How to Fuel Your Backyard Ultra

A backyard ultra sounds manageable when you describe it one loop at a time.

That is partly how it gets you.

In the official backyard ultra format, each loop is 4 miles 880 feet (6.7056km, roughly 4.167 miles). A new loop starts every hour. Finish early and the remaining minutes are yours to eat, drink, change kit and reconsider your life choices before the next bell.

Your base is waiting after every loop. The challenge is using that chance to refuel consistently, even when your appetite and decision-making begin to fade.

What is the best way to fuel a backyard ultra?

Treat the race as one continuous ultra, rather than a fresh four-mile run every hour. Start taking in carbohydrate early, use familiar food alongside sports nutrition, and keep a simple record of what you actually eat and drink. Practise your routine in training, including the turnaround at base.

Arrive with a familiar carbohydrate-rich meal already eaten. Then use each return to base to check your bottle, choose your next fuel and get back to the corral on time. The official rules require runners to be in the corral at the bell and do not allow personal aid during a loop. If a turnaround is short, take fuel you can carry yourself, subject to your race organiser's rules.

How much carbohydrate should you eat each hour?

For this backyard ultra guide, work towards 60–90g of carbohydrate per hour if you have practised that intake in training. Start near the lower end if that is what you know you can tolerate; moving towards 90g takes practice. The amount you manage may vary as the race goes on, but the aim is to fuel regularly rather than wait for hunger. This builds on KMC's 60g-per-hour marathon example and our newer running guide, which explains that trained runners may work towards higher carbohydrate intakes.

Count carbohydrate from everything you actually consume: drinks, gels, bars, snacks and meals. KMC products give you useful building blocks:

• One KMC NRG GEL: 27g carbohydrate.
• One KMC GEL X: 45g carbohydrate.
• One serving of KMC ISO MIX mixed as directed in 500ml water: 34g carbohydrate if you drink the whole serving.
• A KMC NRG BAR or familiar food: check the packet or portion for its carbohydrate content.

For simple combinations, one GEL plus one full ISO MIX serving provides 61g; one GEL X plus one full ISO MIX provides 79g; and two original GELs plus one full ISO MIX provides 88g. Spread fuel across the hour, including time on the loop. These are arithmetic examples, not instructions to drink 500ml when you are not thirsty. If you drink less ISO MIX, make up the carbohydrate with a tested food or gel if your stomach allows.

A gel on its own provides only 27g or 45g, so it does not meet a 60–90g hour by itself. Plan the whole hour in advance. Check current packaging and practise the exact combinations you intend to use.

Should you eat meals during a backyard ultra?

Yes. For an open-ended event, familiar meals can add carbohydrate, variety and a welcome break from sweet fuel. The ultramarathon nutrition review highlights food palatability, individual tolerance and an increased preference for savoury foods in longer races.

Try planning a small meal opportunity every three or four loops, then adapt it to your actual turnaround time and appetite. That timing is a planning idea, not a fixed rule. Prepare portions with a known carbohydrate amount. A meal with about 40–50g carbohydrate plus one 27g GEL taken during that hour gives roughly 67–77g in total. You could use a different tested snack or drink instead of the gel. Spread the intake out rather than eating the entire hour's fuel in the few minutes at base.

Keep meals carbohydrate-led, with modest protein and the fat and fibre you already know you tolerate:

• Porridge with banana or honey
• White rice with a little egg, chicken or tofu
• Boiled or mashed potatoes
• Pasta with a light sauce
• Soup with bread or noodles in broth
• A simple sandwich, wrap or rice pudding

Portion and label these ahead of time. Race day is not the moment to discover that a large chilli is technically portable.

An eight-loop fuelling pattern to practise

This example rotates sports nutrition and familiar food while showing how each hour can reach the 60–90g carbohydrate range. It is a template to test and change in training, not a requirement to eat identical amounts every hour. The ISO MIX totals assume you finish one correctly mixed 500ml serving; choose food-based carbohydrate instead if that volume exceeds what you want to drink.

The bar and meal amounts are planned carbohydrate portions, not claims that every KMC bar or bowl of food contains the same amount. Read labels, measure your usual portions and count what you actually manage to eat or drink. When you need less fluid, swap a drink-based carbohydrate source for tested solid food or a gel. Keep water available for thirst and alongside concentrated fuel.

Repeat the rhythm, not the exact menu. If you have little time before the next bell, take something portable that you can eat yourself on the loop. Missing the start because you were carefully arranging a bowl of pasta would be thorough, but unhelpful.

How should you hydrate?

There is no bottle target that suits every runner and every hour. Ultramarathon nutrition guidance supports an individual approach; drinking to thirst when fluid is available helps avoid forcing down excessive amounts. Conditions, pace and your experience in training still matter.

1. At base, check how much you actually drank.
2. Refill or replace your bottle before the next bell.
3. Use water alongside food and gels as needed. ISO MIX supplies fluid, carbohydrate and electrolytes together.
4. Do not force extra fluid just because the bottle is there. More sodium cannot make excessive drinking safe.

Food and drinks also contribute sodium. Sweat losses and needs vary, especially in heat; practise your approach rather than treating every loop as requiring the same tablet or bottle.

When should you use caffeine?

Caffeine is optional. It can help performance and alertness, but responses and side effects vary. The ultramarathon position stand supports strategic use later in an event, while the ISSN caffeine review notes that dose and individual tolerance matter.

If you use caffeine, decide in advance what job it has: for example, a difficult overnight stretch. Start with familiar non-caffeinated fuel if that suits you, and record caffeine from all sources. A KMC NRG GEL+ has 100mg caffeine per gel; coffee and energy drinks count too. Test timing and doses in training, especially if caffeine affects your stomach, anxiety or sleep. It is no substitute for rest when you need it.

What should you eat overnight?

Keep working towards your practised 60–90g-per-hour carbohydrate plan overnight, even when your appetite dips. Break the hour into manageable portions rather than saving everything for base. Warm, savoury options such as soup, noodles, potatoes, porridge or rice may be easier to face than another sweet gel, provided you have tried them before. Have a ready-to-grab backup for loops with a short turnaround.

Keep your bottle within reach, drink to thirst and reassess caffeine rather than taking it automatically at every bell.

What if your stomach starts to struggle?

Gut problems are common in long races. If your stomach turns, slow the pace where possible and try smaller, more frequent amounts of familiar fuel. Switching between drinks, soft foods and solids, or from very sweet food to a tested savoury choice, may help. Avoid a sudden large meal or an entirely new product.

Persistent vomiting, confusion, unusual swelling or other serious symptoms need the race medical team. Do not try to solve every medical problem with another electrolyte tablet.

How should you organise your base?

Make the next sensible choice easy:

• Pre-measure or label food and drink by hour, with a simple checklist for actual intake.
• Keep sweet and savoury options and small meal portions ready.
• Store perishable food safely and bring hot water and utensils if needed.
• Separate caffeinated products so they cannot be taken by mistake.
• Keep a familiar backup snack and a rubbish container within reach.
• Consider a refillable gel flask if you have practised using it.

Ask your crew to record what you really ate and drank. Tired runners are remarkably optimistic about the things they definitely remember eating.

Finish. Check your intake. Refill. Eat. Return to the corral.

Build your backyard ultra fuelling kit

A backyard ultra rewards consistency long before it rewards heroics. Start eating early, use manageable portions, rotate sports nutrition with familiar meals and practise the whole routine before race day.

Explore KMC Fuel for Runners →

For a broader guide to training, pre-run meals and recovery, read Running Nutrition 101.