Sisu Backyard Ultra at Lake Rebecca
About the race
The Sisu Backyard Ultra at Lake Rebecca is back for 2027, bringing together running, grit, community, and a true Finnish touch, complete with a sauna and a post-run swim option. Inspired by the Finnish word sisu, meaning determination, toughness, resilience, and the willingness to keep going when things get hard, this race is built to challenge runners of every experience level.
Sisu is about more than how many miles you can run. It is about the experience. Whether you are attempting your first backyard ultra, chasing a new distance, or looking for a race unlike anything else, Sisu is designed to be challenging, welcoming, memorable, and fun. Bring your crew, your friends, and your stubbornness.
Volunteers and food
Volunteers bring energy throughout the event, helping runners, supporting crews, and keeping things moving.
Food and refreshments are available near the corral.
The corral and runner tent
The corral is the heart of the event. A shared runner tent is located just steps from the starting line, offering a place to rest, change clothes, organize gear, and get ready for the next yard.
Livestream coverage
The Sisu Backyard Ultra is livestreamed throughout the event, so family, friends, and supporters can follow hourly starts, runners returning to the finish, and footage from the course as the race unfolds.
The course
Runners complete a loop every hour, on the hour. Finishing a loop early leaves time to rest, refuel, change gear, use the sauna, or swim before the next loop. When the next hour begins, everyone still in the race lines up and starts together. Runners who do not complete the loop within the hour, or cannot start the next loop on time, are out. There is no predetermined finish line. The Lake Rebecca course features a mix of gravel, asphalt, and trail.
Race format and the hourly loop
The format is simple, but the challenge is not. Runners complete a 4.167-mile loop every hour, on the hour.
Finish your loop with time to spare and that time is yours: rest, refuel, change gear, eat, sit down, use the sauna, or take a swim before getting ready for the next loop.
When the next hour begins, everyone still in the race lines up and starts together. If you do not complete the loop within the hour, or you are unable to start the next loop on time, your race is over. Everyone else keeps going.
There is no predetermined finish line, so your goal can be one loop, a half marathon, a marathon, a 50K, fifty miles, one hundred miles, or simply one more yard.
Location
City insight: Rockford
Rockford is a city in northern Illinois, on the Rock River, about 90 minutes north-west of Chicago. The climate is humid continental: summers (June to August) are warm and humid, autumn is cool and colourful, winters (December to February) are cold with snow, and spring is cool. Late spring to early autumn is the best time to race. The city has a small airport and Chicago airports are within about 90 minutes.
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