THE YARDThe Longest Night / Dec 19 to 20, 2026

Runner's race guide

Everything you need to do before, during and after The Longest Night.

1. The race in one minute
2. Key facts and your start time
3. Before race day
4. Race morning
5. What you do each hour
6. Logging a loop
7. What makes a loop count
8. Reading the corral
9. Going out, finishing, One Loop
10. Hardware
11. Safety
12. Questions and fixes

The race in one minute

Every hour, on the hour, you run 4.167 miles. You do that until you stop or until you have done it 24 times.

You run wherever you are: your street, a park, a track, a trail, a treadmill. Everybody in the race starts each loop at the same moment, on Central time, no matter where they live.

You prove each loop by uploading the GPS file from your watch here in THE YARD.

Three rules decide everything:

1. Start each loop at or after the top of the hour. Never before.
2. Cover at least 4.167 miles before the next top of the hour. More is fine. You never have to hit the number exactly.
3. Do it again the next hour. Miss one and you are out.

Key facts

Your start time

The race runs on Central time. Find your own clock time below and use it for every loop. Once you sign in, THE YARD also shows the next bell in your own local time.

Before race day

Do these four things well before December 19. Registration alone does not put you in the race.

1. Join the corral in THE YARD

1. Select Log loops.
2. Select First time here.
3. Enter the email and last name you used when you registered.
4. Choose the name you want shown in the results and where you are running (city and state).
5. Choose a passcode of 6 or more characters. Write it down.
6. Select Join the corral. Your name now appears on the Corral page.

If the site says no registration was found, the roster may not include you yet. Wait a day and try again, or contact the race director.

2. Plan your route

• Pick a loop or an out and back that you can repeat safely in the dark.
• Make it a little longer than 4.167 miles. Aim for 4.2. GPS is not exact, and 4.16 does not count.
• Check park hours, gates, lighting and traffic. About 14 of the 24 hours are dark.
• Choose a base: your house, your car or a table. That is where your food, water, clothes and charger live.
• Have a backup. A treadmill or a second route saves your race if weather turns.

3. Do a dry run with your watch

This is the step people skip and regret.

1. Record a short run or walk on your watch.
2. Get the file off your watch or app. See Logging a loop for your brand.
3. Upload it under Log loops.
4. Before the race, the site will answer that the activity started before the race start. That message means the upload worked and the file was read.

4. Tell someone

Tell a person where you will be running and when. Tell them again on Saturday.

Race morning

• Watch fully charged, charger and cable at your base
• Phone charged, signed in to THE YARD
• Headlamp or lights, with spare batteries, plus reflective gear
• Food and water for the whole day set out at your base
• Layers for a cold December night, dry socks, a chair, a blanket
• Someone knows your route and your plan
• Check the countdown on the Corral page against your own clock
• Be standing at your start point a few minutes before the first bell

During the race: what you do each hour

Every hour is the same five steps.

1. Wait for the bell. The bell is the top of the hour: 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 Central and so on. The countdown on the Corral page shows it to the second.
2. Start a new activity on your watch at the bell or just after it. Do not press start early. An activity that begins even a few seconds before the hour belongs to the hour before, and the loop will not count.
3. Run or walk at least 4.167 miles. THE YARD counts any loop of 4.167 miles or more, so you never have to hit the number exactly. 4.2, 4.3 or 5 miles all count. Only a loop under 4.167 fails, so aim for 4.2 on your watch to be safe. Pace is up to you. A loop in 45 minutes gives you 15 minutes of rest. A loop in 58 minutes gives you 2.
4. Stop and save the activity. Each loop is its own activity. Do not record the whole day as one long file.
5. Rest, eat, and log the loop. Whatever is left of the hour is yours. Upload the file now if you have time. If you do not, upload it later. Then be ready for the next bell.

