Will Hayward

About

Will Hayward is a British ultrarunner best known in the Backyard Ultra format — the deceptively simple but brutal 'last one standing' race structure in which competitors run a 4.167-mile loop starting every hour until only one person is still moving. He won the Big Boar's Backyard Ultra held along Hong Kong's scenic Bowen Road, outlasting 14 competitors as the sole finisher after more than 25 hours and 167.75 kilometres of running — one of the highest-profile Backyard Ultra wins staged in Asia. He also competed at Big's Backyard Ultra in Tennessee — the mothership event of the format conceived by Laz Lake — running alongside Maggie Guterl, Dave Proctor, and other elite Backyard competitors, remaining the last man standing in a race Maggie Guterl ultimately won in 2019. Hayward has described the extreme, repetitive nature of Backyard Ultra racing as 'very meditative,' noting the unusual cognitive state that emerges from hours on the same loop: 'You just kind of dial into the moment…the act of repetitive activity where you're doing the same path over and over again.' He has experienced hallucinations and falling asleep while still moving — conditions he has spoken about candidly — and represents the kind of psychological tenacity and capacity to keep moving when others cannot that the Backyard format uniquely demands.

Notable Wins

• — Big Boar's Backyard Ultra winner (167.75km
• — last man standing after 25+ hours)
• — Big's Backyard Ultra last man standing 2019 (race won by Maggie Guterl)

Race History