The Memorial Day weekend is typically light on trail ultras, but plenty of runners from New England still found their way to starting lines. Most headed to Maine for the popular Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival, while others went to New Mexico and raced at Jemez Mountain. Additionally, we dug back into mid-May to bring your results from 3 Days at the Fair in New Jersey for this week’s roundup.
Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival
Hundreds of runners flocked to New Gloucester, Maine, on May 25-26 for the 14th annual Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival. The event, which is a popular draw for runners from the New England states, featured shorter-distance races on Saturday, followed by a 25K and two ultramarathon races on a sun-filled Sunday. It also featured plenty of sun and mud, and several runners reported being sent off-course, which may have had an impact on the final results.
The 50-miler, which used a three-loop course that was slightly modified from previous editions, saw 106 runners cross the finish line within 13 1/2 hours. None did so faster than 28-year-old Jason Smith. Fresh off of his win on May 11 at the Wapack and Back 50-miler, the resident of Bath, Maine, hammered out a speedy 50-mile performance and earned another win, this time in 7:48:44. His closest competitor, 40-year-old Jack Bailey, also displayed some fresh legs after racing Wapack and Back, although in Bailey’s case it was the 43-miler where he finished third. Bailey clocked a time of 8:31:04 for second-place at the Pineland Farms 50-miler. Barry Howe, 32, of Lebanon, N.H., rounded out the men’s podium in 8:36:14, followed by 35-year-old Alan Groudle of Lewiston, Maine; 49-year-old Timothy Henderson of Sayville, N.Y.; and 34-year-old Trent Montgomery of Portland, Maine, in 8:55:11.
The women’s 50-mile champion, Amy Rusiecki, was the only other runner to break nine hours in the 50-miler. Rusiecki, 39, of South Deerfield, Mass., brought home the win in 8:57:18 and finished seventh overall. Rusiecki last ran Pineland Farms in 2013 when she finished second in the 50-miler (7:53:45). She previously won the race in 2012 (7:29:55), 2011 (7:48:43) and 2009 (7:24:42).
Chelsea Loy, 26, of Lee, N.H., was the runner-up in 9:21:57, and 39-year-old Deirdre Lowe of Salem, Mass., rounded out the podium for the women’s category in 9:27:32.
Among the other notable finishers of the 50-miler, 28-year-old Aaron Hirsh of Allston, Mass., finished ninth overall in 9:16:44 in his second ultramarathon; 54-year-old David Herr of Canaan, Vt., finished 10th overall in 9;17:47; and 50-year-old David Catarius of Shrewsbury, Mass., was 12th in 9:26:18.
Another 250 runners completed the two-loop 50K race, and the overall top 10 was dominated by the women. In fact, six of the top 10 overall finishers were from the ladies’ field, led by 41-year-old Amanda Richmond of Newmarket, N.H., who finished fourth overall in 4:28:28. Rachel Coogan, 28, of Somerville, Mass., was the women’s runner-up in 4:29:57 and tied fourth-place male Iain Ridgway, 39, of Grantham, N.H., for fifth overall.
Rachael Everleth, 29, of Mooers, N.Y., rounded out the women’s podium in 4:30:42, followed closely by 25-year-old Lucy Skinner of Hanover, N.H., (4:33:10), 23-year-old Bailey D’Antonio of Portland, Maine (4:38:16) and 37-year-old Brooke Bartlett of Lincoln, N.H. (4:39:37).
Erik Hinrichesen, 30, of Newton, Mass., was the top male finisher in 4:18:29, followed by 25-year-old Sam Reed of Rindge, N.H., in 4:24:30 and 35-year-old Matthew Berk of Melrose, Mass., in 4:24:57.
The top 16 overall finishers completed the course in less than five hours.
Jemez Mountain
Only one New England resident toed the starting line of the Jemez Mountain 50-miler on Saturday, May 25, in Los Alamos, N.M., but he made his presence known.
After training on New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks, Peter Howe, 23, of Holderness, N.H., held his own just fine while racing at between 7,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level, placing second overall out of 67 finishers in 9:04:34. It was Howe’s first 50-miler since placing second at the 2017 Stone Cat 50. Howe was one of just three runners to break 10 hours on Saturday. Jeffrey Colt, 28, of Carbondale, Colo., won the race in 8:32:54.
