HYDERABAD
Not open yet. The date, the venue and the loop drop in the community first.
Find the Deccan
THE FORMAT, IN HYDERABAD
6.706 KM · 60 MIN · last runner standing.
Hyderabad
We do not know where the Hyderabad chapter will be held yet.
That is not a particularly glamorous opening to a race description, but it is an accurate one.
We are looking for the right ground before writing mythology about it.
A backyard venue has a difficult job. It needs a proper 6.706-kilometre loop, a functioning corral, safe night running, space for crews, weather resilience, permissions, medical access and parking. Those are the practical requirements.
Then comes the harder requirement.
It has to belong to Hyderabad and the Deccan.
Runners in a backyard see the same ground so many times that the venue eventually becomes part of the competition. Every turn acquires a history. Small rises become large ones. A landmark that meant nothing in the morning becomes evidence that the corral is getting closer at three in the morning.
So we are not going to invent a course before we have one.
When the right venue is found, we will learn what the ground has to say. Then we will measure the loop, build the corral and discover what kind of trouble it can produce one hour at a time.
For now, the assignment is simple.
Find the Deccan.
The rest can wait for the bell.
THE GALLERY
CHAPTER BEST
No chapter record yet — this could be the first.
THE HYDERABAD JOURNAL
Writing about this chapter, and about the backyard in general.
OTHER CHAPTERS
HYDERABAD is one of six. Same loop, same bell, different ground — see the rest of the season.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
The backyard, the bell, the DNF — the things every first-timer wants to know before they toe the line.
What is a backyard ultra?
A 6.706 km loop, run every hour on the hour, until one runner remains. No finish line, no fixed distance. The last runner standing is the only finisher — everyone else records a DNF.
Do I need to be an ultrarunner to enter?
No. Backyard 4 is designed as a first ultra. If you can run 6.7 km in an hour, four times, you're in the game.
Where does the 2026–27 season run?
Six chapters: Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Same loop distance, same rules, same clock in every city.
How do I register?
Through the chapter page for each city. Registration opens city by city — the community hears the dates first.
What is the Indian backyard record?
52 yards — 52 loops, 52 hours, roughly 348 km — set by Sunil Sharma in October 2024. Ashwini Ganapathi holds the women's mark at 28 yards, set at our Bengaluru chapter.
What happens if I DNF?
You take home the exact number of the loop where you stopped, and a DNF memento. In a backyard, that's not failure — it's the receipt of a real attempt.
Can I walk?
Yes. Walking is strategy, not weakness. Many strong backyard runners walk parts of every loop.
THE BELL, BEFORE ANYONE ELSE
Dates, entry openings and the Hyderabad race report — sent when there is something real to say, and not otherwise.
Nothing is lost. All is learnt.