⏵ Course guide · Ohio's biggest ultra
Burning River sends its 100 mile field out-and-back from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and back, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit Metro Parks on a mix of towpath, singletrack, and park road. Heading into its 20th anniversary in 2026, it is Ohio's biggest ultra event and part of the Midwest Grand Slam. I will walk you through the course and start options first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official RunSignUp event page. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
The 100 mile course runs out-and-back from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and back, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Summit Metro Parks system, on a mix of towpath, Buckeye Trail singletrack, and park roads.
You have a real choice on the 100 mile distance: a 2:00 AM early start with a 32 hour cutoff, or a 4:00 AM start with a 30 hour cutoff. The early start gives more room but adds two extra hours of overnight running before dawn. Pick based on your realistic finishing time, not on which start sounds more appealing at registration.
Towpath sections are flat and fast, singletrack on the Buckeye Trail slows you down with roots and uneven footing, and stretches of park road give your legs a different kind of fatigue than either. Because the course mixes all three, your effort and pace should shift by segment rather than holding one number for the whole 100 miles.
The out-and-back format means the second half of your race is ground you already covered on the way out. Use your outbound splits to build a real plan for the return: note where the singletrack slows you down, where the towpath lets you recover, and how your legs handle the road stretches, then apply that knowledge instead of guessing on the way back.
With towpath, singletrack, and road all in play, and up to 32 hours to work with depending on your start, Burning River asks you to pace by terrain and effort, not by a single flat number.
The fast towpath sections invite you to push, and that is exactly when discipline matters most, because the singletrack and road stretches later will not forgive miles you spent recklessly early. A grade-adjusted pace approach, applied honestly to each surface type, keeps your effort consistent even as your raw pace naturally shifts.
You get a full dataset at the turnaround: use it. A vert-aware finish prediction built off your actual outbound splits is a far better guide to your total time than any generic 100 mile estimate, and it lets you check your margin against your chosen cutoff, 32 or 30 hours, while you still have time to adjust.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Whichever start you choose, most 100 mile finishers here spend part of the race in late-July Ohio heat and part of it running through the night, so your fueling plan needs to cover both.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, adjusting slightly by segment: the faster towpath miles are easier to fuel through, while the technical singletrack sections can slow digestion just like heat does. Keep your intake consistent rather than banking calories on the easy stretches and skipping them on the hard ones.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners, leaning toward the higher end through the hottest daytime hours. If you take the early 2:00 AM start, you will hit peak heat mid-race rather than late, so plan your sodium curve around your actual start time, not a generic race-day assumption.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a hot Ohio July day with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact mixed-surface out-and-back profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for a long day and night on trail, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Burning River is an out-and-back 100 miler from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and back, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit Metro Parks on a mix of towpath, Buckeye Trail singletrack, and park roads. It does not have the vert of a mountain 100, but it is a long day (or day and night) on varied surfaces, and as Ohio's biggest ultra event and a Midwest Grand Slam race, the field and the logistics are both serious. Runners can choose a 2:00 AM early start with a 32 hour cutoff, or a 4:00 AM start with a tighter 30 hour cutoff, so pick the option that matches your expected pace.
The 100 mile course runs out-and-back, from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and back, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit Metro Parks. The surface mixes towpath, singletrack on the Buckeye Trail, and stretches of park road, so your footing and effort shift throughout the day rather than staying on one terrain type the whole way. Running the second half in reverse over ground you already covered is a real advantage: you know exactly what is coming.
Plan for a long July day and likely a full night on trail, somewhere in the 20 to 32 hour range depending on your pace and start option. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, leaning higher through the heat of a late-July Ohio afternoon. The mixed towpath, singletrack, and road surfaces mean your pace, and therefore your fueling rhythm, will shift more than on a single-terrain course, so build a plan that flexes rather than one flat number for the whole day. Use the free ultra fueling calculator to build your numbers before race day.
The 100 mile race offers two start options: a 2:00 AM early start with a 32 hour cutoff, or a 4:00 AM start with a 30 hour cutoff. Pick the option that matches your expected finishing time rather than defaulting to the later start. The 50 mile, run point-to-point from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park, starts at 5:30 AM with a 15 hour cutoff. The Back Half 50M runs the reverse direction, Silver Springs Park to Cuyahoga Falls, starting at 4:00 PM with an 18 hour cutoff. The Marathon offers a 6:30 AM start with a 14 hour cutoff or an 8:00 AM start with a 12 hour cutoff, and the 100M 8-person relay follows the same out-and-back course as the 100M, starting at 7:00 AM with a 27 hour cutoff.
Western Reserve Racing organizes Burning River, which has grown into Ohio's biggest ultra event heading into its 20th anniversary in 2026. The race travels through some of the region's most scenic terrain, including Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Summit Metro Parks, and is one of the races that make up the Midwest Grand Slam of Ultrarunning alongside events like the Mohican 100.
The out-and-back format is a genuine advantage for a first 100: after the turnaround at Silver Springs Park, you are running ground you already covered, which simplifies pacing and takes some of the uncertainty out of the second half. The mixed towpath, singletrack, and park road surfaces are varied but not technical in the way a rocky mountain course is, and the two-start-time option lets you choose a cutoff buffer that matches your realistic pace. As Ohio's biggest ultra event, the aid station support and crowd on course are strong assets for a nervous first-timer.
This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.