The second edition of the Brandberg Backyard Ultra Marathon took place at Uis over the weekend.
 
This exciting event saw a group of highly skilled Namibian long-distance runners gather at the starting corral on Saturday morning.

On 23 July 2022, Namibia made history when the first Brandberg Backyard Ultra marathon took place in Uis. At the time, long-distance runners from all across Namibia lined up in the starting corral, to battle it out in the "race without a finish line".
 
A backyard ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors have one hour to run a loop of 6,7 km, starting a new loop on top of the hour, every hour. 
 
When a lap is completed, the remaining time within the hour can be used to rest and recover. 
 
There is no timing and runners can run as fast or slow as they choose, with the only requirement to be back in the starting corral at the top of the following hour.
 
In frigid weather conditions, over 70 determined ultra runners braved the course at the 2023 edition of the Brandberg Backyard Ultra Marathon.
 
During the daytime loops, runners began at 10:00 and continued until 17:00, before the commencement of the night time loops, revolving around a different course, at 18:00.
 
André Ross, the first edition winner from Swakopmund who completed 20 laps and covered a distance of 134 km, once again snatched the crown this year, and emerged as the sole survivor, solidifying his position as the last man standing.
 
Ross successfully finished 18 loops within a span of 18 hours, covering a total distance of 120 km, after Milton Kimbini tapped out on loop 17.
 
This was Kimbini's first outing at the Brandberg Backyard Ultra marathon, and he impressed all in attendance.
 
Kirsty Brits, the reigning women's champion, successfully defended her title too by completing 13 loops, encompassing a total distance of 87 km, running five laps more than the previous year.
 
The Brandberg Backyard Ultra is now considered a Silver Ticket event, which affords the winner of this year's BBU a spot in the Namibian team to enter the World Championships in the US in 2024.