Mountain / Ultra / Trail

Get ready for the USATF Niagara 8 Mile Trail Championships!  For the second year in a row, the championships will be held in conjunction with the Mendon Mauler 8 Mile Trail Race at Mendon Ponds Park in Mendon, NY on Saturday June 1st.  The following prize money is up for grabs:

1st M/F: $100
2nd M/F: $75
3rd M/F: $50
1st Master M/F: $50

You must be a USATF Niagara member to be eligible for prizes and there's no double dipping for masters.  In addition, we are offering a $100 stipend to the top USATF male and female runners if they attend the USATF National 10k Trail Championships on June 29th in Beech Mountain, NC (race details).





The inaugural USATF Niagara Ultra Championships will be held at the Cayuga Trails 50.  This 50 mile race course climbs the gorges around the town of Ithaca, and it will be a challenging and competitive race.  This race will also be the 2014 USATF National 50 Mile race, and we hope to see strong representation from local runners at this race next year.  The following prize money is offered for the 2013 USATF Niagara Championships:

1st M/F: $100
1st Master M/F: $50

Note: only current USATF Niagara members are eligible for prize money.





The USATF Niagara Ultra Series (formally the Western NY Ultra Series) is a collection of exciting ultramarathon in the Niagara region, both on and off road.  To compete in the series, an athlete must complete at least 2 of the following races and earn points.  Longer races earn more points and bonus points can be acquired by finishing additional races.The top male and female overal athletes and age group winners will be awarded at the completion of the series.  In addition, the Cayuga Trails 50 will serve as this year's USATF Niagara Ultra Championship, and will be the National 50 Mile USATF Championship in 2014.  With this series, USATF Niagara aims to support local ultra athletes and spread the word about ultramarathon racing.  We want to see Niagara athletes on the podium of the "home course" National Championship next year!

See the Series Standings and Race Recaps here.
Join the Niagara Ultra Series Facebook Group

Series Schedule:

April 28^th  BPAC 6 Hour, Buffalo, NY
Start your series by seeing how far you can run in 6 hours.  Points are determined by how many laps you can do on the paved 3.25 mile course.

May 25^th  Highland 1 2 3 (30 mile), Fabius, NY
Head out to the wooded Highland Forest to run a 30 miler on trails.  Bring your shorter distance running friends along for the 10 and 20 mile runs (these don’t count toward series points).

 June 8^th  Cayuga Trails 50, Ithaca, NY 
**2013 USATF Niagara Ultra Championship**
**2014 USATF 50 Mile Trail Championship**
Race the inaugural Cayuga Trails 50 around the gorgeous Ithaca gorges.    This race is also the USATF Niagara Ultra Championship, which features an additional prize purse for USATF Niagara members.  Come back next year for the national USATF 50 Mile Trail Championship to compete with the top ultramarathoners in the nation.

 July 6^th  Finger Lakes Fifties (50 mile and 50k), Hector, NY
Run either a 50 mile or 50k race in the Finger Lakes National Forest.  Enjoy the dirt roads and trails in the only national forest in New York.

 August 24^th  Green Lakes Endurance Runs (100k and 50k), Fayetteville, NY
Fall in love with the rolling meadows at Green Lakes State Park.  With 50 or 100k to choose from, you can’t go wrong here. 

 September 21^st  Virgil Crest Ultras (100 mile, 50 mile, and 50k), Virgil, NY
Hope you love hills, because this monster is full of them.  Try the only 100 miler in the series to gain mega points, or enjoy the slightly less difficult 50 miler or 50k races.

 October, 12^th  Can Lake 50 Ultras (50 mile and 50k), Canandaigua, NY
Run through wine country with these scenic road races.  The 50 miler does a full loop of Canandaigua Lake and the 50k is a point to point, but watch out for some tough climbs on both.

 November 2^nd  Mendon Trail Runs (50k), Pittsford, NY
Finish the season with a 5 loop trail run around the rolling eskers in Mendon Ponds.  Bring the whole family to the race so that they can enjoy a fun (non-scoring) 5k, 10k, or 20k on the trails!

