Winter Night Owl Trail Marathon, Half and 10k

PLEASE NOTE

The registration for this race is on UltraSignUp.  This page is held for live results on race day.  Final results will be posted on UltraSignUp shortly after the conclusion of this event.

Let's run trails at night!

Night Owl races are offered twice a year. Winter Night Owl will take place on January 10and the Summer Night will be on June 13, 2026. This is our SEVENTH YEAR and we will continue to offer special surprises for our 5 time finishers. Join us on January 10 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 (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 the 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 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!

Swag Deadline
Register by November 1 to guarantee your awesome swag!

Inclusion Statement
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.

Mandatory Gear
Ohio weather can be unpredictable.
Please carry with you:
- headlamp with spare batteries
- cell phone
-mylar blanket and an insulated jacket (recommended) and a hat and gloves and handwarmers if temperature is supposed to be 40F or lower or heavy rain is forecasted

Supporters
Summer Night Owl is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Wagner Subaru

Packet Pickup
Packet pickup will be at the start/finish shelter before the race, starting two hours before marathon start. Please allow marathoners to pick up their packet first. Half marathon runners and 10Ks can pickup their packets all the way until 10 minutes prior to their race start. Please allow enough time for parking as the parking lot might fill fast and you might have to walk from the overflow parking lots (from 0.25 mi up to 1 mile walks)

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