Trails & Tarmac Winter Back Yard Ultra 2027

Trails & Tarmac Winter Back Yard Ultra starts at Cwrt y Gollen, just outside Crickhowell in the Black Mountains, and sends runners out on the same 4.2-mile lap every hour. It is a backyard ultra, so the race keeps going until only one runner in each category can finish another loop inside the hour. Everyone has to be in the start corral when the bell goes, late starts do not count, and anyone who stops before 32 miles is listed as a DNF. The winter timing gives it a post-Christmas, post-New Year feel, with Limitless Trails pitching it as a hard reset after the holiday food and drink. The lap is roughly half trail and half tarmac, with just over 300 feet of climb each time, including one gradual rise and one short steep section. Runners leave the cricket club over grass, hit the A40, climb onto narrow footpaths, cross stiles and a stone bridge, pass fields, a river, Rheld Wood, and a horse paddock, then return to HQ to recover before the next bell. Mud can appear in places, but the route also has long runnable sections, which makes pacing and self-control matter as much as raw speed. No trekking poles or personal help are allowed during a loop, common aid is allowed, and hot food, drinks, showers, toilets, medics, and daylight photography are part of the setup. Medals go to runners who reach 32 miles, while trophies go to the last male and female still completing loops.