NEW DISTANCES! Second year event in Beautiful East Fork State Park
Please join us for our second annual race at East Fork State Park! In 2024 we will also offer a 100 mile distance and a 15 mile distance in addition to the 100K and 50K. The course will travel counterclockwise on beautiful and challenging trails around the William H. Harsha Lake in East Fork State Park. The entire loop is 33-ish miles, so 1 loop for the 50K, 2 loops for the 100K, and 3 loops for the 100 miler, how cool is that?? The 15 miler will be an out-and-back on a really nice and smooth backpack and MTB trails. The loop course will follow some mountain bike trails, hiking trails, a tiny bit of park road, and a fair amount of the Steve Newman Worldwalker Perimeter trail. In August most of the trails should be fairly dry but you will cross several creeks (two of them could potentially be waist-deep - the rope will be provided). The creek crossings will give you a chance to cool off (they will feel amazing in August)! Throughout your journey, you will experience some beautiful lake views, glorious single-track trails, a waterfall in a beautiful pine forest area, an open field full of wild hibiscus flowers, fast and smooth miles on MBT, and a bit of a bike path, and some refreshing creek crossings. This is an experience you don’t want to miss!
All entrants will receive high-quality swag and unique awards for finishers.
Let’s run the trails at night!
Night Owl races are offered twice a year. Join us on June 1, 2024 in beautiful Caesar Creek State Park for a little night trail magic. Whether you are a seasoned ultra runner or just getting started on trails, this is a perfect way to experience the thrill of running through the woods at night. We are offering full marathon, half marathon, and 10K distances. • Great Company • Excellent Food • Gorgeous trails! THIS IS A CUPLESS RACE! THERE WILL BE NO CUPS AT AID STATIONS. PLEASE CARRY A COLLAPSIBLE CUP WITH YOU to get drinks at aid stations. The course is a beautiful single-track trail around Caesar Creek Lake (a combination of yellow perimeter loop and red/green trail near Wellman Meadow). There will be different start times for the different distances to allow participants to spread out on the trail and experience the gorgeous sunset over Caesar Creek Lake. All participants must carry mandatory gear: headlamp and/or waist light with extra batteries, water bottle (or bladder), collapsible cup, and fully charged cell phone. Finishers will receive cool owl medals that glow in the dark. All registered runners will receive high-quality swag. We will have awards for top finishers in both genders.
There will be 4 aid stations on the course:
1. Wellman Meadow (10K turnaround point): it will be manned until all 10K runners come through, unmanned for the remainder of the night. Will have water and Tailwind.
2. Fifty Springs (manned and fully stocked aid station with water, Tailwind, and typical ultra fare (pretzels, trail mix, potato chips, PB&J, bananas, etc).
3. Day Lodge (water and tailwind and limited nutrition (granola bars and/or gels).
4. Start/Finish (fully stocked aid station with water, Tailwind, pretzels, potato chips, PB&J, hummus avocado wraps, and warm food (including vegan options).
Empower Ultras is proud to be a Trail Sisters-approved race. We offer Equal Podium Spots. Equal Prize Money & Awards. Women’s specific swag & apparel. (no unisex t-shirts). Menstrual products at all aid stations. Equal opportunity/space for women on the starting line.
Empower Ultras was founded by Aneta (Nettie) Zeppettella and Jennifer Russo, who met through ultrarunning and over the years gained lots of experience, finishing some of the hardest ultras on the East Coast and beyond. Nettie has directed ultrarunning events for several years as a volunteer RD for a local club and Jennifer has extensive marketing experience. We want to empower you to try to push your limits and create your new adventures. Please join us. We will cheer for you with our whole hearts!
Course and Cutoffs
Cutoffs are for the safety of our runners and volunteers and will be strictly enforced.
Full Marathon cutoffs:
- Race starts at 6 pm. Runners will have 9 hours to complete the race (until 3 am).
