Back Cove Backyard Ultra 2023 Recap & Stats

I wanted to express a huge thank you to all of you who participated in, volunteered at, crewed, or came to watch the second edition of the Back Cove Backyard Ultra this past weekend. What an amazing time running around Portland!

When I first had the idea of hosting a last person standing event around the Back Cove in Portland Maine, I wasn't sure it'd be realistic to pull off with the course being right in the city.

But of course once I chatted with Mari Balow (of Runaways Run Club & The Grind Run Company) about the idea, she immediately took charge of all of the permitting and organizational aspects, and the race was up and running.

After the success of last year we quickly decided that BCBYU could be a staple for the Maine running community for years to come. 

We thought the Back Cove would be a perfect spot to have a last person standing event for 2 main reasons.

The first was the mental challenge of being able to see the entire course every step of the way. This wasn't as much of a barrier this year with all of the fog causing limited visibility!

The second appeal was the opportunity to bring all pockets of running communities together for a mutually enjoyable event. 

I don't know of another running event as inclusive as the Back Cove Backyard Ultra. 

We had track runners (multiple Valor Track Club members), road marathoners, trail runners, mountain runners, ultramarathoners, and those who may consider themselves 'hobby joggers', all participate in the same event.

And everyone was able to equally push themselves to new limits. 

60% of all people who started the event set a new lifetime distance personal record! 

There were even those who participated in the event as a fun way to get their weekend long run in.

While they may have not been going for a distance PR, they may have targeted one of the 'hot laps' with prizes going to the top finishers in each gender category (M/F/X).

A pair of Hoka shoes were up for grabs on lap 5 (20 miles).

An entry into the Xterra Trail Run World Champs on lap 8 (33 miles).

And $100 cash was won on the 50 mile lap (lap 12).

Last year the race ended around 4 am - and we had heard a lot of local friends were going to swing by in the morning to check out how the racers were doing. 

We decided to push back the start time a couple of hours this year - with the hope of multiple people making it into the daylight hours of the 2nd day. 

This year we still had 7 people going strong come the morning hours, and it was great to see so many people return to give encouragement to the runners to get out there for one more lap.

This had a huge impact on the event ultimately going for 28 hours, as Jason Geroux (Orrington, ME) outlasted Danny Mejia (Portland, ME) to run 116 miles to win the trident & become the only finisher of the 2023 Back Cove Backyard Ultra. 

Places 3-5 all broke the 21 lap record set by David Jeffrey last year. In 3rd was John EddyBlouin with 25 laps. Last year's runner-up and first female Whitney Pearson was once again the first female, breaking her 20 lap record. She tied for 4th place with Michael Hofmann with 22 laps. 

Some more stats:

3 of the top 7 runners were between the ages of 49-56. 

Places 8-32 all DNF’d between 12-15 laps (50 miles - 100k). 

10 people DNF’d after completing 10 laps. 

Places 47-80 all ran 5+ laps!

We absolutely loved co-hosting this event with Mari & the Runaways Run Club. It's amazing to see people go farther than they thought they ever could - and we're so supportive of that.

While most healthcare providers will discourage you from running in general, we're out here helping people actually achieve their goals. 

8 out of 9 current Steady State clients set a new distance PR at the event! 1 out of the 3 former Steady State clients also set a new distance PR. 

We love helping people get over injuries, but what we love even more is once our clients are injury-free, pushing them to become even stronger and reach levels they never thought they could. 

If you need help with an injury or are looking to learn how to do more without getting injured, we can help. We start with a free 20-minute discovery call to learn more about what is going on & your goals. You can reach us anytime at admin@steadystatehealth.com to get started. 

-Kelton