MassUltra Roundup: Riverlands and Blood Root

While the Watuppa Trail Races and Wapack and Back brought many ultrarunners to the starting lines in Massachusetts during the May 10-12 weekend, there were also large gatherings in Maine and Vermont as runners took on 100 miles at Maine’s Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, or 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K distances in the Green Mountain foothills. We catch up on both of those events in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Riverlands and Blood Root

Results: TARC Wapack and Back

The 16th edition of the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back Trail Races took place on Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Ashburnham, Mass. Runners took on either a 43-mile out-and-back of the Wapack Trail, a 50-mile race that included the 43-mile out-and-back and an additional seven miles, or a 21.5-mile one-way journey through the course. Since its founding in 20077 by Bogie Dumitrescu, the event has been held annually with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continue reading Results: TARC Wapack and Back

MassUltra Roundup: Cocodona, Hellbender, Tillamook Burn, Dirty German, Muddy Crudd, and Tiger Claw

There was plenty of ultramarathon action throughout New England during the May 10-12 weekend, from the Watuppa Trail Races and Wapack and Back here in Massachusetts, to the Riverlands 100 in Maine and Blood Root Ultra in Vermont. Even with all of those opportunities close to home, several runners from the region scattered throughout the country to take on a variety of ultra challenges. You can read about Watuppa and Wapack in their own separate articles, and we’ll catch up on Riverlands and Blood Root in a separate roundup, but in this edition we catch up on those non-New England events in Arizona, Oregon, Alabama, Washington, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Cocodona, Hellbender, Tillamook Burn, Dirty German, Muddy Crudd, and Tiger Claw

MassUltra Roundup: McDonald Forest, Grayson Highlands, Strolling Jim, and O’Neill Park

Although there was plenty of ultramarathon action in the New England region during the May 3-5 weekend, several runners also found success on the trails across the country. In Part 2 of this week’s roundup, we look outside of New England and catch up on ultras in Virginia, Tennessee, and California. But we start in Oregon, where Jonathan McInerney battled to victory at a West Coast classic.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: McDonald Forest, Grayson Highlands, Strolling Jim, and O’Neill Park

MassUltra Roundup: Big A 50K and White Lake Ultras

The opening weekend of May was quiet on the Massachusetts ultrarunning scene, but it was busy in the rest of New England. Ultras were held in half of the region’s states, with the Big A 50K taking place in Maine, the White Lake Ultras in New Hampshire, and the Blue 2 Blue Challenge in Connecticut. Results from Blue 2 Blue were unavailable as of the time of publication, but we catch up on the outcomes at Big A and White Lake in Part 1 of this week’s roundup. In Part 2, we will catch up on ultras beyond the region.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Big A 50K and White Lake Ultras

MassUltra Roundup: Bronze Dragonfly, Grind On the Grid, and Thelma & Louise

The busy April 27-28 weekend merited a two-roundup recap to catch up on all the action of New England ultrarunners. After highlighting results from the greater Northeast in the first part, here in part two we have results from the rest of the country, highlighted by Connecticut resident Caitlin Rossi’s 101-mile effort in Georgia and Massachusetts resident Bill Wells’ top-10 showing at the Grind on the Grid Backyard Ultra in Indiana.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bronze Dragonfly, Grind On the Grid, and Thelma & Louise

MassUltra Roundup: Lake Waramaug, UROC, C&O Canal, and Troublesome Hollow

The Lake Waramaug Ultras celebrated 50 years of history during the April 27-28 weekend as the main ultra event in New England following a busy few weeks of racing in Massachusetts. Beyond the region, several New Englanders hit the road for other ultras throughout the country with enough racing that it merits a two-roundup week. Here in part one we focus on the greater Northeast, with the results from Lake Waramaug in Connecticut, as well as the C&O Canal 100 in Maryland and a pair of races in Virginia.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Lake Waramaug, UROC, C&O Canal, and Troublesome Hollow

Spring Fever Trail Races Welcome Newcomers, Familiar Faces in Big Second Year

When Jenny Cavanagh created the Spring Fever Trail Races, the owner of TA Fitness in Weymouth, Mass., sought to share her passion for trail-running with members of her gym and other runners in the region. Runners embraced her invitation with 84 taking on any of the various options during the inaugural year.

Continue reading Spring Fever Trail Races Welcome Newcomers, Familiar Faces in Big Second Year

MassUltra Roundup: Forgotten Forest, Promise Land, Mendocino Coast, Leona Divide, Royal Gorge, and Capitan Mountain

The April 19-21 weekend was busy for ultrarunning in the Bay State with two events – the TARC Spring Classic and the Spring Fever 8-Hour – attracting hundreds of runners to tackle ultra and sub-ultra distances on local trails. Not all racers that weekend stayed local, though. Some put up big mileage in nearby Connecticut at the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra where a course record crumbled. Others headed South to Virginia for the Promise Land 50K, and even more headed West to ultras in California, Colorado and New Mexico. And that’s just the events with results available at press time. New Englanders were also set to toe the starting line of the Wawayanda Trail Fest in New Jersey, the Hyner Trail Challenge in Pennsylvania, the Phoenix Trail Fest in Alabama, and Earth Day Bucklemania in Kansas.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Forgotten Forest, Promise Land, Mendocino Coast, Leona Divide, Royal Gorge, and Capitan Mountain

Going beyond the marathon in Massachusetts