After a relatively slow and quiet start to the 2021 racing season, the final weekend of March was sizzling with several races across the country and some big performances by runners from New England. Most notably, two Massachusetts men — Scott Traer and Lance Doherty — finished in the top three overall at the Umstead 100-miler in North Carolina while Crystal Ross also had a big day and came within 2 minutes of finishing on the women’s podium. In addition to six races from the last weekend of March, we’ve also highlighted the big day that some local runners had a week earlier at the F.I.T. Challenge 50K in Rhode Island. The COVID-19 vaccination rate is rising and so are the number of in-person ultras taking place, making this a jam-packed roundup.
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Trail ultramarathons continue to return from their COVID-19 pandemic-induced hibernation, and Massachusetts residents took part in two of those races during the March 21-22 weekend. Highlighting the weekend was Natick’s Molly Karp who earned a spot on the podium in the 50-mile race at the MST 100 Endurance Races in North Carolina, while Somerville’s Nicholas Reid tackled some tough trails with the Vegas skyline as a backdrop. Both events are included in this week’s roundup.
In-person ultras remain on hold in Massachusetts as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout slowly gains steam in the Bay State, but in-person racing continues to take place in several other states along the East Coast. Two of them were held last weekend and had Massachusetts residents among the finishers. Sutton’s Greg Wolodkin kicked off what he hopes will be a big year of racing with a trip to Georgia for the Yeti 7/11-Hour race, while Worcester’s Brenda Morris took part in a women-only race in Virginia. Both events are covered in this week’s roundup.
In-person running ultramarathon events have been largely halted in New England this winter as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the region, but an in-person skiing ultra event took place last weekend in New Hampshire that drew more than 80 competitors to the unique ultra-distance event. The Last Skier Standing race leads off this week’s roundup, which also includes the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in Texas and the ICY-8 time-based ultra in Virginia.
The 2021 ultramarathon season continues to start slowly as the COVID-19 pandemic limits the number of in-person races in the United States. One of those races took place Saturday, Jan. 30, however, and a Massachusetts resident took home the overall win. That race – the Arches Ultra 50K – is highlighted in this week’s roundup.
January 2021 continues to be unusually quiet as the national ultramarathon calendar is blanketed with cancellations due the pandemic, but a few New England residents made some noise with strong showings at two of the races that happened during the Jan. 16-17 weekend. New Hampshire’s Keith Lundquist was victorious in his 100-mile debut and Massachusetts’ Honora Einhorn earned a spot on the women’s podium during her ultra debut. Both of their efforts are included in this week’s roundup.
The 2021 ultramarathon racing season is off to a slow start nationally as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to force race cancellations, but a handful of ultras took place in the United States during the Jan. 10-11 weekend. The most notable among them was the Bandera 100K in Texas, and two New England residents were among the finishers.
The first weekend of the new year is typically full of ultras around the United States, from fatass-style races to the popular Across the Years multi-day races in Arizona, to ringing-in-the-new-year races. Not this year. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, some New Year’s races went virtual while most were canceled. Only a handful happened with in-person racing, and two Massachusetts residents took part in one of them. That race – Arizona’s San Tan Scramble – is covered in the first roundup of 2021.
The 2020 ultrarunning season is quickly coming to a close, but some of the sport’s speediest 100-mile and 24-hour runners capitalized on one final chance to log major mileage on Dec. 12-13 at the 11th annual Desert Solstice track race in Arizona. Among them was Scott Traer of Woburn, Mass., and his sizzling performance earned him a roundup all to himself this week.
