Wasatch Front 100
Tom Morton doesn’t shy away from grueling trail races. His list of finish lines achieved speaks for itself with names like Vermont, Leadville, UTMB, Bighorn, Eastern States, and Virgil Crest.
Morton, 39, of Chicopee, Mass., added another gnarly race to his credit Sept. 9-10 at the 37th annual Wasatch Front 100. Morton endured more than 26,000 feet of vertical gain on the point-to-point course from Kaysville to Midway, Utah, and crossed the finish line in 32:44:54.
Of the 334 starters, 213 finished the race within the 36-hour time limit.
There was a fierce battle at the front of the pack as Trevor Fuchs, 35, of Salt Lake City, Utah, crossed the finish line just three seconds ahead of runner-up Chris McQuivey, 35, of Flagstaff, Az. Fuchs won in 21:13:58.
Darcy Piceu, 41, of Boulder, Colo., was the women’s champion and 12th overall in 23:15:25.
Run Woodstock: Hallucination 100
Ryan Couto covered most of New England with his 2016 ultramarathon racing schedule by completing ultras in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine already this year. The 31-year-old resident of Boston, Mass., ventured to the upper Midwest for his first 100-mile attempt of the year, however, and he came home with a hard-earned finisher’s belt buckle.
Couto traveled to Pinckney, Mich., on Saturday and Sunday to run the Hallucination 100 at the Run Woodstock Festival, and he was one of 71 runners to complete the 100-mile race within the 30-hour time limit.
Couto placed 63rd overall in 29:06:34.
Couto previously earned a 100-mile finish at the 2013 TARC 100.
Elliot Smith, 34, of Chicago, Ill., earned the victory in 20:18:01. He held off David Huss of Seattle, Wash., who was the runner-up in 20:40:23 – well ahead of 36-year-old Michigan resident Charlie Schmidt who finished third in 21:44:21. Huss, 32, moved to Seattle from Winchester, Mass., earlier this year.
Couto is next slated to run the Stone Cat marathon on Nov. 5 in Ipswich, Mass. Huss will compete at the Desert Solstice 24-hour run Dec. 10 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Pine Creek Challenge
Two Massachusetts residents were among the 22 runners to complete the Pine Creek Challenge 100-mile race within its 30-hour time limit Sept. 10-11 on the Pine Creek Rail Trail in Wellsboro, Pa.
Runners completed a double out-and-back on the rail trail, which has a surface consisting of crushed stone and has minimal elevation change.
Michael Condella of Revere, Mass., and John Correiro of Westport, Mass., finished 13th and 14th overall.
Condella, 28, completed the course in 26:51:45 and notched his second 100-mile finish of the year. Condella completed the Winter Beast of Burden in January in New York.
Correiro, 48, finished in 27:15:22 while earning his third 100-mile finish of 2016. Correiro previously completed Massanutten in May in Virginia, followed by the Vermont 100 in July.
John Hewlett, 41, of Schwenksville, Pa., was the race champion in 17:51:10. Jennifer McHale, 37, of Southington, Conn., was the runner-up and women’s champion in 18:39:32.
Headlands Hundred
A 100-mile finish eluded Allston, Mass., resident Skott Daltonic on Sept. 10-11 at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Sausalito, Calif.
Of the 50 runners who started the 100-mile race, just 34 finished within the 33-hour time limit on the four-loop course that included more than 5,000 feet of vertical gain per loop.
In addition to the 100-miler, the event also included 75-mile, 50-mile, and marathon distances.
Daltonic, 45, was credited with a 50-mile finish in 15:01:07.
Chikara Omine, 34, of Daly City, Calif. won the 100-mile race in a course-record time of 16:56:31.
*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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