2.3. 7-HR Backyard Challenge: Sholden

Date: Saturday 17 April 2027

Start time: 10:00 AM

Final cut-off: 5:00 PM

Proposed venue: Lillyroo’s Glamping, Sandwich Road, Deal, Kent, CT14 0AT

Event format: Seven-hour Backyard Challenge

Distance: Up to seven 4.167-mile yards (approximately 29.2 miles / 46.9 km)

Entry price: £80.00

Minimum age: 18 on race day

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST. PAID ENTRIES ARE NOT YET OPEN.

We’re planning a dedicated seven-hour event at Sholden and gathering interest before making the final go-ahead decision. Our initial target is 80 waitlist sign-ups. Join the waitlist to receive the next update and entry details if the event is confirmed. Registering interest does not secure a race entry.

This is a separate event on 17 April. The full Kent Backyard Ultra Series 2.3. Sholden event remains on Saturday 10 April 2027.

Seven Hours. Seven Yards. One Shared Goal.

The bell. The hourly starts. The decision to go again.

Experience the Kent Backyard Ultra format with Hellfire at Sholden, with a fixed seven-hour finish and a clear goal to work towards: complete all seven yards.

Run a 4.167-mile yard every hour, on the hour. Finish each one within the time limit, use the remaining minutes to recover and refuel, then return to the start for the next bell.

Complete all seven and you’ll cover approximately 29.2 miles (46.9 km). Beyond a marathon, one yard at a time.

Whether you’re stepping up from a marathon, aiming for your first ultra or returning to improve your approach to Backyard running, this is a chance to take on the format with a finish you can plan around.

Why Take on the Sholden 7-HR Challenge?

A shared seven-yard goal and a fixed seven-hour finish

Approximately 29.2 miles if you complete all seven yards

A flat course with just 8 metres of ascent per yard

The hourly starts, recovery breaks and community of the Kent Backyard Ultra experience

An out-and-back route where runners regularly pass and encourage each other

Supporters and crews welcome at the event base

A family-friendly campsite serving great food and cold drinks

Enduo Sports goodie bags and free full Backyard Ultra entries at Bedgebury for the male and female seventh-yard winners

You still have to earn every yard. The clear finish gives you a target to train for and work towards, together.

How the Challenge Works

Each 4.167-mile loop is known as a yard. Everyone starts each yard together, at the beginning of the hour.

Complete your yard in under 60 minutes. Any time left is yours to rest, eat, drink, change your kit and get ready to go again.

To continue, you must have completed the previous yard within the time limit and be back at the start, ready for the next bell. Miss the start, finish outside the time limit or choose to stop, and your challenge ends.

There are seven scheduled yards. The first starts at 10:00 AM, the seventh starts at 4:00 PM, and the final cut-off is 5:00 PM. The seventh is the final yard, and it must also be completed within its hour.

The goal is to complete all seven. If your day ends earlier, every yard you finish still counts as part of your own achievement.

The Course

Set at Lillyroo’s Glamping, just outside Deal, the Sholden course follows a flat, out-and-back gravel trail across coastal marshland.

With just 8 metres of ascent per yard, the route gives you the opportunity to settle into a rhythm and practise pacing, refuelling and recovery between starts.

Because it is an out-and-back route, you’ll regularly pass other runners. There are familiar faces, words of encouragement and people sharing the same goal throughout the day.

The challenge builds with each return to the start. How you use the time between yards becomes part of your race.

Bring Your Crew

Supporters and crews are welcome at the event base. Having someone ready with your food, drink or a change of kit can make those minutes between yards count.

The start and finish area is the heart of a Backyard event: runners returning, crews helping them prepare, volunteers keeping things moving and everyone gathering for the next start.

Make a Weekend of It at Lillyroo’s

Bring the family, bring your crew and come and enjoy Lillyroo’s for the weekend.

This welcoming, family-friendly campsite is a big part of what makes Sholden special. With great food, cold drinks and space to settle in, it gives runners and supporters somewhere to spend time together before and after the challenge.

Enjoy freshly cooked food, relax with a drink and soak up the atmosphere. Once your final yard is done, stay for the evening, share stories from the day and make the most of a weekend away with the Hellfire community.

Camping must be booked directly with Lillyroo’s and is separate from your £80.00 race entry.

Contact Lillyroo’s to book camping and check availability.

What Sholden Runners Said

These reviews are from the previous full Sholden Backyard Ultra and reflect the venue, organisation and community behind the event.

“Wonderfully organised and such a good atmosphere. The course is both beginner friendly and ideal for long performances.”

David Gladwish

“A really friendly crowd. Everyone was pleasant and happy to chat. The crew were phenomenal.”

Mark Chandler

“This was my first BYU and so glad it was with Hellfire Events.”

Scott Beighton

Your Medal

Complete at least one yard and receive a Kent Backyard Ultra DNF medal, because every yard counts.

It is the medal used across the Kent Backyard Ultra events: a reminder of the effort you put in and the yards you earned.

Seventh-Yard Prizes

There is something extra to aim for on the final yard.

The first male and first female back from the seventh yard, having completed all six previous yards within the hourly time limits, will each receive:

A goodie bag from our event sponsor, Enduo Sports

A free entry to the full Backyard Ultra at 2.4. Bedgebury, starting on Friday 16 July 2027

These prizes are decided by the finishing order on the seventh yard. You must complete that yard within its time limit to qualify.

Take on seven yards at Sholden, then return to explore how far you can go at Bedgebury.

Explore 2.4. Kent Backyard Ultra Series: Bedgebury.

Join the Waitlist

If seven hours, seven yards and the Sholden Backyard atmosphere sound like your kind of challenge, join the waitlist.

Entry will be £80.00, with the first yard starting at 10:00 AM on Saturday 17 April 2027. We’ll keep you updated as the plans develop and send entry details if the event is confirmed.

If you’re already on the waiting list for the full Sholden event on 10 April, registering interest in this separate 17 April challenge will not affect your place on that list.

Seven hours. Seven yards. One shared goal.

You decide your story. Earned, not given.

Description supplied by the event organiser.