BackyardPace

Backyard Ultra race companion

$12.99 · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.

Built for Backyard Ultras. Yard timing, recovery countdowns and lap decisions, from your Apple Watch or from your iPhone alone alongside any watch. BackyardPace is built for one race format: the Backyard Ultra. It works two ways. Race from your Apple Watch, or run BackyardPace from your iPhone at base alongside your Garmin, COROS or any other watch. Every yard starts on the hour. BackyardPace handles the yard timer, recovery countdown and next start, so you can stop doing arithmetic at 3am and focus on one thing: the next yard. THE FORMAT Finish the loop before the bell, recover, then go again. The last runner standing wins. Everyone else records a DNF, no matter how far they got. Managing your recovery window becomes increasingly important as the hours add up, and that is exactly what BackyardPace takes off your hands. RACE WITH APPLE WATCH Set your race start time before the gun. From there the watch is your race computer. Yard time, recovery countdown, heart rate and estimated distance remaining, all on your wrist. Your phone can stay charging in the tent. Every yard, split, GPS route and heart rate is written to Apple Health. RACE FROM IPHONE No Apple Watch? BackyardPace now runs the entire race from your phone. Yard timing, recovery countdowns, lap logging and the go-again decision all work without a watch, so you can keep using your Garmin, COROS or other watch to record the run itself. The phone sits at base and handles the race. Alerts tell you when the next yard is coming. BackyardPace does not connect to or control your Garmin or COROS watch. The two simply run alongside each other: your watch records the run, BackyardPace runs the race. WHAT IT DOES Counts down to the start of every yard automatically. Tracks your yard time from the moment you set off. Calculates your exact recovery window the second you finish. Shows only what matters while you run: yard time, heart rate and estimated distance remaining. Logs every yard, with automatic cutoff recording if a yard elapses. Lap times can be edited afterwards. BUILT FOR THE FORMAT Standard running apps are built for a race with a finish line. Backyard Ultras do not work that way. You run the same loop over and over for as long as you can keep going. BackyardPace understands that structure and tracks it properly, yard by yard, hour by hour. DISTANCE THAT COUNTS DOWN Most apps show how far you have run. Late in a Backyard that is useless. What you want to know is how far until you can stop, so BackyardPace counts the remaining distance down instead. RECOVERY THAT KEEPS YOU HONEST The recovery screen counts down to the next yard and changes colour as time runs short. Green while you have room, orange as the start approaches, red when you need to move. Readable at a glance from across a tent at 3am. YOUR RACE ON STRAVA Connect Strava once and upload from the race summary, with every yard as its own lap. You can also export a standard TCX file and upload it yourself. BUILT BY A BACKYARD ULTRA RUNNER BackyardPace was built by Tim Dove after three years of racing this format, most recently 20 yards at Riverhead, NZ. Every feature exists because of a question asked during an actual race. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO BackyardPace does not tell you how to pace yourself. That is your job. It does not replace race officials or official timing. It does not require mobile signal or an internet connection during a race. In iPhone mode it does not record GPS route or heart rate, because your watch is already doing that. One purchase. No subscription. No locked race-day features.

Ratings & Reviews

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Fixes estimated distance remaining after a missed lap tap. If a yard ended without you tapping Lap complete, the distance readout could stay wrong for the rest of the race.

Version 1.13

The developer, Timothy James Dove, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Linked to You

    The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

    • Health & Fitness
    • Location

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Information

Seller
  • Timothy James Dove
Size
  • 10.9 MB
Category
  • Sports
Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.6 or later.
  • iPhone
    Requires iOS 17.6 or later.
  • Mac
    Requires macOS 14.6 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
  • Apple Vision
    Requires visionOS 1.3 or later.
  • Apple Watch
    Requires watchOS 10.6 or later.
Languages
  • English
Age Rating
4+
Copyright
  • © 2026 Tim Dove
  • Developer Website
  • Privacy Policy

    • Supports

    • Family Sharing

      Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.