Big’s Backyard Ultra
& IronHikeComparisonEvery hour, the bell rings.
Ours rings at the bottom of a Mountain.
Where the format was born, and where it found a MountainEvery Backyard Ultra traces back to Big’s in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, the original and still the home of the format’s world championships. Its 4.167-mile loop, every hour until one runner is left, is the purest test in the sport. Answer the Bell keeps the same concept, one lap every hour, on the hour, on shorter 1.25 to 1.5 mile laps with 595 to 604 feet of real vertical in every lap.
Big’s Backyard UltraThe original Backyard Ultra, held in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, since 2011 and home of the format’s world championships. Runners start a 4.167-mile loop every hour, on the hour, trail by day and road after dark, until one runner is left; entry is earned through bronze and silver ticket events.
IronHike Answer the BellThe Backyard Ultra format on a Mountain: one lap every hour, on the hour, 1.25 to 1.5 miles with 595 to 604 feet up and back down, at Mohawk Mountain or on the Amicalola Falls staircase, 1,208 stairs every lap. Answer the Bell - Basic runs 24 hours (28,992 stairs at Amicalola) and Answer the Bell - Full runs 84 (101,472 stairs). Open registration. Veteran-owned and operated.
The honest assessmentIronHike is better on 10, Big’s on 5, and 5 are a tie. Big’s wins on legend and price: a world stage, national teams, a lower entry fee, and 100 miles every 24 hours. IronHike wins on the Mountain: real vertical every lap, the scenery, a pace runners and hikers can both make, poles allowed, open registration, and a finish line every Athlete can earn.
Big’s Backyard Ultra & Answer the BellLegend: ✓ Better = Tie ✓ Good – Not offeredBig’s Backyard Ultra
World Championship
Bell Buckle, TN - USAIronHike
Answer the Bell - Basic & Full
All venues - USADistance ✓ 4.167 miles a lap, 100 miles every 24 hours ✓ 1.25 to 1.5 miles a lap, 30 to 36 miles in 24 hours Vertical Elevation ✓ About 475 feet a day loop and 100 feet a night loop, roughly 7,000 feet per 24 hours (our estimate) ✓ 595 to 604 feet every lap, day and night: 14,280 to 14,496 feet per 24 hours Duration = No set end. Last one standing. = 24 or 84 hours Location = Bell Buckle, Tennessee = Mohawk Mountain, Cornwall, Connecticut and Amicalola Falls, Dawsonville, Georgia Scenery ✓ A Tennessee farm loop: trail by day, road after dark ✓ The Old Appalachian Trail route in the Litchfield Hills at Mohawk; Amicalola Falls, one of the tallest cascading waterfalls in the eastern US Dates ✓ Once a year in October: individual worlds in odd years, team worlds in even years ✓ 3 Series a year: spring and fall at Mohawk, December at Amicalola Falls Lap Definition = 4 miles 880 feet every hour: trail by day, road after dark = 1.25 to 1.5 miles every hour, up & down the Mountain Pace to Make the Bell ✓ About 14:24 per mile, a running pace ✓ 40 to 48 minutes per mile: run or power-hike Start Rules = In the corral at the bell, warnings at 3, 2 and 1 minutes = At the start when the Bell rings; pay the bucket with your Summit Token every lap Trekking Poles – Not allowed ✓ Allowed and recommended on the Mountain; discouraged on the Amicalola Falls stairs Registration ✓ Qualify only: win a bronze ticket event to reach a silver, win a silver to make your national team, and the top national champions earn individual worlds spots ✓ Open to any Mountain Athlete Price Range ✓ Likely $250 to $300; entry is by invitation only ✓ Answer the Bell - Basic $360, Full $1,260 Cost per Hour ✓ Likely $250 to $300 flat, with no set end; the longer you last, the less it costs per hour ✓ $15 an hour Alumni Discount – None listed ✓ Generous Crew = Allowed between laps; no pacers = Cadre and up to 6 spectators at Base Camp; spectators stay off the course Free Spectator Tenting – None listed ✓ Yes at Mohawk, for up to 6 spectators; Lodge rooms and cabins at Amicalola Cause-Friendly – None listed ✓ Yes Teams ✓ National teams of up to 15 in team worlds years ✓ Solo only Finishers ✓ One winner. Everyone else DNF. ✓ Everyone who answers every bell wins and earns a finisher medal and hat World Stage ✓ World championships, Backyard Ultras in 70+ countries ✓ None. Not a race. You vs the clock. Scorecard= Tied on 5 of 20 comparisonsBig’s Backyard Ultra✓ Better = 5✓ Good = 6– Not offered = 4Answer the Bell✓ Better = 10✓ Good = 5– Not offered = 0We built this comparison from each organizer’s public information, with real respect for every event on it. Scenery and the Better / Tie / Good marks are our own honest judgment, and “Not offered” means not offered to the best of our knowledge. Details change, so check with the organizer before you register, and if you spot something we should update, tell us. We’ll gladly fix it. IronHike is not affiliated with or endorsed by any event on this page. Last checked October 2026.
See Answer the Bell 🔔💬 “I am writing a name on my bib before I start. Someone who needed me to show up when it was hard. Every lap I answer that bell, I answer for them too. That is the whole point.”
— Marcus · IronHike Mountain Athlete
▲ ▲ ▲We want to see you on our Mountain too!Big’s Backyard Ultra gave the world the most honest test in endurance sport. Answer the Bell puts that test on a Mountain with no flat miles, for any Mountain Athlete ready to sign up, three times a year.
Chasing a backyard of your own, or already have a yard count to beat? Add Answer the Bell to your season and see how many bells you can answer with 595 to 604 feet in every lap.
It’s you versus the whole mountain (up and down) and you against who you were yesterday.
Current EventsPick your Series 🎯12 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 12 laps · 15 miles · 7,140’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 11 laps · 16.5 miles · 6,644’ · 13,288 stairsSee Kuwohi24 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 23 laps · 28.75 miles · 13,685’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 22 laps · 33 miles · 13,288’ · 26,576 stairsSee Double Kuwohi24 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 24 laps · 30 miles · 14,280’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 24 laps · 36 miles · 14,496’ · 28,992 stairsSee Answer the Bell - Basic48 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 35 laps · 43.75 miles · 20,825’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 34 laps · 51 miles · 20,536’ · 41,072 stairsSee Denali72 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 49 laps · 61.25 miles · 29,155’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 49 laps · 73.5 miles · 29,596’ · 59,192 stairsSee Everest84 Hours⛰️ Mohawk: 84 laps · 105 miles · 49,980’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 84 laps · 126 miles · 50,736’ · 101,472 stairsSee Answer the Bell - Full84 Hours · Top 4 Hardest Ultra Events in the World⛰️ Mohawk: 122 laps · 152.5 miles · 72,590’🌊 Amicalola Falls: 120 laps · 180 miles · 72,480’ · 144,960 stairsSee Olympus Mons Ultra💬 “Growth hides in discomfort, and in the pain most people avoid. That’s what’s so special about IronHike Events. It forces you to find out what you’re made of.”
— Isabelle · Age 17 · First-Ever Answer the Bell - Basic Finisher
❓ Get your questions answered here.
Training, gear, tenting, night laps, what to expect at Mohawk and Amicalola, and plenty more. Or ask your own.
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