⏵ Course guide · Prairie Spirit Trail, Kansas
The Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza is the fall Epic Ultras event on the crushed limestone Prairie Spirit Trail out of Ottawa, Kansas, six distances from a Half Marathon up to a full 100 Mile, each with its own out-and-back turnaround town. I will walk you through the course and turnarounds first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a flat, USATF-certified rail-trail. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official RunSignup event page, with the date cross-checked against a second independent source since the official page reads stale. Check the current year details before you commit. Race logistics can change year to year.
Every distance shares the same start in Ottawa and the same Prairie Spirit Trail, just with a different turnaround town depending on how far you are going.
The race describes its surface as "primarily on a crushed limestone trail, with asphalt paths" as the route passes through small Kansas towns along the Prairie Spirit Trail. It is a smooth, non-technical surface, easy on the legs compared to singletrack, and easy to navigate as an out-and-back.
The 100 mile turns around at Iola, the 50 mile at Garnett, the 100K at Welda, the 50K and Marathon at Richmond, and the Half Marathon at Princeton. All start and finish at 220 W. 17th Street in Ottawa, so the further you sign up for, the further down the trail your turnaround sits.
The longer distances (100 Mile, 100K, 50 Mile) start together at 6:00 AM, and the shorter ones (50K, Marathon, Half Marathon) start together at 7:00 AM, each preceded by a pre-race briefing 15 minutes before the gun. Aid stations sit roughly every 5 miles the whole way, offering water, electrolyte drinks, and food.
With generous time limits (30 hours for the 100 Mile, 29 for everything else) and a smooth, flat surface, the out-and-back structure is your biggest pacing tool.
Because every distance is an out-and-back to a named turnaround town, your split at that halfway point gives you a genuinely reliable read on your finishing time. Run the outbound leg conservatively and use it to calibrate your effort for the return rather than guessing blind.
Crushed limestone with occasional asphalt is about as consistent a surface as ultra running offers. A steady, even pace will serve you better here than surging between aid stations, especially over the longer distances where cumulative fatigue, not terrain, is what eventually slows you down.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
With aid roughly every 5 miles, you have frequent, predictable resupply, so your job is mostly dialing in your per-hour numbers.
For the 50K, 50 Mile, 100K, or 100 Mile, aim for roughly 40 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour and sodium in the 400 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusted for a late-October Kansas day that can still run warm in the afternoon. For the Marathon or Half Marathon, 30 to 60 grams per hour is plenty for a shorter race.
With a 30 hour limit, the 100 Mile likely takes you through the night. Cooler overnight temperatures reduce sweat losses, but layer for the temperature swing and keep caffeine timing part of your per-hour plan for the second half of the effort.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your pace, and your chosen distance 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 whichever Rails-to-Trails distance you pick, from the Half Marathon up to the 100 Mile. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your distance demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
They are two separate editions on the same Prairie Spirit Trail out of Ottawa, Kansas, both put on by Epic Ultras, but roughly six months apart. The Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra runs in March, while the Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza, sometimes listed as the "Fall Ultra Extravaganza," runs in October. Same trail, same organizer, different season and a different field of runners each time.
The course runs primarily on a crushed limestone trail with some asphalt paths through small towns, following the Prairie Spirit Trail out of Ottawa. Each distance has its own turnaround point: Iola for the 100 mile, Garnett for the 50 mile, Welda for the 100K, Richmond for the 50K and Marathon, and Princeton for the Half Marathon, so the further you run, the further out your turnaround sits.
The 100 Mile has a 30 hour time limit. Every other distance, 100K down through the Half Marathon, shares a 29 hour limit. Given the flat, crushed limestone surface, these are generous windows built for a wide range of finishing paces.
The crushed limestone rail-trail surface is genuinely non-technical and forgiving on your legs compared to rocky singletrack. The challenge scales with distance you choose: the 100 Mile's out-and-back to Iola is a serious test of sustained pacing and fueling over flat terrain, while the Half Marathon and 50K are approachable, fast-feeling efforts on good footing.
The 50K is a strong choice for a first ultra here: a non-technical crushed-limestone surface, aid stations roughly every 5 miles, USATF certification, and a generous 29 hour window all reduce the variables you have to manage. The out-and-back structure also means you retrace your own steps, so you always know exactly how much course is left.
Aid stations are spaced approximately every 5 miles along the Prairie Spirit Trail, offering water, electrolyte drinks, and food. That spacing holds for every distance since they all share the same out-and-back trail, just to different turnaround towns.
Yes. All courses are USATF certified and record eligible, so if you are chasing a personal best or an age-group mark on a flat, measured course, this event is set up for it.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/kansas-rails-to-trails-extravaganza">The Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/kansas-rails-to-trails-extravaganza" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course, cutoffs, and dates 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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