Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard

Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard takes place in West Windsor, Vermont, on November 21, 2026, organized by Northeast Trail Adventures. It offers one format, a last-person-standing race: everyone starts the same loop on the same signal, and anyone who fails to complete it inside the allotted hour is out. The event ends when a single runner is left, so there is no set distance and no finish line to aim for.

Backyard racing is a mental exercise dressed as a running one. Your pace is fixed by the format, so the real skills are eating between loops, keeping your feet dry and resisting the urge to quit while you still feel fine. The vertical twist in the name means the loop climbs, which makes hiking strength and quad durability decisive. Train with repeated hill efforts spread over a long day rather than one continuous long run.