GRASSROOTS BACKYARD ULTRA

The Grassroots Backyard Ultra

The 2025 GrassRoots Backyard Ultra is set to come back for its third instalment on June 28, 2025 in Okotoks, Alberta.

Okotoks is 20 minutes south of Calgary, Alberta. This 6.71 km course is primarily on asphalt pathway that runs along the Sheep River with a small portion of single track dirt trail and 34 meters of gain. The course map can be viewed in the event photos. Note: This is an open course following public pathways. It is flat and fast enabling Backyard runners to push themselves to new personal distances as we’ve seen in the last two GrassRoots BYU races. In fact, more than half of the 2024 field achieved 15 loops [100 kilometers]

Our Last Person Standing course record is held by Preston Schaffer who completed 35 laps in August 2024.

Timed Events

Timed distances are back for runners looking to hit personal milestones of 100km or 100 miles:

BACKYARD15 [BY15]— 15 hours, 100.65 km

BACKYARD24 [BY24] — 24 hours, 100 miles

Runners will be on the same 6.71 km looped course as those tackling the Backyard Ultra, last person standing. And yes, the same rules apply. IMPORTANT NOTE: The BY15 and BY24 have a REGISTRATION CAP. Deadline to register for TIMED EVENTS is October 21, 2024.

First bell 7:00 a.m. MT on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Visiting Okotoks

For those travelling in from out of town, the course is located near local hotels, restaurants, family recreation and amenities, and the Lions Park campground is just across the river. When you’re done racing, plan a trip over to BANFF and take in the Rockies!

**This course is all on public pathways; therefore, an OPEN COURSE.

2025 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

Photo courtesy of Boss Digital Media