Rob Bond may be relatively new to ultrarunning, but the 27-year-old from Brighton, Mass., runs like a savvy veteran.
Bond’s speed at shorter distances was well-established on both trails and roads (he ran a 2:33:03 Boston Marathon in 2015). Since bursting onto the ultra scene in September 2015 with a blistering sub-4-hour 50K victory at the TARC Fall Classic, he has racked up top-five finishes at the JFK 50-Miler in Maryland and the Cayuga Trail 50-Miler in New York.
Bond returned to the top of the podium Saturday, June 25, at the Catamount Ultra 50K in Stowe, Vt., blazing to victory in 3:48:02. Bond’s time smashed the old course record of 3:56:13, set by David Herr of Canaan, Vt., in 2014. Herr, 51, placed second this year in 3:57:52. Neal Graves, 33, of Stowe, Vt., finished third in 3:59:27.
The Catamount course consisted of two loops of mostly well-groomed singletrack, with one long 750-foot climb and a few smaller climbs on each loop. Of the 120 starters, 113 finished the race including 33 from Massachusetts – led by Bond. Two more Bay Staters joined Bond in the top 10. Matt Elam, 24, of Allston, Mass., finished ninth in 4:35:57; and Tom Dmukauskas, 40, of Somerville, Mass., was one second behind in 10th. Scott Defusco, 40, of Beverly, Mass., also was in the mix and placed 11th in 4:37:25.
Sara Graves, 33, of Stowe, Vt., was the women’s champion in 4:49:16 and finished 16th overall, two minutes ahead of runner-up Molly Delallo, 26, of Burlington, Vt. A Massachusetts resident rounded out the top three for the ladies as Lori Wetzel, 43, of Danvers, Mass., finished in 5:10:40, good for third-place female honors and 25th overall.
MASSACHUSETTS RESULTS
Catamount Ultra 50K
Place; Name; City; State; Age; Time
1 Rob Bond; Brighton, MA; 27; 3:48:02
9 Matt Elam; Allston, MA; 24; 4:35:57
10 Tom Dmukauskas; Somerville, MA; 40; 4:35:58
11 Scott Defusco; Beverly, MA; 40; 4:37:25
15 Paul Crockett; Boston, MA; 42; 4:48:34
18 Tim Finocchio; Holbrook, MA; 38; 4:55:05
20 Nelson Knudsen; Cambridge, MA; 26; 4:59:55
23 Todd Curtis; Grafton, MA; 43; 5:03:52
24 Mark Weber; Boston, MA; 29; 5:05:25
25 Lori Wetzel; Danvers, MA; 43; 5:10:40
37 Christopher Lay; Somerville, MA; 36; 5:35:18
38 Norman Rohr; Arlington, MA; 40; 5:37:52
44 Meredith Pinault; Belmont, MA; 39; 5:46:35
48 Annajoy Gillis; Somerville, MA; 22; 5:56:37
49 Jason Voccia; Wellesley, MA; 34; 5:57:17
56 Dana Christensen; Somerville, MA; 43; 6:04:27
57 Fernando Salcido; Somerville, MA; 44; 6:07:37
58 Brendan Frank; Dedham, MA; 44; 6:08:13
59 Ian Hurley; Brookline, MA; 37; 6:09:28
62 Lucia Alzaga; Somerset, MA; 41; 6:20:12
65 Brian Huffman; Framingham, MA; 32; 6:26:24
72 Erik Jacobsen; Milton, MA; 23; 6:37:13
73 Tony Grassi; Boston, MA; 34; 6:40:24
76 Bob Warren; Attleboro, MA; 55; 6:42:15
79 Christian Hartigan; Sherborn, MA; 44; 6:48:35
80 Rebecca Hill; Ipswich, MA; 43; 6:51:15
85 Nancy Dorn; Plymouth, MA; 57; 7:02:14
96 Linda Fitzpartick; Georgetown, MA; 65; 7:36:57
97 Pradeep Managalath; Quincy, MA; 33; 7:37:44
106 Lee Dickey; Dracut, MA; 62; 7:55:53
107 Peter Copelas; Salem, MA; 56; 8:06:05
108 Bonnie Hallinan; Danvers, MA; 66; 8:07:13
109 Su Mittra; Medford, MA; 39; 8:17:11
Click here for complete results.
*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.
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