What does it take to keep going when the race stops being about miles and becomes a battle between your mind and your body?

Levi Yoder knows a thing or two about that.

Levi went from starting his running journey in 2019 to completing his first 100-miler in 2022 and then winning his first backyard ultra and earning a spot at Big’s Backyard Ultra. Since then, he has competed at Big’s three times, including the 2022 World Team Championship, the 2023 Individual Championship, and the 2024 World Team Championship, where he reached an incredible 75 yards and more than 312 miles.

In this episode, Levi takes us inside those three world stage experiences and shares how his approach has evolved, from being completely underprepared for his first backyard to learning how to pace himself, manage the mental highs and lows, fuel, sleep, communicate with his crew, and conserve energy for the long haul.

We talk about:

• How Levi went from a new runner to a 300+ mile backyard ultra athlete
• The biggest lessons he learned from his first backyard
• How his experiences at Big’s Backyard Ultra changed from 2022 to 2024
• Why confidence can sometimes become a liability in a backyard
• Learning to expect the low points and knowing they will pass
• His strategy for caffeine, naps, and sleep during multi-day races
• Why remaining emotionally neutral can be such a powerful skill
• How he uses discomfort in everyday life to prepare mentally for the backyard
• The importance of having a crew who knows you and can make decisions when you're exhausted
• Why his wife and crew are such an important part of his success
• His 2024 Big’s experience and what ultimately took him out at 75 yards
• How he balances pushing his limits with knowing when it's time to stop
• Why he believes there may always be another level to reach

And perhaps most importantly, Levi shares what he believes now that he didn't believe when he started running backyards:

You might be capable of far more than you think you are.

Whether you're training for your first backyard ultra or wondering what it takes to go 100, 200, or 300+ miles, there are plenty of lessons in this conversation you can take into your next race.

Find Levi on Instagram at @way_co_ultra_runner and on Facebook and Strava as Levi Yoder.

👉 Don’t miss the next yard. Hit Follow on The One More Hour Podcast: An Insider’s Guide to Backyard Ultras, Timed Races, and the Ultrarunning Mindset.

⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a quick review. It helps more runners find the show and keep going when they want to stop.

📲 Connect with me on Instagram → @onemorehourpodcast

📩 Got a story about going one more? I’d love to hear it. Email me at → theonemorehourpodcast@gmail.com

🎁 Freebie → 5 Mental Traps Backyard Runners Fall Into (and How to Fix Them)

⭐️ Learn more about working with me on my website

What does it actually take to crew a Backyard Ultra?

Your runner has spent months preparing for the race. But what about the people sitting at camp?

A great backyard ultra crew doesn't just hand out bottles and cheer when their runner comes through. They're the runner's second brain: managing logistics, protecting their energy, thinking ahead, solving problems, and helping them make good decisions when fatigue starts to take over.

This episode is a complete Backyard Ultra Crewing 101 guide, created specifically for runners to send to their crew before race day.

We start with the basics: what a backyard ultra is, how the format works, what the runner can and can't do during the hour, and why pacing and camp time matter. From there, we get into what makes a great crew and how to create an organized, calm camp where your runner can reset every hour.

You'll learn about:

• Camp organization and why everything needs a home
• Why your crew is your second brain
• What your runner needs to communicate to the crew before race day
• Understanding your runner's minimum, realistic, and stretch goals
• Nutrition, hydration, electrolytes, and sticking to the plan
• Creating contingency plans when your runner stops wanting their usual food
• Shoes, socks, blisters, chafing, clothing, and preventative care
• How to communicate with a tired runner without creating more decision fatigue
• Why "How are you feeling?" may not be the best question to ask
• How to give your runner simple choices and reduce the number of decisions they have to make
• Why you shouldn't let your runner make a major decision while sitting in the chair
• How to prepare for the next yard before your runner even gets back to camp
• What changes when the race goes from hours into multiple nights
• How to adapt when weather, nutrition, sleep, feet, or fatigue don't go according to plan
• Problem-solving instead of panicking
• Why your crew's emotional state can affect your runner
• Why crew members need to eat, hydrate, rest, and take care of themselves, too
• How the crew's role changes when the goal is 10 yards versus 50, 100, 200+ miles

And perhaps most importantly, we talk about the relationship between the runner and the crew: the runner is responsible for running 4.167 miles every hour and the crew runs the camp.