Things that are allowed

• Walking some or all of a loop
• Changing your route, your surface or your location between loops
• Using a treadmill for some loops and running outside for others
• Crew, pacers and company
• Logging your loops late, including after the race ends

Things that end your race

• Starting a loop before the top of the hour
• Not reaching 4.167 miles before the next top of the hour
• Skipping an hour. Extra miles in one hour never carry over to the next

If you cannot upload between loops

Keep running. The results table will show you as Awaiting log until your files arrive. Your loops still count once you upload them, because the timestamps inside each file prove when you ran.

Logging a loop

Logging a loop means uploading the file your watch recorded. THE YARD reads the file and decides which loop it is. You never pick a loop number.

Step 1. Get the file

THE YARD accepts three file types: FIT, TCX and GPX. Any of them works.

Menus change from time to time. That is one more reason to do the dry run.

Step 2. Upload it

1. Select Log loops. Sign in with your email and passcode.
2. Under Log a loop, select Choose File and pick the file.
3. If the loop was on a treadmill, tick the treadmill box.
4. Select Log this loop.

Step 3. Read the answer

Your 24 hours are listed under Your night, hour by hour so you can see what is logged and what is missing.

Strava auto sync

If a Strava auto sync panel appears on the Log loops page, you can connect your Strava account and your loops will arrive on their own. If the panel is not there, sync is not available and file upload is the way to log. Know how to upload a file either way.

What makes a loop count

A loop counts when all four of these are true:

1. The activity started at or after the top of the hour, Central time.
2. It reached 4.167 miles or more before the next top of the hour.
3. Every loop before it also counts.
4. It was recorded by a device. Typed-in entries and screenshots have no timestamp anybody can check.

Why a loop gets rejected, and what to do

If you believe a loop was rejected in error, contact the race director. The race director can review the file and approve the loop by hand.

Reading the corral

The Corral page is the live results table: every runner, one row each, updated all day and night.

Use the search box to find a friend by name or city.

Going out, finishing, and the One Loop entry

When you are done, tell the corral. Sign in, scroll to Your entry and select I am out. Going out is the ordinary result. It happens to nearly everybody.

If you reach loop 24, you finish. Everybody still standing at 8:00 AM Central on Sunday finishes together and is listed together. There is no loop 25 and no last one standing.

The assist goes to the last runner out before the final loop closes.

Upload anything you have not logged. You can log loops after the race. Results stay provisional until the race director reviews them and locks the table.

One Loop entry

You run the first hour of the same race: same 8:00 AM Central bell, same 4.167 miles, same results table. Log your loop the same way as everyone else.

If loop 1 feels good, you can upgrade by simply starting loop 2 at the 9:00 AM Central bell and logging it. There is no form to fill in. From then on you are in the full event under the full rules.

Hardware

One Loop entrants earn the patch. There are no buckles at this race. Hardware is mailed once results are final.

Safety: you are on your own

There is no course, no aid station, no marshal, no sweep and no medical support. Nobody from the race is coming to find you. You choose your route and you are solely responsible for it.

• Tell someone your route and check in with them through the night.
• Carry your phone on every loop.
• Wear lights and reflective gear in the dark, and run facing traffic.
• Know your park's hours and do not trespass.
• Dress for the cold between loops. You cool down fast when you stop.
• Stopping is always allowed. If something feels wrong, stop.

Questions and fixes

I forgot my passcode. Contact the race director to have it reset. Then set a new one under First time here.

The site says no registration found. Use the exact email and last name from your registration. If you registered recently, the roster may not be updated yet.

My watch died mid loop. Without a recorded file there is nothing to check, so the loop cannot be logged in the normal way. Contact the race director with whatever record you have.

I started my watch a few seconds early. The loop will be rejected. Contact the race director, who decides whether to approve it.

My watch says 4.17 but the site says the loop is short. GPS files can read slightly different from the watch face. This is why you aim for 4.2 on every loop.

I recorded two loops as one long activity. Only the first loop in that file can count. Record each loop separately.

Can I pause my watch during a loop? Yes. The site looks at clock time, so a pause does not buy you extra time.

Can I walk? Yes. Any pace on foot that covers the distance inside the hour.

Do I have to upload during the race? No. Loops logged later still count. Uploading as you go keeps the live table honest for everyone watching.