The return of the Riverlands 100 and the 100-mile debut of Pittsfield resident Kehr Davis highlight a roundup that also includes the Wildflower 50K in Texas and the inaugural running of the Cocodona 250 in Arizona. There were several more races in the Northeast and around the country, too, and we will try to include those next week if results become available.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Riverlands, Wildflower, and the Cocodona 250The arrival of May meant the return of more in-person racing across the United States. Among the most notable for New England ultrarunners were the Ultra Race of Champions in Virginia where Vermont’s Aliza Lapierre raced to victory, and the 10th annual Big A 50K in Maine that featured a field consisting almost entirely of New Englanders and a dynamite debut performance Lila Gaudrault. Those races and more are featured in this week’s roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Big A 50K, UROC, Alexander County, and Salt FlatsThe inaugural May Day Distance Classic took place on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Cutler Park in Needham, Mass. Runners had 14 hours and 5 minutes – from sunrise to sunset – to run as many laps on a 6.6-mile loop trail course as they wanted. Partial laps counted in the results.
Continue reading Results: Needham May Day Distance ClassicThe continued success of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the United States has led to more in-person ultramarathons taking place across the country. The April 24-25 weekend was just the latest example as more than two-dozen in-person ultras took place throughout the country. Results have been slow to come in from many of them, but at least three included runners from New England.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: C&O Canal, Jackpot, and Seven TrailsThe first in-person trail of the year in Massachusetts took place Sunday, April 18, with the return of the Trail Animals Running Club’s “Don’t Run Boston” 50K at the Blue Hills Reservation, but plenty of out-of-state racing also went down during the April 17-18 weekend. No place was more active for New England ultrarunners than Connecticut where a trio of events were held, including some record-setting performances at the Traprock 50K and the Enchanted Forest 6-Hour Ultra. As an in-state race, DRB will be featured in a separate story, but the Connecticut races lead off this week’s busy roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Traprock, Enchanted Forest, Ledyard, Chopawasmic, and Whiskey BasinAfter more than a year of race cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person ultrarunning is gradually returning to Massachusetts and local runners have a new opportunity to log some major mileage thanks to the Needham Running Club.
Continue reading Needham Introduces New Ultra with 14-Hour May Day RunThe combination of spring weather and the continued successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines made the April 10-11 weekend enticing for several New England ultrarunners to head West to race. Two headed to Colorado to race the Rattler 50K, but Utah’s Zion National Park was by far the most popular destination as 19 New Englanders tackled ultra distances from 50K to 100 miles on desert trails. Both events are featured in this week’s roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Zion and the RattlerAfter 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.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Umstead, Naked Prussian/Bavarian, Behind the Rocks, Spring On the Trails, Prairie Spirit, and F.I.T. ChallengeTrail 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.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: MST 100 and Blood, Sweat and Beers 50KIn-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.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Yeti 7/11 and No Man’s 50K