Hamar Backyard Ultra 50M 2026

Hamar Backyard Ultra 50M is a short-format backyard ultra in Hamar, Norway, held each October by Hamarløperne, a local running group for dedicated recreational runners. Instead of one continuous race from start to finish, runners begin a 6.706 km loop on the hour, every hour, and must return before the next start. Missing the deadline ends the race for that participant. The event limits the format to 12 starts, meaning the maximum distance is 80.467 km, slightly over 50 miles and just under two marathons. The race covers half the typical backyard ultra distance, serving as an introduction to ultrarunning instead of an open-ended last-person-standing competition. If multiple runners finish the final lap, the winner is determined by the fastest time on that last lap; other placings are based on laps completed, then fastest time on the last completed lap. This format originates from the Backyard Ultra concept started by Big's Backyard Ultra in Tennessee, but the Hamar event is influenced by Hamarløperne's club culture: shared training, community, motivation, and mutual support among runners pursuing larger goals.