Goochland Endurance Runners Battle Hourly Loops at Maidens Backyard Ultra

Every loop completed at last Saturday's Pain Is Currency Backyard Ultra in Maidens cost runners something beyond sweat: starting with the second circuit, each surviving competitor added one more pound to what they carried through the next 4.167 miles of trail.

That weight progression, built into the event by the Ultra Cult Run Club, ran on top of an already unforgiving format. Competitors at Camp T. Brady Saunders in eastern Goochland County had to complete each loop within one hour, then return to the start corral before the clock reset or be eliminated. A runner still standing at loop six was carrying five extra pounds through roots, rolling hills, and gravel connectors. Time never adjusts for the added load.

The race was held April 4 at the BSA camp at 1723 Maidens Road, which has operated in Maidens since 1964 and maintains roughly 10 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails across its Goochland property. Registration materials described the course as flowy singletrack with mixed-surface terrain throughout. Those trails, which typically serve Scouting programs, drew an endurance field from across central Virginia and beyond.

The backyard ultra format was invented by ultrarunning race director Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and has since spread across the country through locally organized events. The Pain Is Currency edition adds the cumulative weight rule as a second axis of attrition: the field shrinks as runners miss the hourly cutoff, while those who keep completing loops carry progressively more into each new circuit. The event was listed on UltraSignup, a national ultrarunning registration platform, and picked up by regional running calendars, giving it visibility well outside Goochland County.

Maidens is a small unincorporated community along the James River in eastern Goochland, and events like this carry a downstream effect for local commerce. Visiting runners, support crews, and spectators travel the corridor from Richmond to the camp and stop along the way, while overnight entries seek lodging in the county. Parking, staging, and basic water support were all organized onsite at the camp's start/finish hub.

The backyard ultra format delivers its verdict one loop at a time. At Camp T. Brady Saunders last Saturday, the Pain Is Currency version added a second reckoning: every mile survived left the next one heavier.