⏵ Course guide · Kenai Peninsula winter ultra
Homer Epic sends runners, skiers, and bikers out through the Caribou Hills on the same winter trail system, starting and finishing at McNeil Canyon Elementary School. I will walk you through the course and the mandatory gear list first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a cold-weather ultra where daylight and trail conditions matter as much as fitness. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Homer Epic race page. Start times for 2027 were not yet posted at last check, so confirm the current-year schedule before you commit.
Both distances start and finish at McNeil Canyon Elementary School, at roughly 1,300 ft elevation in the Caribou Hills above Homer, and share the course with skiers and bikers.
The 50K covers 2,409 ft of gain on a loop out to Caribou Lake and back on the Caribou Hills winter trail system. It is a genuinely runnable winter ultra distance, with the terrain itself being less the crux than the cold-weather logistics: layering, fueling that does not freeze, and pacing yourself through a shorter mid-March day.
The 100K runs the same 50K loop, then adds an out-and-back on the North Fork Hills trail to a checkpoint and back, which is where most of the extra 3,875 ft of gain comes from (6,284 ft total against the 50K's 2,409 ft). That extra out-and-back segment is the real test in the second half, arriving after you already have 50K of winter trail behind you.
Homer Epic requires a headlamp with fresh batteries, a rear flashing light (mandatory from 8 PM to 8 AM), an insulated water container of at least 32 oz, enough food to finish, navigation in the form of a map and compass or a GPS device, an insulated and windproof jacket and pants, and a fire starter. Test every piece of that list on a cold training run before race day. A headlamp that works fine at home can still fail you at hour 15 in the Caribou Hills.
Grooming happens weather permitting, so the trail underfoot can range from firm and fast to soft and slow depending on recent snowfall, and your pace should flex with it rather than fight it.
A pace that felt easy on a dry summer trail can be a real effort in fresh snow or on a soft-groomed section. Set your pace expectations by effort and heart rate rather than a fixed number, and build in a buffer against the 24-hour time limit for whatever trail conditions you find on race morning.
Mid-March in Homer still has meaningfully shorter days than a summer ultra, and slower-moving parts of the field will spend real time on course after dark. Plan your headlamp battery strategy and pacing around finishing in daylight if that matters to you, or embrace the night section and make sure your lighting and layering plan covers it.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
Cold weather changes fueling in ways a summer ultra does not force on you: gels and drinks can partially freeze, and your body burns extra calories just staying warm.
Carry gels and soft flasks inside a jacket layer or close to your body so they stay usable in Caribou Hills temperatures. Aim for a steady carbohydrate intake through the race, since cold-weather effort burns through glycogen faster than the same pace on a warm day, and dial in your own carb, fluid, and sodium numbers before race day rather than guessing on course.
The checkpoints on course offer water and snacks, but do not rely on those alone for a 50K or 100K effort. Real food and warm calories, if you can carry or access them, go a long way on a long cold day, both for fueling and for morale when temperatures drop.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight and your own finish-time target 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 training plan built around YOUR fitness and the vertical this course demands. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability a 50K or 100K in the Caribou Hills asks for, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The elevation numbers alone tell you a lot: 6,284 ft of gain over 100K on winter trail, on top of cold-weather logistics you do not deal with in a summer ultra. You are managing layers, fueling that does not freeze, and daylight that is short in mid-March at this latitude, all while covering real vertical in the Caribou Hills. The 50K, at 2,409 ft of gain, is a serious but more approachable winter ultra for a first attempt at the distance.
Both distances start and finish at McNeil Canyon Elementary School. The 50K is a loop out to Caribou Lake and back on the Caribou Hills winter trail system. The 100K follows the same 50K loop, then adds an out-and-back on the North Fork Hills trail to a checkpoint and return, which is where most of the extra elevation gain comes from. The course is marked with checkpoints offering water and snacks, and grooming is done weather permitting, so trail conditions can vary year to year.
The race requires a headlamp with fresh batteries, a rear flashing light (mandatory from 8 PM to 8 AM), an insulated water container of at least 32 oz, enough food to get you through the distance, navigation (a map and compass, or a GPS device), an insulated and windproof jacket and pants, and a fire starter. This is standard for a serious winter ultra where you could be out well after dark in Alaska in March, and it is worth testing every piece of that kit on a training run before race day, not for the first time on course.
The official time limit is 24 hours. Within that window, pace yourself for shortening winter daylight in mid-March and for trail conditions that depend on recent snowfall and grooming, both of which can slow a running pace more than a dry summer trail would.
You can run it. Homer Epic is open to runners, skiers, and bikers (including fat bikes) on the same course, and you can choose your mode right up until bib pickup. Just know you are sharing a groomed winter trail with skiers and bikers, so trail etiquette and awareness of who is coming up behind you matter more here than on a foot-only race.
The 50K is a reasonable entry point if you already have ultra experience in warmer conditions and want to add winter logistics to the mix: cold-weather fueling, layering, and the mandatory gear list are all real skills the race forces you to practice. The 100K is a bigger step, closer to 6,300 ft of gain on top of everything the 50K already asks of you, so it is a better fit once you have at least one winter ultra or a strong cold-weather training block behind you.
Registration opens November 1, 2026, and the field is capped at 150 entrants across all distances and modes, so it can fill. Pricing is tiered by how early you register, with 2026 rates running $135 to $175 for the 50K and $175 to $240 for the 100K depending on timing. Contact the race directly at info@homerepic.com or 907-399-2174 with entry questions.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/homer-epic-100k-50k">The Homer Epic 100K & 50K course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/homer-epic-100k-50k" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Homer Epic 100K & 50K course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and gear requirements 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.
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