Night Owl Trail Marathon, Half, and 10K

There are 4 aid stations on the course:

1. Wellman Meadow (10K turnaround point): manned until all 10K runners come through, unmanned for the rest of the night. Water and Tailwind.
2. Fifty Springs: manned and fully stocked, with water, Tailwind and typical ultra fare (pretzels, trail mix, potato chips, PB&J, bananas, etc.).
3. Day Lodge: water, Tailwind and limited nutrition (granola bars and/or gels).
4. Start/Finish: fully stocked, with water, Tailwind, pretzels, potato chips, PB&J, hummus avocado wraps, and warm food (including vegan options).

This race is cupless. There will be no cups at aid stations, so carry a collapsible cup to get drinks.

Packet pickup is at the start/finish shelter before the race, starting 90 minutes before the marathon start. Marathoners pick up their packets first. Half marathon runners and 10K runners can pick up their packets until 10 minutes before their race start.

Allow enough time for parking, as the lot may fill fast. You may have to walk from the overflow parking lots, a walk of 0.25 to 1 mile.

Register by November 20 to guarantee your swag. Hoodies are back by popular demand.

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.

Empower Ultras is proud to be a Trail Sisters approved race. We offer:

• Equal podium spots
• Equal prize money and awards
• Women's specific swag and apparel (no unisex t-shirts)
• Menstrual products at all aid stations
• Equal opportunity and space for women on the starting line

Finishers receive owl medals that glow in the dark, and all registered runners receive high quality swag. Awards go to top finishers in both genders.

Winners of our marathon race will receive a free entry to Winter Night Owl.

Trail and ultrarunning would not exist without the help of volunteers. Volunteers can earn credit towards future Empower Ultras races. Volunteer opportunities will be linked on empowerultras.com.

Empower Ultras was founded by Aneta (Nettie) Zeppettella and Jennifer Russo, who met through ultrarunning and 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 race director for a local club, and Jennifer has extensive marketing experience.

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. Violating this rule might lead to disqualification.

You will need to climb over a short railing on St Rt 73 to get back on the trail (there will be a large sign and marking. We put the sign "Caution Runners on the Road right at the turn into the trail (over the railing)

Ohio weather can be unpredictable. Please carry with you:

• Headlamp with spare batteries
• Cell phone
• Mylar blanket
• Insulated jacket (recommended), hat, gloves and hand warmers if the temperature is forecast to be 40F or lower or heavy rain is forecast
• Winter gear applies to Winter Night Owl only
• For Summer Night Owl, consider a light waterproof jacket if heavy rain is predicted

Cutoffs are for safety of our runners and volunteers and will be strictly enforced.

Marathon

• Race starts at 4 pm. Runners will have 9 hours to complete the race (until 1 am).
• Runners will have to start loop 2 by 8:15 pm (4 hours 15 minutes to complete loop 1, 4 hours 45 minutes to complete loop 2. Loop 2 will be done completely in the dark.)

Half Marathon

• Half Marathon starts at 5:30 pm. Runners will have 7.5 hrs to complete the race.

10K

• 10K starts at 5 pm (NOTE THE NEW START THIS YEAR - before Half Marathon race), runners must complete the race by 1 am.

Sunset is around 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 the back part of the marathon and half marathon loop has a lot of back to back rollers. The level of difficulty is very weather dependent: if the trails are dry they are pretty runnable, if we have a wet winter the mud can be unrelenting.

There can be heavy snow or ice too. Same with the summer edition: it can be wet and open sun sections can be taxing if very hot and humid on race day. Wear and carry proper gear.