A trio of Massachusetts ultrarunners brought home coveted belt buckles for finishing the 23rd annual Umstead 100 on Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, N.C.

The 100-mile race takes place on a 12.5-mile course that runners must complete eight times within a 30-hour time limit. The terrain consists of no singletrack trail, just nicely-groomed crushed gravel and smooth dirt.

The terrain was ideal for Jason Tischer, 41, as the North Carolina resident earned the overall victory in 15:30:12.

Leading the way for the Bay Staters was Jack Bailey of Longmeadow, Mass. Bailey, 37, finished 34^th overall in 21:29:10, adding Umstead to a list of personal 100-mile finishes that also includes Vermont, Massanutten, and Leadville.

Kim Vanyo, 52, of Winchester, Mass., finished Umstead in 28:24:09. In addition, Annette Florczak of Roslindale, Mass. – who is preparing for the Tahoe 200-Mile Endurance Run in September – earned her Umstead 100-mile belt buckle by finishing in 29:31:59.

Michael Saporito, 50, of Peabody, Mass., completed 56.85 miles before dropping.

In total, 249 runners started the 100-mile race, and 157 finished.

Umstead also included a 50-mile race, and two Massachusetts residents recorded strong finishes.

Nathan McBride of Stow, Mass., found himself among the fastest 50-milers. The 41-year-old McBride finished fifth overall out of 99 total finishers in 8:32:32. Jon Lawler, 51, of Knoxville, Tenn., was the 50-mile champion in 6:11:40 after pulling away from runner-up Hal Koerner, 39, of Ashland, Ore., who finished in 6:28:09.

In addition, David Martula, 71, of Hadley, Mass., finished the 50-miler in 11:07:21. Martula originally was registered for the 100-mile race before changing to the 50-mile distance. Martula already had an Umstead 100-mile finish to his credit, having notched an impressive 23:56:18 finish at the 2011 event.

Olier, Kerr Crack Top 10 at Runamuck 50K

Two Massachusetts ultrarunners earned top-10 finishes among a speedy field Saturday, April 2, at the Runamuck 50K in Windsor, Vt.

Three of the four fastest men’s times in the three-year history of the event were recorded this year, along with a new women’s course record.

The race at the front of the pack was fierce, with the top four runners finishing within six minutes of each other. Dave Herr, 50, of Canaan, Vt., notched the victory in 4:01:16, less than five minutes shy of the course record. Nolan Graham, 36, of Troy, N.Y., was two minutes behind in second place, followed by Sylvain Olier of Andover, Mass. Olier, 40, turned in a third-place finish in 4:06:20 – the fourth-fastest time ever on the course – and held off Sarah Keyes, 31, of Lake Placid, N.Y., who finished fourth overall and smashed the women’s course record by 20 minutes, finishing in 4:07:36.

Joining Olier in the top 10 was Stephen Kerr of Douglas, Mass. Kerr, 24, finished in 4:36:26.

On a day where fast times abounded, 19 of the 107 total finishers dipped under the five-hour mark. That included Jason Gray, 36, of Northbridge, Mass., who finished in 4:53:55, and Carsten Braun, 47, of Greenfield, Mass., who finished in 4:57:00.

Full results from Runamuck can be found here.

*Editor’s Note: Results are found on a variety of sites, including ultrasignup.com, UltraRunning Magazine, and official race websites. We do the best we can to find as many results as possible to report on and recognize the local ultrarunning community.