ACA Support Helps Drive Johan's 268 kilometres of ‘HYSTERICAL CARNAGE’

A ‘Backyard Ultra Marathon’ is an incredible physical and mental challenge, and one that is fast becoming a popular format of long-distance running.

Put simply, you run 6.7kms/4.1 miles on the hour, every hour, until you don’t make it.

And Johan Botha absolutely loves taking it on.

Originating in America, events are now popping up across Australia – including the ‘Hysterical Carnage Backyard Ultra’ event in Loxton, South Australia.

Coincidentally, the event was held the same weekend as the ACA’s Masters Tour in Loxton, meaning there was plenty of support on hand to cheer Johan on.

“That was great, it helped a lot,” says Johan. “They came out at 11 at night, and then again at two in the morning.

“Out of nowhere you’d get some cheers, and that would lift you again to get through the lap. It certainly helped a lot to see familiar faces, to get chatting to different people, take your mind off things a bit.”

Another familiar face was Johan’s 13-year-old son, Austin, who also had a crack, managing an incredible ten hours – 67 kilometres – an amazing feat, all while running together.

Johan himself managed to get through to lap forty (forty hours) – an astonishing 268 kilometres.

Speaking on how he got in to running, Johan said it was while he was playing Big Bash, and the realisation of how much of the year he needed to keep fit for. Missing the desire of competing after his professional cricket career also played a significant role in what would eventually lead to running ultra-marathons.

What has also carried on from Johan’s professional cricket was the enjoyment of the preparation – the training, and the planning, of which there is plenty.

For what is obviously a crazy physical challenge, Johan says the mental game is just as, if not more important to success. According to Johan, “your mind definitely gives up before your body.” Consistency is also crucial, as Johan says, “in this format you can't have a bad hour, if you do your race is done”.

When talking about the mental struggles with these events, Johan had this to say:

“As soon as you think it's starting to get a bit hard or this thing hurts or whatever it is, your mind plays tricks and you think just take the easy option or just stop and then it's over, but that’s the challenge of it all, you’ve got to keep fronting up.”

Incredibly, Johan hopes to go even further in the future. Having run half-a-dozen of these events, he says 50 hours would be nice, and then hopefully add a few more from there.

There is a Backyard-Ultra event in Johan’s hometown Adelaide on May 17, which he already has circled on the calendar, although three events a year is about as much as the body can take according to Johan, so working these in around cricket and family commitments is important.

And there still needs to be some time for cricket, with Johan recently being appointed head coach of domestic T20 side Sharjah Warriors, as well as continuing to play some cricket in the ‘Legends League’ in India.