Backyard Ultra Nutrition: What to Eat, Lap by Lap

In a backyard ultra, fuelling is the event. Aim for roughly 250 calories an hour, about 45g of it carbohydrate, eaten in the 8 to 10 minutes between laps as a rotation of drink, soft solids and real food. That sits inside the 150 to 400 calories an hour the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends for ultra-marathon racing.

Below are the numbers behind that target, a lap-by-lap plan for the first 30 hours built from everyday foods with their calories, carbohydrate and salt, and what to do at 3am when your stomach stops co-operating. If you are still choosing a race, my list of UK backyard ultras has every confirmed date for 2026 and 2027. This guide is part of our ultra-endurance and expedition nutrition guide.

What is a backyard ultra?

A backyard ultra is a last-one-standing race invented by Lazarus Lake, the race director behind the Barkley Marathons: runners complete a 4.167-mile (6.706 km) loop, called a yard, every hour on the hour until one person is left. There is no set distance and no finish line, and 24 laps make exactly 100 miles.

The ceiling is almost absurd. The world record is 119 laps (495.8 miles), set by Phil Gore at Dead Cow Gully in Australia in June 2025, one lap every hour for nearly five days. Because the race can stop at any hour or run for days, you cannot save food for the end, or run on empty and catch up later. You have to keep topping up, every hour, indefinitely.

How many calories do you burn in a backyard ultra?

A 70 kg runner burns roughly 500 calories per backyard lap at 12-minute miles, or about 12,000 calories over 24 laps, using 2024 Adult Compendium values.

Here is the working. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities rates running at 12 minutes a mile at 8.5 METs and sitting still at 1.0 MET, and one MET is roughly 1 calorie per kg of body weight per hour. A 50-minute lap is 8.5 x 70 x 50/60 = 496 calories; the 10 minutes in a chair add 1.0 x 70 x 10/60 = 12. That is about 508 calories an hour, or 12,190 over 24 hours. Walk-running a 54-minute lap at 13-minute miles (6.5 METs) brings it down to about 417 calories an hour. Lighter runners burn less and heavier runners more; the running calorie calculator will give your own figure.

Eating 250 calories an hour covers about half of that. The rest comes from your fat stores, which even a lean runner has plenty of, so there is no need to match the burn. Eat steadily enough that your stomach keeps working and your blood sugar never falls off a cliff.

How many calories should you eat per lap?

Eat 200 to 300 calories per lap, with 30 to 50g of carbohydrate and 5 to 10g of protein, which matches the hourly race targets in the ISSN position stand on ultra-marathon nutrition.

You will see 60 to 90g of carbohydrate an hour recommended in a lot of running advice. That figure comes from faster, shorter events. The ISSN authors point out that 90g an hour means 360 calories of almost pure carbohydrate every hour, which is hard to sustain once the race goes long and the craving for fat and salt arrives. A backyard is run slowly, so start at 40 to 50g and only push higher if your gut has handled it in training.

For a real example, the plan behind Phil Gore's 119-lap record, written up by Gaby Villa, who has worked on his nutrition for over three years, was about 45g of carbohydrate, 200 to 250 calories, 300 to 500mg of sodium and 5g of protein an hour, with fluid to thirst. That is a world-record rate of eating, and it is modest.

After the first night, add more protein and fat. In the 100-mile race data reviewed by the ISSN, finishers ate about five times as much fat (98g against 19g) and three times as much protein (131g against 43g) as runners who dropped out. Carbohydrate stays the main fuel, but savoury, fattier food gives your stomach a break from sugar. For the solid-carb side, see ultra high carb solid foods.

What should you eat during a backyard ultra?

Eat a rotation, not a single food: a carbohydrate drink, soft calorie-dense solids and real savoury food, taken in small amounts every lap. Variety is what prevents flavour fatigue and keeps intake steady over many hours. Think in three buckets.

Liquid calories carry the early loops. A carbohydrate drink is gentler on the stomach than solid food in the first hours, and it delivers fluid and salt at the same time. A 50g serve of sports drink powder in 500 to 750ml of water gives about 186 calories and 46g of carbohydrate.

Soft, calorie-dense solids do the steady work. This is where high calorie bars help, giving you real calories without bulk or much chewing. A small handful of high-calorie snacks per loop, or a soft bar nibbled across the hour, adds up fast. If you want to know which foods carry the most calories per bite, the calorie-dense foods guide ranks more than forty of them.

Real food comes in as the hours stack up. Savoury options such as instant noodles, salted potatoes, soup, crisps and sandwiches become far more appealing than sweet gels deep into a race. If gels are already turning your stomach, the energy gel alternatives guide covers what to use instead.

