Rusiecki Edged, Davis Victorious at Manitou

For the second time this year, less than three minutes separated Brian Rusiecki from victory at a trail ultra in New York.

Rusiecki, of South Deerfield, Mass., finished second at the Manitou’s Revenge 54-mile race Saturday, June 18, in the Catskill Mountains of Windham, N.Y. Rusiecki, 37, finished in 11:19:02, close behind race champion Carlo Agostinetto, 35, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., who posted a winning time of 11:16:40.

The time gap was similar to what Rusiecki experienced April 30 at the North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler in Bear Mountain, N.Y., where he also placed second.

At Manitou, Agostinetto and Rusiecki were far ahead of the pack. In fact, they were the lone runners to complete the course in less than 12 hours. Third-place finisher Scott Gregor, 29, of New Britain, Conn., crossed the finish line nearly an hour behind the front-runners in 12:16:19.

While victory eluded Rusiecki on the men’s side, a Bay Stater secured the victory on the women’s side. Kehr Davis, 39, of Great Barrington, Mass., finished seventh overall in 13:47:14 was the top female finisher by a 50-minute cushion. It was a strong showing by Davis just two weeks removed from taking sixth-place female honors at the Cayuga Trail 50-miler in Ithaca, N.Y.

Rusiecki and Davis weren’t the lone Massachusetts residents to place in the top 10. Tim Connelly, 33, of Cambridge, finished sixth overall in 13:45:10.

A total of 72 runners completed the race within the 24-hour time limit. That included Jesse Veinotte, 36, of Worcester, Mass, who finished 30^th in 16:23:41; and Kevin Clare, 48, of Woburn, Mass., who completed the course in 22:49:25.

Fubel Goes the Distance at Bryce Canyon

Joe Fubel’s quest to run 100 miles took him more than 2,500 miles across the country. It was worth the journey, however, as the Winchester, Mass., resident went the distance and earned his finisher’s buckle Friday and Saturday, June 17-18, at Bryce Canyon in Utah.

Fubel, 44, was one of 102 runners to complete the course within the 36-hour time limit. His time of 32:56:38 was good for 77^th place.

Prior to racing at Bryce Canyon, Fubel finished 31^st at the TARC Spring Classic 50K in April, and 21^st overall at the Stone Cat 50-Miler in Ipswich, Mass., back in November.

Mark Hammond, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the overall champion of the Bryce Canyon 100. His winning time of 19:30:25 was the third-fastest time in the four-year history of the event.

In addition to the 100-mile race, Bryce Canyon also included 50-mile and 50K distances.

In the 50-mile race, Omar Pacheo, 28, of Salt Lake City, Utah, cruised to victory in 8:37:20. A pair of Charleston, Mass., residents were among the 146 50-mile finishers. Brian Hammil, 45, placed 30^th overall in 11:16:12, and Stephen McCaffrey, 57, was 82^nd in 13:26:50.

A trio of Bay Staters were among the 149 finishers of the 50K race. Stacey Lane, 50, of Charlestown, finished 55^th overall in 8:22:05. Rob Mandeville, 31, of Lexington, Mass., finished a few minutes behind in 8:28:48, good for 58^th place. Nico Barraza, 26, of Flagstaff, Ariz., was the overall champion in 5:48:38, and he was one of two runners to finish in less than six hours.

Krieg Cracks Top 10 in Pennsylvania

Arthur Krieg played the role of out-of-state spoiler at the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge.

The 34-mile race, which celebrated its 20^th anniversary on Saturday, June 18, on the Rachel Carson Trail in Pittsburgh, Pa., was jam-packed with runners and hikers from the home state. More than 90 percent of the 452 finishers hailed from the Keystone State, including 23 of the top 24 finishers. The lone exception was Krieg.

Krieg, of Cambridge, Mass., was one of 45 non-Pennsylvania residents to finish the race, as well as the only Massachusetts competitor. The 58-year-old Krieg charged his way into the top 10 overall with an eight-place finish in 8:12:21.

Mark Egge, 29, of Pittsburgh was the overall champion in 6:20:13. Garrett English, 22, of Allison Park, Pa., placed second in 6:39:42. Egge and English were the lone runners to finish in less than seven hours and two of just seven to finish in less than eight hours.

*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.