In addition to the 50-miler, another 198 runners completed a 50K race using much of the same course. Brian Staveley, 42, of Marlboro, Vt., was among them, finishing 109th in 8:49:02, and 47-year-old Seng-Lai Tan of Sudbury, Mass., finished in 11:36:55. It was Tan’s third time finishing the race (11:04:13 in 2011; 10:09:19 in 2014). Frank Pipp, 42, of Longmont, Colo., won in 4:41:39.
3 Days at the Fair
Benn Griffin pulled double-duty at 3 Days at the Fair. The event took place May 9-19 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, N.J., and included 10-day, 144-hour, 72-hour, 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour, 6-hour and 50K footraces on a flat one-mile loop.
Griffin, 32, of Pittsfield, Mass., ran both the 50K and 48-hour races.
First, Griffin ran through drizzle, fog and ultimately rain on May 13 and finished second in the 50K in 5:05:09. Another New England resident, 42-year-old John Fegyveresi of Quechee, Vt., finished third in 5:37:42.
A few days later, Griffin returned to New Jersey for the 48-hour race and finished 12th out of 52 runners with 117 miles. Amy Mower, 50, of Falls Church, Va., was the top overall finisher in the two-day event with 202 miles. Other New England residents in the race were 38-year-old Cindy Sullivan of Guilford, Conn., who logged 113 miles; 69-year-old Bruce Goulard of Newton, Conn., who ran 81 miles; 63-year-old Scott Perrapato of South Burlington, Vt., who completed 80 miles; 47-year-old Gregg Scribner of Southbury, Conn., who ran 62 miles; 40-year-old Mirza Borogovac of Roslindale, Mass., who finished with 55 miles; and 43-year-old J.T. Lasker of Southington, Conn., who completed 51 miles.
Twenty runners finished the 10-day race, including 77-year-old Newton Baker of Montepelier, Vt., who completed 304 miles in 237:55:16.
Fourteen runners finished the six-day, 144-hour race, including 62-year-old Fred Murolo of Cheshire, Conn., who finished 304 miles in 143:55:50.
The 72-hour (3-day) race included 44 runners, several of them from New England. Ryan Jones, 39, of Morrisville, Pa., won with 235 miles and was one of 10 runners to record at least 200 miles. New England residents who did so were 61-year-old John Brown of Northbridge, Mass., who completed 202 miles in 66:09:35; Caitlin Rossi, 35, of Torrington, Conn., who finished 202 miles in 71:20:09; and 52-year-old Fiona Cosham of Southbury, Conn., who finished 200 miles in 71:39:16.
Other finishers of the three-day race were Brian Nephew, 42, of East Hampton, Conn., with 175 miles; Joseph Laskey, 54, of Southington, Conn., with 168 miles; Tracy Zagata, 46, of Southington, Conn., with 152 miles; Ed Peters, 67, of Norwalk, Conn., with 150 miles; Sherry Brown, 57, of Uxbridge, Mass., with 125 miles; Jason Freeman, 46, of Bristol, Conn., with 106 miles; Denise Robbins, 52, of Salem, N.H., with 105 miles; Eric Gruettner, 38, of Terryville, Conn, with 103 miles; David Shapiro, 44, of West Hartford, Conn., with 101 miles; and Mike Brooks, 73, of Lewiston, Maine, with 72 miles.
Seventy-six runners finished the 24-hour race, including New England residents Justin Kousky, 38, of Westport, Conn. (66 miles); Ted Murolo, 16, of Cheshire, Conn. (63 miles); Francine Scheller, 46, of Grantham, N.H. (62 miles); Rosenia Casuga, 43, of Hamden, Conn. (51 miles); Amado Casuga Jr., 45, of Hamden, Conn. (45 miles); Melissa Theberge, 49, of Plainstown, N.H., (31 miles); and Eugene DeFronzo, 83, of Cheshire, Conn. (27 miles).
Four New England residents finished the 12-hour race, including 56-year-old Jeffrey Dunn of Ivoryton, Conn. (47 miles); 55-year-old David Pelletiv of East Hartford, Conn. (43 mies); 45-year-old Albert Lione of Shelton, Conn. (38 miles); and 32-year-old Sarah Axelrod of Somerville, Mass. (22 miles); and one – 48-year-old Rob Leder of Stamford, Conn. – finished the six-hour race with 32 miles.
*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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