Forgotten Forest Ultra

John Brown had one heck of a final tune-up for the Ghost Train 100-miler, which is less than three weeks away.

Brown, 58, of Northbridge, Mass., delivered a dominant performance during the nine-hour Forgotten Forest Ultra on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Roosevelt Forest in Stratford, Conn. The course consisted of two loops – 3.5 miles and 2.7 miles, respectively – and Brown weaved through them over and over, far ahead of the pack. When he called it a day after 8:48:51 had expired, he covered 49.76 total miles for a first-place finish.

Indeed, it showed Brown’s legs still have plenty of pep in them following his sub-24-hour finish at the Vermont 100-miler in July.

Christopher Jaworski, 58, of Bloomfield, N.J., ran the second-most miles of anybody as he completed 37.32 miles in 8:37:15. Caitlin Rossi, 33, of Torrington, Conn., matched Jaworski in miles but was eight minutes slower, finishing third overall and taking top female honors.

Katie Todd, a 29-year-old and resident of Bedford, Mass., was the second-place female finisher and fourth overall with 34.61 miles completed in 6:48:25. The race was Todd’s final tune-up before running the 60-mile race at Ghost Train on Oct. 22 in Brookline, N.H.

Fourteen of the 20 runners completed more than a marathon distance. That includes 40-year-old Pranee Terry of Orange, Mass., who ran 31.10 miles in 8:58:53.

Hennepin Hundred

The Hennepin Hundred bills itself as “flat and fast,” as the point-to-point course along the Hennepin Canal State Trail, and that was validated by the runners in attendance Oct. 1-2 in Sterling, Ill. Of the 98 who started the race, 76 finished and 41 recorded sub-24-hour finishes.

None ran faster than Oswaldo Lopez, 44, of Madera, Calif., who scorched his way to a new course record with a winning time of 14:22:55.

A Massachusetts resident also earned his first 100-mile finish at the race. George Barth, 54, of North Attleboro, Mass., finished 42^nd overall in 24:27:54.

North Face Endurance Challenge – Utah

Former Western States and Leadville 100 champion Rob Krar ran away with the 50-mile victory at The North Face Endurance Challenge – Utah on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Park City, Utah.

While Krar, 39, dominated the field with a winning time of 8:01:02 – more than 37 minutes ahead of his closest competitor – he also shared the course with a Massachusetts resident who was racing in at least his seventh state this year. Seng-Lai Tan, 45, of Sudbury, Mass., finished 84^th overall in 14:31:19.

Tan’s race schedule in 2016 has also included events in New Jersey, New York, Maine, Colorado, Florida, and California. Tan is headed to Arizona later this month to run the 100-miler at Javelina Jundred.

*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.