The 2016 racing season is starting to wind down, and results were hard to come by for races outside of the Bay State last weekend. We are still tracking down results from the Rhode Island 6-Hour Ultra and will roll them into next week’s roundup.

The Hamsterwheel

The Hamsterwheel may go round-and-round, but for Wendy Akeson it has been more like climbing a ladder.

Akeson, a resident of Ashland, Mass., finished 15^th in the 2015 six-hour race at the timed event in New Boston, N.H. – which also includes 12-hour and 24-hour options. She returned for the second running of the event on Saturday, Nov. 5, and surged up the standings. Akeson, 47, earned first-place female honors and finished second overall with 32 miles completed. Only 22-year-old Louis Ferrone III of East Syracuse, N.Y., ran more miles as he logged 40.

The course, which consists of a four-mile loop on both rail-to-trail and gravel service road surfaces, is built for speed. Akeson took full advantage, as did five other runners who also recorded 32 miles for the day. Included among them were 35-year-old Anne Brodnitzki and 28-year-old Lauren Raine, both of Boston, Mass.

Additionally, 56-year-old Jo Ann Peterson of Milford, Mass., recorded 28 miles.

A total of 19 runners completed the six-hour event. All recorded at least 20 miles apiece, and 14 ran more than a marathon.

Nine runners took part in the 12-hour event, including seven who ran more than a marathon. Ann Alessandrini, 56, of Johnsonville, N.Y., was the overall winner in that category with 56 miles completed. The top two men, 34-year-old Jacob Royer of Hinesburg, Vt., and 69-year-old Bob Keating of Nashua, N.H., logged 52 miles apiece. Meanwhile, the lone Bay State representative – Rick Fijalkowski, 49, of Tyngsboro, Mass., finished fourth overall and was the third-place male with 36 miles.

Twenty-one runners took on the 24-hour event and attempted to run from sunrise to sunrise. Nineteen ran at least an ultramarathon, and two achieved the century mark. Both Laura Bleakley, 46, of Bedford, N.H., and James Gawle, 65, of Webster, Mass., completed 100 miles within the 24-hour time window. The performance was Gawle’s second time running at least 100 miles at a time this year; he completed 131 miles in the 48-hour event at 3 Days at the Fair in New Jersey in May.

Two runners – 32-year-old Alex Cabrera of Nashua, N.H., and 34-year-old Alejandro Sarria of Williamstown, Mass. – were the second- and third-place male finishers with 88 miles apiece. The performance was Sarria’s second straight top-five finish at an ultra after placing fourth at the Free to Run 50-miler in September.

The women’s 24-hour runner-up was Karen Giroux of Salem, Mass. Giroux, 50, completed 84 miles and finished sixth overall.

Billy Jenkins of Woburn, Mass., was the final Bay State resident to take part in the 24-hour event. Jenkins, 28, finished 13^th overall with 60 miles completed.

Stone Mill 50

Seng-Lai Tan’s jam-packed 2016 ultramarathon season is winding down, but he added another successful finish to his list of accomplishments at the Stone Mill 50-miler on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Rockville, Md.

Tan completed the out-and-back course on the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail in 12:55;26, good for 182^nd place overall.

William Kuper, 36, of Ashburn, Va., was the overall champion in 7:19:13. The top five finishers all completed the course in less than eight hours.

A total of 211 runners finished the race.

*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.