud, as ever!"
CONCLUSION:
As always at Camino Ultra we wish to support our community.
If you have any questions about the Backyard - if you are looking for advice about one you have booked - which one you should do - then message us info@caminoultra.com
BIG CAMINO LOOPY LOVE x
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