06/22/2026
This past weekend, we hosted the 2026 Mad Trapper Backyard Ultra, and as always, there were so many stories to share. And I apologize for not begin able to share them all here.
But if you do have a story to share, please email it to me or add it in the comments.
The race was won with 16 completed yards, but there’s a bigger story behind that. There’s also a strong belief that, with this course, future racers can definitely go farther.
But before we get to the win, I want to start with a couple of last-minute youth entries.
The first was Logan, a high school student who had planned to run a track ultra last weekend, but illness kept him from competing. So his dad scrambled to find another ultra, somehow came across the Mad Trapper Backyard Ultra, and they signed up at the last minute.
Logan didn’t own trail shoes. He had never really run trails before.
So he went out, bought trail shoes, and wore them around school all week to break them in.
He didn't know what pace to run and his dad asked if I had any advice. I introduced him to Steve Meyer and said "run with this guy". When he runs, you run. When he walks, you walk.
And that's exactly what he did. He shadowed Steve the entire time out there and was able to complete 8 full yards.
That’s an incredible result for anyone, let alone someone with limited trail experience. He was stiff and sore at the end, but he left it all out there and still had a smile on his face.
The second youth racer, Alex, came from quite a distance in Quebec with his mom. They had planned to camp here, not realizing our camping is wilderness tent camping and wasn’t really suited to their truck and tent setup. So after arriving, they had to scramble back out and find other accommodations.
Which means he was probably tired before he even got to the start line.
But his plan was simple. He wanted to “run until exhaustion.”
And he pretty much did.
He completed 7 full yards, which was another amazing result for a young racer with limited trail experience.
I love seeing that kind of initiative. These are the kinds of racers I do this for. Or maybe “to.” Ha ha ha.
The next youth story is a little older, and that’s Rebecca.
Rebecca is this small little wood nymph of a runner who came bouncing down the final trail section lap after lap, usually chit-chatting with Luke, then coming into the backyard with a huge smile on her face.
Then she’d sit down in her chair and eat what looked like either a full sandwich or at least half a sandwich every single break.
She was finishing consistently around the 50-minute mark, which gave her lots of time to eat, drink, reset, and get ready to go again.
And the whole time she was sitting there, she was just smiling and completely ebullient.
Earlier in the race, I had actually picked Rebecca as someone who could go pretty far. Maybe even push for the win.
But different people come here for different reasons.
Some people come to win.
Some people come to see how far they can go.
And I think Rebecca may have underestimated herself. I’m not sure she had the belief that she could win.
But I did.
After 11 yards, which she finished well under the hour, Rebecca decided that was enough. She rang the ""Cowbell of Shame" and bowed out.
And in hindsight, that was probably a good call.
Because she was running in road shoes.
And on the 12th yard, the rain started.
Part of this course is on clay, and from what I understand, that clay got hard, slick, and nasty. Some experienced trail racers in proper trail shoes were using their hands on the smallest climbs just to get up the hill.
Brian said he did about a 15-foot slide down one section.
So if Rebecca had stayed out there in road shoes, it would have been full slippy-slidey survival mode.
She probably made the right call.
Which brings me to the other mindset.
The mindset of coming here to win.
That was Ben Benvie.
A couple of years ago, Ben got the assist when Steve Meyer took the win. This year, Ben told Steve he was going to have to earn it even more than last time.
But Steve has the 200-mile Quebec Mega Trail race coming up, so while he was willing to push hard, he wasn’t willing to push himself into full-body destruction.
Steve bowed out after 14 yards, then happily sat down, ate some slow-cooked brisket, and enjoyed watching the rest of the race unfold from the comfort of a chair.
Ben’s real nemesis this year ended up being Rudi Asseer.
Rudy came with a very specific goal.
He wanted to run until Father’s Day.
Since the race started on Saturday, that meant making it to midnight.
And the last four hours were basically the end-days apocalypse.
Thunder.
Lightning.
Torrential downpours.
Mud.
Clay....
Misery.
Four full yards of absolute garbage conditions.
But apparently, Rudy does what he says he’s going to do. He was determined to stay in it until midnight.
And to his credit, he also played nice with Ben.
Ben finished his 16th yard just before midnight with about 6 minutes to spare.
Rudi reached the top of the final hill before the finish line with about 3 minutes to spare.
He could have easily jogged down the hill and finished the yard under the hour.
But if he had done that, poor Ben would have had to go back out alone for one more yard in the rain, mud, clay, and miserable conditions.
Instead, Rudy waited at the top of the hill for the remaining minutes, allowing the hour to expire before he crossed the line.
That meant Ben was the outright winner.
A very classy move after a very tough race.
When it was all said and done, Ben got to pack his wet tent up in the rain and drive home with a cool custom engraved cedar plaque, a pair of brand new Altra Trail Shoes, but more importantly, the knowledge of knowing he outlasted them all.
My belief is that Ben, Rudy, Brian Caire, Steve Meyer, and probably Rebecca all had the ability to go well past 16 yards if that had been their goal and if the conditions had been better.
Or a lot better.
As in, no thunderstorm, no torrential rain, and no clay-slide comedy show.
So I think we’ll keep this course for future years.
The current Mad Trapper Backyard record is 23 yards, set on an easier version of the course.
Now the question is whether someone can break that record here.
And based on what I saw this weekend, I think they can.
They just need to be mad enough.
The full race results are here. And keep in mind, you WANT to be the last place finisher on this scorecard: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=437347
And if you want to see some photos from the race, those can be found here. Hopefully racers will add more the album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/A1QU9NnSVXW9jBPX7