- Runners will have to start loop 2 by 10:15 pm (4 hours 15 minutes to complete loop 1 (there will be daylight for the first three of the marathon race with sunset at 9 pm), 4 hours 45 minutes to complete loop 2. (Loop 2 will be done completely in the dark.)
Half Marathon cutoff:
- Half Marathon starts at 7:30 pm. Runners will have 7.5 hrs to complete the race.
10K cutoff:
- 10K starts at 8 pm, runners must complete the race by 3am.
Sunset is at 9 pm. Caesar Creek trails are heavily wooded and will get dark sooner. The course is mostly single-track trail with rolling hills. There are no significant climbs on the course, but - especially back part of the marathon and half marathon loop - has a lot of back-to-back rollers. The difficulty level is very weather-dependent - if the trails are dry - they are pretty runnable, if we have a wet spring, the mud can be unrelenting.
There will be some running on the wide shoulder of the road (North Clarksville (all distances) and Rt 73 (marathon and half) - please stay in the shoulder at all times and never run more then two people abreast as roads are open to car traffic. Those violating this rule might be disqualified. Winners of our marathon race will receive a free entry to Winter Night Owl .
Refund Policy
There will be no refunds. If we need to postpone the race, we will roll over all registrations to the new date or offer participants an opportunity to run a future Night Owl event.
Volunteers
Trail and ultrarunning wouldn't exist without the help of incredible volunteers. Please help us make this event successful. Volunteers can earn credit towards future Empower Ultras races.
The Fifth Annual Vernal Equinox will once again take place on the beautiful grounds of Majestic Farm in Batavia, Ohio on April 5 - April 7. Majestic Farm is Cincinnati's premier equestrian facility with beautiful wooded trails, along with scenic paths along the woods, and around lakes. This is truly a unique venue! Again this year we are offering free clean horse stalls by the start/finish area to use to store your supplies during the race. The 48-hour runners will have the stalls located closest to the Start/Finish. You can share stalls with friends, just let us know who you want to share with. The stalls are generous in size and four runners can easily share a stall.
Vernal Equinox will be a cupless race. You will receive a reusable cup with your race packet. There will be no paper cups at aid station. We will provide bowls and plates for hot food.
Cash Prizes for 48 and 24-Hour Course Records.
Runners of all races, ethnicities, and gender identities are welcome at Empower Ultras events and races. We are a women-owned and immigrant-owned company and inclusivity is very important to us. We encourage everyone, regardless of ability, age, body type, educational background, ethnicity, gender, gender expression/identity, nationality, political affiliation, race, religion, or any other demographic to participate in all our events. We support diverse groups through our donations. We are proud to offer Athletes With Disability divisions in our races. We are constantly learning and we encourage input into our efforts to improve diversity at our events.
The course is 2 miles in length and traverses through wooded trails, lush growths, and gorgeous meadows. Beautiful, smooth, and fast trail with a large barn at start/finish of every loop. Typical ultrarunning food will be provided at the aid station along with some hot food items such as homemade soup, grilled cheese, fresh coffee, etc. Vegan options will be available.
All participants can reserve free clean horse stalls at the time of registration to use as staging/napping/storage areas during the race. RV hookups are available for $45. Superior swag with high-quality Rabbit long-sleeved shirts and custom finisher awards that are handmade in Ohio. Belt buckles for those who run 100 miles in 24 or 48 hours as well as 150 mi and 200 mi buckles. Part of the proceeds will be donated to Project Congo, a charity founded by local resident, endurance athlete, and philanthropist, Dr Sylvia Gleason. Please check projectcongo.org and watch a moving video about Dr Gleason’s work in Congo!
We offer four different events:
- 48 Hour (starting Friday at 7 am, finishing Sunday at 7 am)
- 24 Hour (Saturday 7 am - Sunday 7 am)
- 12 Hour (Saturday 8 am - 8 pm)
- 8 Hour (Saturday 8 am - 4 pm)
Empower Ultras is proud to be Trail Sisters approved race.
