Frequent Asked Questions

The Snake Hill Backyard Ultra is a test of grit, guts, and stubbornness! Runners tackle a 6.706 km (4.167 mile) loop every hour, on the hour, for 12 hours straight. Miss the cutoff? You’re out. Finish your loop and line up again. Only one runner earns the title of “Last One Standing” — everyone else gets the infamous DNF (Did Not Finish).

Set in the heart of Sundre, the race takes over Snake Hill with all its wild charm! Runners start and finish each loop at the rodeo grounds before heading out onto the bumpy, rooty, twisty trails of Snake Hill—where the real fun (and suffering) begins.

The very first Snake Hill Backyard Ultra kicks off on May 30, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. sharp—no snooze button allowed! Runners must be at the start line before every hour begins, ready to run, repeat, and question all their life choices.

As long as runners keep beating the clock and finishing their loops within the hour, the race goes on! The only way it ends is when one brave soul completes a solo victory lap after everyone else has tapped out—or when the final cutoff hits at 9:00 p.m. Either way, someone’s earning serious bragging rights!

Each loop is 6.706 km, and runners have exactly one hour to conquer it—no pressure! Finish early, and congratulations, you’ve earned a few precious minutes to sit down, eat snacks, question your life choices, and pretend recovery is possible. Then the bell rings on the hour, and it’s back to the trail like nothing happened.

We run rain or shine—because a little weather has never stopped a Backyard Ultra (or questionable decision-making). Come prepared for anything Mother Nature throws at you: sun, wind, rain, or all three in the same loop just for fun. The only time we hit pause is for extreme conditions like lightning—because even we draw the line at becoming a human lightning rod.