North Carolina woman runs 245 miles to win backyard-style virtual ultra

On April 24 at 6 p.m., the Little Dog Front Yard Challenge began, and 10 days, 245 hours and as many miles later, the race was finally finished after a long battle between Sally Van Nuland and Cherie McCafferty, both of North Carolina. The race format was simple: run one mile every hour for as many hours as you can. The event is a variation of Laz Lake‘s Big’s Backyard Ultra, although in Lake’s format, runners cover four miles (6.4K) every hour. Both are last-person-standing events, and this past weekend, that honour belonged to Van Nuland, who ran 245 miles (394K) to take the win.

The Little Dog Front Yard Challenge ended with Sally Van Nuland at 245 miles and Cherie McCafferty at 244. Congratulations to both; very impressive performances. #LDFYC

— Keith (@keithdunn) May 5, 2020

Backyard (or front yard) ultras

The Little Dog Front Yard Challenge and the Big’s Backyard Ultra vary in distance and overall time, but the final results turned out to be quite similar. At the 2019 Big’s Ultra, Maggie Guterl ran 402K for the win. Van Nuland was pretty close to that mark, running just shy of 400K over the past 10 days.

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The backyard format is growing in popularity in the ultra community. Just last month the Quarantine Backyard Ultra virtual race was won by Mike Wardian, who ran 63 hours and covered 422K (the Quarantine Backyard Ultra laps were 6.7K). The Little Dog event was, of course, virtual as well, and it featured runners from several U.S. states. There was also one Canadian in the race, Maryka Hladki of Newmarket, Ont., who ran 33 miles (53K).

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Van Nuland vs. McCafferty

Early on in the race, after the 30th hour of racing, McCafferty posted on Instagram, and she wrote, “Honestly, I feel as though this virtual race will go on forever.” Over 80 hours later, Van Nuland and McCafferty were still racing, and it was just the two of them left in the race after Mile 127.

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For 117 more hours, the two women covered mile after mile, each waiting for the other to crack. Finally, McCafferty couldn’t go any longer, and Van Nuland ran her 245th mile for the well-earned win.

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One mile an hour might seem like it could turn into a walking race, but regardless of whether a person walks or runs a mile every hour for 10-straight days, it’s an impressive feat. To add to their accomplishment, the backyard format means that the two women didn’t sleep for more than 30 or 40 minutes minutes at a time for their 10 days of racing.

Also, Van Nuland and McCafferty are seasoned runners, both having run dozens of ultramarathons in their careers, so however they completed the Little Dog race, it doesn’t matter—they’ve got impressive running resumes to back them up. In 2019, Van Nuland competed in 10 ultras, and she was the top female finisher in seven of those races (she made the overall podium in seven events as well). McCafferty raced 16 ultras in 2019, and she managed to race three times (two 50Ks and a 40-miler) in 2020 before the coronavirus outbreak.

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Unfortunately, after over a week of running a mile every hour, the women couldn’t share the win, and McCafferty eventually had to pull out. Van Nuland ran the extra mile, and she deserved the victory, but both women obliterated the rest of the field (the next closest finisher ran 127 miles, and the fourth-place finisher went 87).