Nesbyen Backyard, live.

One loop an hour through Nesbyen

A backyard race in Hallingdal on what the organiser calls Norway’s flattest backyard loop: 6.7 km, under 30 metres of climbing, and a new start every hour.

Nesbyen Backyard starts at 10:00 on Saturday 3 October 2026 from Nesbyen Idrettshall, organised by RunnersHei on the first Saturday of October, during the autumn school holiday. It borrows the format Lazarus Lake created for Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee in 2011: every runner starts together on the hour and must finish the loop inside that hour to go again. Here the race is capped, with a 6-hour class of six loops and a 12-hour class of twelve. Six-hour runners who carry on past lap seven are not stopped, and are recognised for running an ultra distance.

The loop is 6.7 km through Nesbyen town centre on a mix of asphalt, gravel, trail and open ground, and has under 30 metres of climbing. Between loops the hall is the base: changing rooms, showers, toilets, a rest room indoors, a kiosk and a warm meal. The rules are strict: no personal assistance during a loop, no poles, start from inside the start area when the hour turns, and warnings at three, two and one minute before. From 18:00 a headlamp with spare batteries and a reflective vest are mandatory, because the 12-hour race runs on past the 18:30 sunset into the dark.

In a backyard the question is never where the finish is but whether the runner is still in. On Livebib the runner shares a link to their own broadcast, and family and friends open it in a browser, no app or account needed, to see the position on the loop, the distance covered and an estimate of when they are back at the hall, updating as the hour goes. If the phone loses signal on the trail sections, the position is carried forward and marked as estimated instead of freezing. The runner decides who gets the link.