Lenane Dominant in Ultra Debut at Moosalamoo
On a day that was dominated by the ladies, Megan Lenane proved to be untouchable during her ultramarathon debut on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Moosalamoo 36-Mile Ultra in Goshen, Vt.
Nine of the top 13 finishers were women, and none ran faster than Lenane. The 22-year-old resident of Billerica, Mass., blew away the field and cruised to victory by a 12-minute cushion, winning in 6:10:38. The second-place runner, 22-year-old Britta Clark of Goshen, Vt., also made her ultramarathon debut, albeit on familiar territory. She was the women’s champ and second overall in the Moosalamoo 14-mile race in 2015 and the women’s champion of the Goshen Gallop 10K in July.
Anne Gutmann, 37, of Boxford, Mass., also found a home in the top 10 overall, placing ninth out of all runners and earning sixth-place female honors as she completed the course in 7:21:32. Sheila Boyle, 49, of Concord, Mass., finished just outside of the top 10, placing 11th in 7:28:08.
Moosalamoo also marked the latest strong showing for Tom Dmukauskas. The 40-year-old from Somerville, Mass., has had a heavy racing season in 2016 including top-10 finishes at the Catamount Ultra 50K in Stowe, Vt.; Drummer Hill 50K in Keene, N.H.; Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler in Manchester, N.H.; Not the Worst Weekend 8-Hour Run in Somerville, Mass.; Goat Hill 50K in Uxbridge, Mass.; and Traprock 50K in Bloomfield, Conn. At Moosalamoo, Dmukauskas finished fourth overall and took second-place male honors as he finished in 6:26:18, just three minutes behind male champion and third overall finisher Michael Baker, 42, of Ballstonspa, N.Y.
Other Bay Staters to finish the Moosalamoo Ultra included Anthony Tieuli, 43, of Milford, Mass., who placed 18th in 7:58:09; Carolina Villarreal, 34, of Hopedale, Mass., who placed 32nd in 8:52:07; Ryan Couto, 31, of Boston, Mass., who was 42nd in 9:52:22; Will Bradley, 30, of Westminster, Mass., who finished 46th in 10:14:09; and Warren Jackson, 28, of Cambridge, Mass., who placed 49th in 11:08:58.
This year’s fifth running of Moosalamoo included a course change that was dictated by the National Forest Service. As a result, the Chandler Ridge-Leicester Hollow nine-mile section of the course was eliminated and replaced with a loop up and over Romance Mountain.
A total of 52 runners finished the race in under the 12-hour time limit.
Despres Gets it Done Steep Rock
Eric Despres wasn’t just his main competition at the Steep Rock 50-miler, he was his only competition.
The 50-mile race was one of four distances offered at the event, which is part of the XTERRA Northeast Trail Run Series and took place Saturday, Aug. 6, at Steep Rock Preserve in Washington Depot, Conn. Races also were offered at 10K and 25K distances, along with a 50K ultramarathon. No Bay Staters competed in the 50K.
Despres, 41, was one of two runners registered for the 50-mile race, and the only one to toe the starting line. That meant the Athol, Mass., resident just needed to complete the course to earn the victory. That wasn’t an easy task. The course included 7,344 feet of vertical gain while covering three loops of a course that consisted of dirt roads, singletrack trail, rocks and roots as well as a suspension bridge and old railroad tunnel.
Despres completed the course in a winning time of 11:26:53.
Steep Rock is just the latest successful ultramarathon performance for Despres in recent years. In 2015, he finished eighth overall in both the Ghost Trail 60-miler and Hampshire 100K, both in New Hampshire. He also recorded 102.371 miles and finished fourth overall at the 24-Hour Around the Lake Ultra in 2014 in Wakefield, Mass.
Loutzenheiser Lands in Top 10 at Rainbow Bridge
David Loutzenheiser got a little bit of everything from the Rainbow Bridge Trail Ultra 50K.
Loutzenheiser, a resident of Cambridge, Mass., got a little bit of double-track, a little bit of bridle trail, a little bit of singletrack, some slick rock, some altitude, and plenty of scenic views during the inaugural running of the race on Saturday, Aug. 6, in Navajo Mountain, Ariz.
Loutzenheiser also earned a top-10 finish.
The 49-year-old Loutzenheiser finished eighth overall in 7:18:25. Steven Cornelius, 36, of Valparaiso, Fla., earned the victory in 4:18:49.
A total of 27 runners started the race and 25 finished.
*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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