Backyard ultra food ideas, with the numbers

These are typical serves of foods ultra runners actually eat, with values from Table 4 of the ISSN position stand (based on common commercial brands, so check your own labels):

• Sports drink, 50g powder serve: 186 kcal, 46g carbohydrate, 255mg sodium (505mg with an electrolyte tablet added).
• Energy gel, 40g: 91 kcal, 23g carbohydrate; caffeinated versions with 30mg of caffeine are about the same.
• Jam sandwich: 218 kcal, 46g carbohydrate, 475mg sodium.
• Peanut butter sandwich: 342 kcal, 38g carbohydrate, 12g protein, 568mg sodium.
• Malt loaf, 2 slices: 129 kcal, 25g carbohydrate, 230mg sodium.
• Banana, 150g: 135 kcal, 30g carbohydrate.
• Dates, 30g: 89 kcal, 20g carbohydrate.
• Salted crisps, 28g bag: 150 kcal, 15g carbohydrate, 150mg sodium.
• Boiled potatoes, 100g: 173 kcal, 26g carbohydrate, almost no salt until you add it.
• Meat pastry such as a small sausage roll, 60g: 189 kcal, 15g carbohydrate, 12g protein, 400mg sodium.
• Salted cashews, 50g: 296 kcal, 11g protein, 200mg sodium.
• Phoenix Bar, 120g: up to 557 kcal, up to 66g carbohydrate, up to 19g protein; a quarter is 132 to 139 kcal depending on flavour.

A backyard ultra nutrition plan, lap by lap

This sample plan for a 70 kg runner with a noon start keeps each lap close to 250 calories and 40 to 50g of carbohydrate, using the serves above.

Laps 1 to 8 (noon to 8pm): drink-led. Half a 50g serve of sports drink in 500ml of water (93 kcal, 23g carbohydrate) plus two slices of malt loaf (129 kcal, 25g) is 222 calories and 48g of carbohydrate. Swap the malt loaf for a banana or half a jam sandwich on alternate laps. Do not eat a big meal just because you feel fine: what you eat on lap 3 decides how you feel on lap 30.

Laps 9 to 14 (evening): bring in salt and fat. One gel (91 kcal, 23g) plus half a peanut butter sandwich (171 kcal, 19g, 6g protein) is 262 calories and 42g of carbohydrate. Every second lap, have a small bag of salted crisps instead of the gel.

Laps 15 to 24 (the first night): warm and soft. A quarter of a Phoenix Bar stirred into hot water as porridge (132 to 139 kcal, about 16g) plus a caffeinated gel (90 kcal, 23g, 30mg caffeine) is about 225 calories and 39g of carbohydrate. Alternate with a cup of instant noodles or soup. Philip Hanson, on a 24-mile Yorkshire Three Peaks training run, wrote that he "broke each bar into around six pieces and ate them throughout", which is the same idea at a gentler pace.

Laps 25 to 30 and beyond (second day): savoury and protein. A 60g sausage roll (189 kcal, 15g, 12g protein, 400mg sodium) plus half a serve of sports drink (93 kcal, 23g) is 282 calories, 38g of carbohydrate and the protein the ISSN suggests for long races. Keep rotating whatever you can still face.

Over 24 laps that comes to about 6,000 calories against a burn of about 12,000. That gap is expected; the plan exists so that you are still eating at lap 25, which is when many runners stop.

How do you beat flavour fatigue?

Beat flavour fatigue by switching from sweet to savoury before you are sick of sugar, and by changing texture and temperature from lap to lap. The ISSN position stand notes that runners in long ultras increasingly prefer savoury, saltier and fattier food, and that sweet gels and drinks become hard to face.

Rotate sweet and savoury, hot and cold, liquid and solid, so nothing dominates. Pre-portion small amounts into labelled bags by lap, so each stop takes seconds. Christian Poulton, who used our bars on the Winter Spine Challenger South, described them as "tasty and palatable especially towards the end of the race", and late-race palatability is the test any backyard food has to pass. For the different ways to eat a dense bar across a long effort, see how to use Phoenix Bars.

What should you eat on the night laps?

On the night laps, eat warm, soft food and expect to drink less than in the day, because cold and tiredness cut both thirst and appetite. Cold gels and dry bars are hard to face at 3am.

A Phoenix Bar stirred into hot water or warm milk becomes a warm high-calorie porridge with no stove and no cooking. Instant noodles, soup and sweet tea do the same job. Phil Gore's team found that on the colder final night of his record he naturally drank less, so they moved more of his calories into solid food instead of forcing fluid.

Caffeine belongs here too. The ISSN supports caffeine in the later stages of an ultra, especially when lack of sleep affects safety, and suggests repeated small doses of 1 to 2mg per kg of body weight (70 to 140mg for a 70 kg runner) rather than the big single doses used in short races. Keep it low during the first afternoon so it still works on the first night.

What if your appetite disappears completely?

