Racers from across Manitoba will converge on the Blumenort area this weekend for the second running of the Old Tom Backyard.
The Old Tom Backyard is a backyard ultramarathon that has an official start time but no predetermined finish line. That is because the participants will run as long and as far as they can until they pull from the race.
Steffan Reimer and his father Danny are the race directors. Reimer says the race takes place on their family farm northeast of Blumenort. The Reimers have designed a course that is exactly 4.167 miles in length. The race begins on Saturday at 8 am. Runners have exactly one hour to finish the 4.167-mile loop. The next lap starts on the hour every hour after that. The goal is to complete the loop in under one hour for as many hours as possible. Eventually, only one runner remains, and all the other competitors receive a DNF (Did Not Finish). The reason the course is 4.167 miles long is so that after 24 hours, a runner will have run exactly 100 miles.
"Physically, I think most people can go out and walk or jog 4.1 miles in an hour; that isn't a problem," says Reimer. "It's just that you have to keep going every single hour until mentally you just choose to quit."
This year's course is exactly the same as last year's. During the day, the loop consists of beautiful, treed single track and grassy pasture trails on the family farm. At night, the loop shifts to the gravel roads nearby.
One of the changes this year is that there are 75 competitors, compared to 50 last year. Reimer says in their inaugural year, they were not sure how many runners they could handle, but with the first year under their belt, they have decided to go bigger and better.
Nearly all of the racers this year hail from Manitoba. Reimer says only one or two are from out of province. They will also welcome last year's champion Justin Davey, who is returning this year after completing 26 laps or 108 miles in the 2024 event.
Reimer says they are already looking ahead to next year's race, which has received silver ticket status. He notes that because of the success of their 2024 event, the winner of the Old Tom Backyard in 2026 will receive a spot on Team Canada at the world championships. As a result, Reimer anticipates their race will probably garner a lot of attention from high-profile runners from across the country.
Speaking of last year's event, Reimer says it went very, very well. Rather than just dipping their toes into this, Reimer says they decided to go all out already in the first year, putting on as big an event as possible.
"And I think it showed," he says. "The buzz in the trail running community kept going all winter long. And we sold out this year's 75 spots in a matter of hours. We had a 35-person wait list at one point; it was crazy."
Reimer says part of the attraction is that this ultramarathon takes place on a farm. He notes this interests people from Winnipeg and other urban areas who want to come see what a farm is like.
Reimer says the Old Tom Backyard is a spectator-friendly event. He notes that what is so different about this format compared to other ultramarathons is that you get to see the competitors for a few minutes every hour. And many of the racers are bunched together because they restart every hour. By comparison, many ultramarathons use a point-to-point format, which means competitors can be spread out over a long distance, and you may not get a chance to see them much throughout the entire race.
"We love to have as many people come out, cheer the runners on, see what it's like, and maybe it sparks an interest and you can train for next year," he says.
Those looking for the race can find it one mile east and 1.5 miles north of Blumenort. Reimer says there was a great atmosphere on the farm at last year's event. He notes that started already on Friday when runners and their teams began putting up tents. Reimer says with music playing, there is a fun vibe as this tiny village is created.
"People are pushing themselves, and everyone else is there to support the people who are pushing themselves to try to help them reach their max, to try to find their limit," he explains.
Reimer says there will be a canteen on site, run by The Mill, which is Youth For Christ Blumenort. All proceeds will be going their way.
As mentioned, last year's winner ran 26 laps. Reimer says he is shocked by how many of this year's participants have said their goal is to get to 24 laps.
"We are hoping to maybe see a 36 hour this year and see if we can get into the second night, maybe even 48," suggests Reimer. "The race starts Saturday morning; I'm hoping that we can get into Sunday evening, that would be awesome."
Having competed in one of these himself, Reimer says one of the toughest parts is the boredom of the event and the sheer repetitiveness of it mentally. He explains that as a competitor, you are not trying to go fast. In fact, you are trying to go as slow as you can in order to keep your heart rate down and to save your fuel. However, at some point, the body begins to show signs of wear and tear as blisters start forming, toenails start falling off, and your body begins saying no to whatever it is you are trying to feed it.
"It takes a different type of person who wants to try to find their actual limit," he says. "You know you are going to go into pain; you are going to experience probably the low of your life when you do have to finally quit. And do you actually want to find out where that is? And that's the unique part of the Backyard."
Reimer says they have been keeping a close eye on the forecast these last two weeks. He notes with the humidity expected to break Friday night, the daytime high in the mid-20s for Saturday is as good as it gets for racing in July.
Most photos credit: Steffan Reimer