What a 15-Hour Backyard Ultra Taught Me About Strength, Resilience and Health After 50

If you're over 50 and want to build strength, improve fitness, lose weight, or stay healthy as you age, success rarely comes from motivation alone. It comes from consistency, resilience, discipline and the ability to keep moving forward when things become difficult. In this article, Reigate strength coach and health coach Chris Deavin shares the lessons he learned while training for and competing in a 15-hour Backyard Ultra endurance race. Discover how endurance running, strength training, recovery, nutrition and mindset all play a role in achieving long-term health and fitness goals after 50. Whether your goal is weight loss, building muscle, improving endurance, completing your first 5K, or creating a healthier lifestyle, these practical lessons will help you develop the habits, resilience and consistency needed to stay strong, fit and capable for life.

Five months ago, I signed up for a Backyard Ultra with a simple goal: stay in the race for 24 hours.

The event took place last weekend in a beautiful part of England. Despite the rain, muddy trails and challenging conditions, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in recent years.

The reason I entered wasn't because I knew I could achieve the goal.

In fact, if I was completely honest with myself, I probably had no more than a 50% chance of reaching 24 hours.

That uncertainty was exactly why I signed up.

As a coach, and as someone who has spent years helping people improve their health and fitness, I've learned that the goals which sit just beyond your comfort zone often bring out the best in you. They demand more preparation, greater consistency and a higher level of commitment.

Knowing there was a genuine possibility I might fail forced me to take the challenge seriously.

Five Months of Preparation

For the next five months, my life revolved around preparing for that race.

Early morning runs became part of my routine. Long weekends were spent building endurance. Strength training sessions became non-negotiable. Recovery, sleep and nutrition all moved higher up my priority list.

I knew that when race day arrived, the event would expose any weaknesses in my preparation.

That is one of the reasons I love endurance challenges.

They are brutally honest.

They don't care how motivated you feel. They don't care how badly you want the result.

They simply reveal the work you've done and the work you haven't.

By the time race day arrived, I felt ready.

A Simple Event That Becomes Brutally Difficult

The Backyard Ultra format sounds simple.

Every hour, runners complete a loop. Finish within the hour, and you continue. Miss the cut-off and your race is over.

But as the hours pass, the challenge becomes something entirely different.

What struck me most wasn't the running itself.

It was the people.

The event attracted exactly the type of people I enjoy being around. People willing to test themselves. People curious about what they are capable of. People who understand that growth usually happens through discomfort rather than avoiding it.

There was a genuine sense of camaraderie throughout the event. Runners encouraged one another, shared stories and helped each other through difficult moments.

Everyone was pursuing their own challenge, but nobody was doing it alone.

When Discipline Replaces Motivation

The first few hours felt relatively comfortable.

Then things gradually became harder.

My legs grew heavier. Concentration required more effort. The challenge became less about fitness and more about focus.

As the race progressed, the world became smaller.

You stop thinking about the finish line. You stop thinking about tomorrow. You focus only on the next lap, the next checkpoint and the next hour.

Motivation has very little to do with it.

By hour ten, nobody is relying on excitement or enthusiasm. Discipline takes over.

You're simply making the decision to keep moving forward. That lesson applies far beyond endurance running.

It's exactly the same lesson I teach many of my clients here in Reigate.

Most people know what they should be doing to improve their health.

They know they should exercise, eat better, and prioritise sleep.

The challenge isn't knowing. The challenge is continuing when motivation disappears, work becomes stressful, and progress feels slow.

Why My Race Ended

My race ended after 15 hours.

The surprising thing was that my legs were still capable of running. Mentally, I was still committed to the challenge. The problem was fuel.

As the hours passed, my digestive system gradually stopped cooperating. Getting enough calories into my body became increasingly difficult. The energy I was using was no longer being replaced effectively enough.

Eventually my energy levels dropped to the point where maintaining the required pace became impossible.

I started the sixteenth lap knowing I was in trouble.

I pushed as hard as I could but couldn't complete the lap within the hour. My race was over. Of course there was disappointment.

After five months of preparation, falling short of a 24-hour target is never easy to accept.

Failure or Feedback?

Once the disappointment faded, something important became clear.

The event hadn't shown me that I wasn't capable of running for 24 hours. It had simply highlighted a weakness in my preparation. That's a very different thing.

One is a judgement. The other is information.

The race exposed a flaw in my fuelling strategy, not a lack of commitment, discipline or resilience.

That distinction matters. Because information gives you something to improve.

I left the event with a better understanding of what happens to my body deep into an endurance challenge. I learned more about nutrition, energy management and staying composed when things don't go according to plan.

Had I achieved my target, I would have celebrated. By falling short, I left with lessons.

The Real Reward Was the Training

Looking back, the most valuable part of the experience wasn't the 15 hours I spent running. It was the five months beforehand.

The training required consistency when motivation was low. It required planning when life became busy. It required choosing actions that supported a bigger goal rather than taking the easier option.

As a result, I became fitter, stronger and more disciplined than I was when I started. And that is often what people miss when it comes to health and fitness.

The goal matters. But the person you become while pursuing the goal matters even more.

Your Version of the Backyard Ultra

Most people reading this will never enter a Backyard Ultra. But everyone has their own version of one.

For some people in Reigate, it's losing weight after years of struggling. For others, it's building strength after 50.

It might be completing your first 5K around Priory Park, returning to exercise after injury, or creating a healthier lifestyle that lasts.

The principle remains exactly the same.

Growth rarely comes from certainty. Growth comes from pursuing something meaningful despite the possibility of failure.

Stronger Than Before

The 24-hour target remains unfinished business. I'll be back. But what I gained from the experience is far more valuable than a medal or a finishing result.

I discovered weaknesses that can be improved.

I found strengths I didn't know I possessed.

And I was reminded that when you commit to something challenging for long enough, you become a stronger version of yourself regardless of the outcome.

The next time I stand on a start line, I'll carry those lessons with me. And I'll be stronger because of them.

Ready to Build Your Own Strength and Resilience After 50?

If you're over 50 and live in Reigate or the surrounding areas, and you know what you should be doing for your health but struggle to stay consistent, I'd love to help.

I offer a free coaching session where we'll discuss your goals, identify what's getting in the way, and create a simple plan to help you move forward with confidence.

Whether your goal is to lose weight, build strength, improve your fitness, or simply feel more capable as you age, the principles are exactly the same: consistency, resilience and accountability.

Book your free coaching session today, and let's build the strongest, healthiest version of you.