If your appetite disappears, switch to the smallest, softest, most calorie-dense food you can swallow and lower the hourly target for a lap or two; just do not stop altogether. In a study of 272 Western States 100-mile runners cited by the ISSN, 96% had stomach symptoms at some point and nausea was the most common.

When you can only manage a few bites, those bites need to be worth as much as possible, which is the same principle behind our calorie-dense foods and soft high-calorie foods guides. Sip flat cola or a weak sports drink, walk the first few minutes of the next lap, and try again. The guide to nausea and appetite loss during endurance events goes through what to try, step by step.

How much should you drink, and how much salt?

Drink 450 to 750ml an hour, about 150 to 250ml every 20 minutes, with more than 575mg of sodium per litre, which are the ISSN race recommendations.

At 600ml an hour that means at least 345mg of sodium an hour (0.6 x 575), which a weak sports drink alone may not reach; salty food such as crisps, sandwiches and sausage rolls makes up the rest. Drink to thirst and drink less in the cold. The opposite mistake, drinking large volumes of plain water, can dilute your blood sodium (hyponatraemia), which is dangerous over many hours.

How do you avoid stomach problems?

Avoid stomach problems by training your gut like your legs: eat your race food, at your race rate, on long training runs for at least six weeks before the event. The ISSN position stand found evidence that progressive gut training, and for some runners a short low-FODMAP diet, reduces stomach trouble during racing.

The simplest rehearsal is a mini backyard: run 4.2-mile loops on the hour for four to six hours and eat 250 calories at every stop, exactly as you plan to on race day. Then do it again with the night food and caffeine you intend to use. Nothing new on race day, and eat on a schedule rather than when you feel hungry, because by the time you feel empty in a backyard it is too late to catch up. There is more on building tolerance in the guide to gut training for ultras.

Where Phoenix Bars fit

I have not stood in a backyard corral at hour 40 myself, so read this as a maker's note, not race experience. I started Flaming Phoenix after about 150 conversations with ultra runners, expedition people and others who struggle to eat enough, and getting enough calories into a small, easy mouthful is the problem I set out to solve.

Each bar has up to 557 calories in a compact, lightweight 120g bar, about 4.4 to 4.6 calories per gram, with up to 66g of carbohydrate and up to 19g of protein. The texture is soft, so you can eat one whole, nibble a quarter each loop, or stir it into hot water for porridge on the night laps. They are vegan and gluten-free, with a shelf life of up to two years. They are one option among many: plenty of runners do well on malt loaf, sandwiches and noodles, and the right answer is whatever your stomach accepts at 3am.

If you want to test them before a race, a six-bar pack is £31.50, enough for a few long training sessions, which is where your fuelling should be proven anyway. Try a pack of Phoenix Bars on your next long run.

Related guides

For the wider picture of what to eat on any ultra, see the best foods for ultra running. If a backyard is your step towards a point-to-point race, the best 100-mile ultramarathons guide ranks them. For longer multi-day efforts, see multi-day ultra running nutrition. For shorter, faster days on the trails, see trail running nutrition. For self-supported running with a pack, see fastpacking nutrition, and for how calorie density compares across bars, the best energy bars for ultra running.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best food for a backyard ultra? The best food is a rotation of several items: a carbohydrate drink early, soft calorie-dense bars, malt loaf and sandwiches through the day, and savoury, low-chew food such as noodles, salted potatoes and warm porridge at night. Aim for about 250 calories and 40 to 50g of carbohydrate per lap.

Should you eat solid food or liquids in a backyard ultra? Both. Liquids are easiest in the first hours and deliver fluid and sodium together; a 50g sports drink serve gives 186 calories. Solids matter more after about 12 hours, when sugar fatigue sets in and you need the protein, fat and salt that drinks rarely provide.

Is watermelon good during a backyard ultra? It is refreshing but light: one slice gives about 45 calories, 10g of carbohydrate and 100mg of sodium, according to the ISSN food table. Treat it as a palate cleanser between saltier foods, not a main source of calories, and pair it with something denser on the same lap.

How much food should you pack for a backyard ultra? Plan 250 calories per lap for the laps you hope to run, so 6,000 calories for 24 laps, then pack about half as much again in different flavours and textures. You cannot predict which food your stomach will accept at 3am, and spare options cost little compared with a dropped race.

How did Phil Gore fuel his 119-lap world record? His team targeted about 45g of carbohydrate, 200 to 250 calories, 300 to 500mg of sodium and 5g of protein an hour, with fluid to thirst. On the colder final night he drank less, so more calories came from solid food, including a meat pie around the 100-hour mark.

Sources: race targets, food values, gut and caffeine evidence from Tiller and colleagues, International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on ultra-marathon nutrition (2019); calorie burn from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities; Phil Gore's plan from IntensEATfit; world record from the Big's Backyard Ultra national record holders table.

Written by James Frost, founder of Flaming Phoenix. I pack every order myself in London and answer every email. Updated October 2026.