Rumble on the Ridge: A Driftless Endurance Backyard Ultra!
The Embark fox family was warmly welcomed by Driftless Endurance to Rumble on the Ridge 2025! The Rumble is a last-person-standing style backyard ultra held at the RD’s families farm just west of Madison, WI. Having never attended a backyard ultra, we didn’t quite realize how unique the experience was going to be.
In the backyard spirit, one lap needed to be completed every 20 minutes, and in the Driftless sprit this meant HILLS! The route was 1.2 miles of farm trail with 285 ft of elevation gain, and to keep things interesting the direction was reversed every 4 hours. In the words of Driftless Endurance, More Dirt More Vert!!
Due to the logistics of volunteering and helping support events, Eric the Fox doesn’t often get the chance to participate in group events, missing out on the social excitement of lining up together. RD Rickey was incredibly gracious and teased Eric with the idea of “running a few laps” in addition to setting up a table with Embark product samples. Always up for mischievous fun, Eric leapt at the chance! 78 runners and an Embark Fox crept off the starting line at 8am, rendezvousing as a group at the Drifty Mile Trailhead every 20 minutes to enjoy another round.
The beauty of the backyard/LPS format is in the community supported competition, which isn’t so much about beating someone, but rather seeking “one more lap” to keep being part of the shared experience. Every lap is an opportunity to run with someone new, to mix it up at both the front and back of the pack at the same time, embracing that beautiful trail energy in a format that makes ultra trail running approachable to everyone. Eric the Fox didn’t plan to run, and certainly didn’t train or develop a proper “fueling strategy” leading into the race (cheese curds, apples & Embark). Even so, there was enough Good Energy going around that Eric ended up running 15 laps covering 19 miles and 4200ft vert, not bad considering he made new insoles from “upcycled pallet corrugate” for his worn out shoes the night before, hoping to stay out for one more lap : )
Thank you Rickey & Katie!
