The Yellowknife Multisport Club is set to launch a 24-hour endurance race later this month called the Somba K’e Backyard Ultra.
Participants will compete in a 6.7-kilometre loop every hour, starting at 8am on Saturday through to 8am on Sunday – or until only one person finishes a lap on their own. The event takes place at the Yellowknife Ski Club on September 27.
Mike Lee, president of the club, said while there had been similar races in the past, this event would be the first of its kind.
“We’ll see if we have anyone here that can stand up to the mental toll,” he told Cabin Radio.
“I say mental because it will be fully a mental challenge – less a physical challenge. It’s all about just personal grit and challenge.”
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People are allowed to run, jog, or walk, but the loop has to be finished within the hour to stay in the race.
Backyard ultras are different from traditional endurance races, which run for a set time or distance. In this format, each new lap starts on the hour. A bell, whistle, or horn signals the beginning of every loop.
Lee said during Covid-19, when people couldn’t race on the streets, they ran around their backyards – and some even ran 100 kilometres around their dining table. He said the ski club would be a good opportunity to be out in nature, surrounded by trees, with floatplanes taking off in a distance.
“The reason why I wanted to create this specific format was so I could race it with two young children,” said Lee, who is also the race director alongside Max McEachern, who has experience organizing major ultra events.
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“We’re hoping to really pull something amazing together, and this is where we kind-of want to get the community to come out, just to see people pushing their limits.”
Registration is open until September 24 on the Yellowknife Multisport Club website. The club is also looking for volunteers and encouraging residents to come out and watch. Some of the generated funds will go to the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation.
“Just one more lap” is the race’s motto, Lee said, adding he has heard of runners with a 10-kilometre limit pushing themselves to more than 100 in this event.
“People travel all over the world to go to different places, to run different events, and the North is very unique, especially with the aurora. I think racing under the aurora could be majestic and absolutely incredible,” he said.
“So my hope is it will be bigger and bigger and bigger, every year.”
