"The general outline has been finalised, the details remain secret. That's how it goes through the north." At least that's the motto on the organiser's website. The result: 500 pre-registrations before tickets even went on sale on 1 January. As a result, the 100 starting places for the Backyard Race 2026 were already gone after just six hours. But! There is an opportunity to take part in the event, at least a little.
Waiting list or "Night Shift" variant
This year there is a newly created "Night Shift" category. Although it "only" has 239 kilometres and almost 1000 metres in altitude, there is only one night, or 12 hours to be precise. The start is on Friday evening in Hamburg, then it's off into the night. The racers will only find out at the start whether - as with the backyard course - they are heading roughly in the direction of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The good thing about this "Night Shift" version is that you don't need any overnight gear, a toothbrush or even a camera. Unless, of course, you want to use the dawn to take a panoramic picture of the finish sprint. For anyone who has never been on a gravel ultra before, this is perhaps the better option anyway, because: At the first edition of the race, only just under half of the 65 participants made it to the finish line.
Incidentally, you don't have to give up participating in the Backyard Race this year. The organisers are currently in the process of obtaining permission for additional starting places. Anyone interested should subscribe to the newsletter on the homepage as soon as possible to hear the starting signal for the allocation of the possibly very last places.
- Date: The Backyard-Ultra starts on Thursday, 25 June and the Night Shift race on 26 June (Friday evening) at the "Erste Liebe Bar" on Rödingsmarkt.
- Night Shift race entry fee: 99 euros
- Entry fee Backyard Ultra: 199 Euro
- Services: GPX file of the route, GPS tracker for dotwatching (live tracking), goodie bag, T-shirt, media team along the route, light refreshments and a place to rest on a farm at the halfway point (only for the Ultra)
- Important to know: There are no catering stations and no technical support along the route. Participants are completely self-sufficient - plan their breaks, find their sleeping places, solve their problems. Mutual help between riders is expressly encouraged.
- Info and registration: backyard-gravel.com
If you don't manage to get a starting place for the ultra race this year: The waiting list for 2027 is already open. Not only for individual starters, but also for teams of two.
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
