I Failed My 24-Hour Backyard Ultra Goal: The Lessons That Made Me Stronger

What can running for 15 hours straight teach you about resilience, discipline and personal growth? In this personal account of competing in a Backyard Ultra, health coach and endurance athlete Chris Deavin shares the lessons learned from five months of training, the challenge of running hour after hour, and the disappointment of falling short of a 24-hour goal when a nutrition and fuelling issue brought his race to an end after 15 hours.

Discover how embracing uncertainty, setting ambitious goals, building consistency, overcoming setbacks and developing mental toughness can help you achieve your own health, fitness and strength goals. Whether you want to lose weight, get fitter after 50, improve your resilience, build sustainable habits or take on a major physical challenge, this article provides practical insights into the mindset and discipline required for long-term success. Topics include resilience, endurance running, Backyard Ultra racing, mental toughness, healthy ageing, strength after 50, consistency, habit formation, overcoming failure, endurance nutrition, personal growth and achieving challenging goals.

Choosing a Goal That Wasn't Guaranteed

Five months ago, I signed up for a Backyard Ultra with a simple goal: stay in the race for 24 hours. It was this past weekend, in a beautiful part of England. Despite the rain and semi-muddy conditions, it was a great experience.

I knew it would be difficult. If I were honest with myself, I probably had no more than a 50% chance of achieving it. That uncertainty was exactly why I entered.

I’ve always found that the goals which sit just beyond your comfort zone demand the most from you. They require better preparation, greater consistency and a higher level of commitment. Knowing there was a very real possibility I might fall short forced me to take the training seriously.

Over the next five months, I built my life around preparing for that challenge. Early morning runs became routine. Long weekends were spent on my feet building endurance. Strength training, recovery, nutrition and sleep all became priorities because I knew the race would expose any weaknesses in my preparation.

That is one of the reasons I enjoy endurance events. They are brutally honest. They don’t care how motivated you feel or how badly you want the result. They reveal the work you have done and the work you haven’t. By the time race day arrived, I felt ready.

A Simple Format With a Brutal Challenge

The Backyard Ultra format is deceptively simple. At the start of every hour, you run a loop. Complete it within the allotted time and you earn the right to continue. Fail to finish before the next hour begins, and your race is over.

What struck me most wasn’t the running itself but the people. The event attracted exactly the sort of individuals I enjoy being around. People willing to challenge themselves. People curious about their limits. People who understand that growth often comes through discomfort rather than avoiding it.

As the hours passed, the atmosphere remained supportive. Competitors encouraged one another, shared stories and helped each other through difficult moments. There was a real sense of camaraderie despite the fact that everyone was pursuing their own challenge.

When the Race Becomes Mental

The first few hours felt comfortable. Then the race gradually became more demanding.

My legs grew heavier. Concentration required more effort. The challenge became less about physical fitness and more about staying focused. The further the race progressed, the smaller the world became. Thoughts narrowed. Attention shifted towards the next lap, the next checkpoint and the next hour.

Motivation had very little to do with it. Discipline carried me forward. By the tenth hour, nobody is relying on excitement or enthusiasm. What remains is a decision to keep going.

That lesson isn’t unique to endurance events. It applies equally to improving your health, building strength or losing weight. Most people know what they need to do. The challenge is continuing when the novelty disappears, and progress feels slow.

Why My Race Ended

My race ended after 15 hours.

The surprising thing was that my legs were still capable of running. Mentally, I was still committed to the challenge. The issue was fuel.

As the hours passed, my digestive system gradually stopped cooperating. Getting enough calories into my body became increasingly difficult. The energy I was using was no longer being replaced effectively enough. Eventually, my energy levels dropped to a point where maintaining the required pace became impossible.

I started the sixteenth lap knowing I was in trouble.

I pushed as hard as I could but couldn’t complete the lap within the hour. My race was over.

Of course, there was disappointment. Spending five months preparing for a 24-hour challenge and falling short is never easy to accept.

Failure or Feedback?

But once the initial disappointment faded, something else became clear.

The event hadn’t shown me that I wasn’t capable of 24 hours. It had highlighted a weakness in my preparation. There is an important difference between the two.

One is a judgement.

The other is information.

The race revealed a problem with my fuelling strategy, not a lack of commitment, discipline or resilience. That’s valuable knowledge because it provides a clear direction for future improvement.

Had I reached my target, I would have celebrated. By falling short, I left with lessons.

I now have a better understanding of what happens to my body deep into an endurance event. I have a clearer understanding of the role nutrition plays after many hours on my feet. I also have greater confidence in my ability to stay composed when things don’t go according to plan.

The Real Value Was in the Preparation

Looking back, the most valuable part of the experience wasn’t the 15 hours I spent running. It was the five months beforehand.

The training required consistency when motivation was low. It required planning when life became busy. It required saying no to easier options in favour of choices that supported a bigger goal.

That process made me fitter, stronger and more disciplined than I was when I started.

We All Have Our Own Backyard Ultra

Most people will never enter a Backyard Ultra, but everyone has their own version of one.

For some, it’s losing weight after years of struggling. For others, it’s building strength after 50, completing a first 5K or creating a healthier lifestyle that lasts.

The principle is always the same.

Growth rarely comes from certainty. It comes from pursuing something meaningful despite the possibility of failure.

Stronger Than Before

The 24-hour target remains unfinished business.

What I took from the experience is far more valuable than a medal or a finishing result. I discovered weaknesses that can be improved, strengths I didn’t know I possessed and a renewed appreciation for what becomes possible when you commit to a challenge for long enough.

The next time I stand on a start line, I’ll be carrying those lessons with me.

And I’ll be stronger because of them.

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Ready to Build Your Own Resilience?

Most people don't need to run a Backyard Ultra.

But everyone has their own challenge.

Whether your goal is to lose weight, get stronger, improve your fitness, regain your energy, or finally become consistent with your health habits, the principles are the same. Success comes from having the right plan, the right mindset and the right support when motivation inevitably fades.

If you're a busy professional over 50 who knows what you should be doing but struggles to follow through consistently, I'd love to help.

Book a free Discovery Call and we'll discuss your goals, the obstacles holding you back, and what it would take to build a healthier, stronger and more resilient version of yourself.

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