The goal isn't for the crew to take control of the race. It's to remove as much unnecessary physical and mental work from the runner as possible so they can focus on the only thing they need to do:

One more yard. One more hour.

If you're running your first backyard ultra, send this episode to your crew. Then sit down together and talk through your goals, pacing, nutrition, gear, communication, and what you need from each other before race day.

And if you're the person who has been asked to crew a backyard ultra for the first time, thank you. Your runner chose you because they trust you!

You don't have to know everything about ultrarunning, you just need to care enough to prepare, because in a backyard ultra, one more hour is almost never earned alone. It's a team sport. You can't go far alone!

👉 Don’t miss the next yard. Hit Follow on The One More Hour Podcast: An Insider’s Guide to Backyard Ultras, Timed Races, and the Ultrarunning Mindset.

⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a quick review. It helps more runners find the show and keep going when they want to stop.

📲 Connect with me on Instagram → @onemorehourpodcast

📩 Got a story about going one more? I’d love to hear it. Email me at → theonemorehourpodcast@gmail.com

🎁 Freebie → 5 Mental Traps Backyard Runners Fall Into (and How to Fix Them)

⭐️ Learn more about working with me on my website

What does it take to go from a 27-yard backyard ultra runner to consistently running 60+ yards and still believe you have more to learn?

In this episode of the One More Hour Podcast, I’m joined by Dave Kwiatkowski, one of the most intriguing young athletes in the backyard ultra world. Dave has built his success through a process of experimentation, problem-solving, and learning from every race.

We talk about how his approach has evolved since his first backyard ultra, the mistakes that have shaped his training, and why he believes every runner is an “experiment of one.” Dave shares how he trains his quads and glutes, why uphill hiking and stair repeats have become staples, and how he balances running by feel with the data he does pay attention to.

We also get into the less glamorous, and often overlooked parts of going deep in a backyard: electrolyte balance, bathroom breaks, sleep deprivation, caffeine, and what happens when your brain starts seeing basketballs and treehouses that aren't actually there.

Dave also shares his philosophy on crew, including why he believes the crew camp should be designed primarily for the crew, and how running with other athletes has helped him push through those moments when he wants to quit.

And we talk about Big's Backyard Ultra, what makes Laz's backyard so special, where Dave thinks the backyard format could go in the future, and his new project, Yard Lore, a backyard-ultra data hub designed to bring athlete and race history together in one place.

If you're fascinated by the process of getting better, not just the final result, this episode is for you.

Show links:
Dave's website and blog
Dave's Instagram @davekwiatkowski
Yardlore
Andy's Backyard on October 24, 2026 (Dave's dad's race)
Big's Backyard Ultra

In this episode:

• Dave's unconventional introduction to ultra running
• The story behind his first 27-yard backyard
• How he's progressed to multiple 60+ yard performances
• Learning from failure and turning every race into an experiment
• Training for the physical demands of multi-day backyards
• Sleep, caffeine, and hallucinations
• Electrolytes and the surprisingly important problem of bathroom breaks
• Building an effective crew camp
• Why running with other athletes can be the difference between quitting and continuing
• Dave's experiences at Big's Backyard Ultra
• The future of backyard ultras
• The story behind Yardlore and its unique “Lore Score”

👉 Don’t miss the next yard. Hit Follow on The One More Hour Podcast: An Insider’s Guide to Backyard Ultras, Timed Races, and the Ultrarunning Mindset.

⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a quick review. It helps more runners find the show and keep going when they want to stop.

📲 Connect with me on Instagram → @onemorehourpodcast

📩 Got a story about going one more? I’d love to hear it. Email me at → theonemorehourpodcast@gmail.com

🎁 Freebie → 5 Mental Traps Backyard Runners Fall Into (and How to Fix Them)

⭐️ Learn more about working with me on my website