Purpose

The purpose of the USATF Niagara Ultra Series is to

1) build interest and participation in trail and road ultras

2) recognize the top runners in the series races

Relationship to Other Ultras

Series scoring will use the best performances of a runner in a small number of series races.  This is by design to discourage over-racing and to enable runners to pursue a series award and still be able to run other events. 

Runners are encouraged to participate in other ultra events in the region and are celebrated for representing Western New York as they participate in ultra races all around the country and the world. 

Race Entry and Rules

Each race in the series is a separate and independent event. Each race director determines their own entry fees, race date, number of entries allowed, cut-off times, and other policies.

Automatic and Free Series Entry

Entry in any series event automatically registers the runner in the Western NY Ultra Series. There is no additional fee. A minimum of two series events must be finished to be eligible for awards.

Runners are not required to be USATF Niagara members to compete in the series, although membership in USATF is encouraged as it helps us to support the running community and develop championships and more series like this one.  Click here to join USATF.

Categories

Men: Open (39 & under), Masters (40-49), Veterans (50 & Over)

Women: Open (39 & under), Masters (40-49), Veterans (50 & Over)

Age for the series will be age on day of the last race run in the series.

Scoring System

Points will be awarded following completion of a series event. A runner must be listed as an official finisher in the results provided by the race director in order to score for that event.

All men will be scored based on the current male course record; all women will be based on the current female course record.  The course record time is worth a maximum score of 100 points.  If a new course record is set, the winner will be scored against the old record and be able to earn more than 100 points.  All finishers are awarded points proportional to their performance.  The male or female course record will be divided by the finisher’s time and that decimal value will be multiplied by 100. For the BPAC 6-hour event, the male and female record number of miles will be used to calculate the points for each runner. 

Distance points will be added to the runner’s scores in the 50 mile, 100k, and 100 mile events.  Finishing a 50 mile race earns the runner 4 bonus points.  The 100k race earns 6 bonus points.  The 100 mile race earns 10 bonus points. 

For example, if the overall female winner sets a new course record at 7:54 in a 50 mile race that had an old course record of 8:00 and the first veteran woman finishes in 10:00:

The first overall woman is awarded (8/7.9 x 100) = 101.27 points + 4 distance points = 105.27 points.

The first veteran woman is awarded (8/10) x 100 = 80 points + 4 distance points = 84 points.

Series Standings

You are encouraged to run three or more races in the series. Series standings and award winners will be determined by the total cumulative points of the best three (3) races for each individual. Two races must be finished to be eligible for awards.  For every additional race completed over three, 20 additional bonus points are accrued.

Standings will be posted on this web site shortly after each race in the series. 

Awards

New Series Champions:  The top scoring male and female in the series will be named Series Champions.  The Series Champions will each receive a medal and a commemorative merchandise award.  In the event of a tie, Co-Champions will be named. 

Age Group Awards:  The top 3 runners in each category will be mailed medals and merchandise awards.

Note:  There will be no duplication of awards, i.e., the runner with the next most points to the Series Champion will be awarded First Place in the age group.

Series Awards will be announced on this web site in November after the last race in the series.

Ultra Championship

The USATF Niagara Ultra Championship will be held in conjuction with the Cayuga Trails 50 series race.  To be eligible for the following championship prizes, runners must have a USATF membership:

• 1^st place M/F USATF Niagara member: $100
• 1^st place Masters M/F USATF Niagara member: $50 (no double dipping)

In 2014, the Cayuga Trails 50 will be the National USATF 50 Mile Trail Championship.  All USATF members are eligible to participate in the national race, and Niagara runners are encouraged to race and represent western NY. 

Questions / Series Committee

For more information, contact Jessica Snyder, the USATF MUT Chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Any questions and/or protests will be decided by the Series Committee. For 2013, the committee members are the Race Directors of each participating race and the Series Scorer: 

• Jeff John - BPAC 6 Hour Distance Classic           
• Mark Driscoll - Highland Forest 1 2 3
• Ian Golden – Cayuga Trails 50 and Virgil Crest Ultras
• Christine Reynolds - Finger Lakes Fifties
• Tim Hardy - Green Lakes Endurance Runs
• Tom Perry - Can Lake 50 Ultras
• Brian Thomas - Mendon Trail Runs
• Gil Robs – Series Scorer

For more information about local ultramarathons visit Western New York Ultras.