Most New England runners who spent the July 20-21 weekend racing did so at the Vermont 100, one of the sport’s original 100-mile footraces. So many did so, in fact, that we’ll have it covered in a separate writeup. Meanwhile, a handful of runners from the region headed West to tackle two of the country’s more challenging trail ultras – the Speedgoat 50K in Utah and the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run in Nevada. Both of those races are covered in this week’s roundup.

Speedgoat 50K

Ryan Woolley turned a few heads when he made his ultramarathon debut in September 2018 at the NipMuck 35-miler in Connecticut. He won that race in a sizzling 4:49:21 and established himself as an up-and-coming runner to be reckoned with. He waited nearly 10 months to race his second ultra, and that came at the challenging Speedgoat 50K on Saturday, July 20, at Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.

Speedgoat is known for its high altitude – the entire race takes place at 7,600 feet or more above sea level with much of it above 9,200 feet. Additionally, runners amass 11,800 feet of vertical gain on the highly technical course. Woolley was up to the challenge. The 30-year-old resident of Brighton, Mass., placed 26th overall out of 227 finishers within 13 hours, clocking a time of 7:03:22 and earning a spot in the top 10 percent of the field. Only 20 percent of the field finished in less than eight hours.

One more New England resident also finished the race. Travis Ringger, 37, of Fairfield, Conn., placed 133rd in 9:49:57. Michelino Sunseri, 27, of Kings Beach, Calif., took top honors in the men’s field in 5:14:35, six minutes ahead of runner-up Benjamin Stout, 25, of Bellevue, Idaho. Anna Mae Flynn, 32, of Marble, Colo., won the women’s race for the second time in three years, posting a time of 6:30:15.

Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run

Six New England residents secured hard-earned finishes at the grueling Tahoe Rim Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run on July 20-21 in Carson City, Nev. The 18th annual event tested runners with two 50-mile loops of singletrack trails and dirt roads, all of it above 8,000 feet of elevation. Runners had 35 hours to finish the race; 155 made the cutoff.

Chris Price, 38, of Ouray, Colo., topped the men’s field by more than an hour, winning in 19:56:05. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Madison Hart of Gunnison, Colo., finished ninth overall and won the women’s race in 23:18:06.

The New England contingent of competitors included several 100-mile veterans and a newcomer to the distance. Jane Farrell, 30, of Alton, N.H., has been running ultras for five years but Tahoe was her first 100-mile race. She placed 131st overall in 33:53:24.
The other five finishers from the region have several 100-milers under their belts. That includes 61-year-old Kevin Mullen of Fairhaven, Mass., who led the New England crew by placing 98th in 32:21:58. Three minutes later, 47-year-old Carolyn Shreck of Hampton, N.H., crossed the finish line in 32:24:37. Tahoe was the second 100-mile finish of the year for both Mullen (Massanutten in May) and Shreck (Cruel Jewel in May). Giles Gregory also logged his second 100-mile finish of the year at Tahoe, building upon his Massanutten finish by completing Tahoe in 34:13:36.

Meanwhile, Tahoe was the first 100-miler since the 2017 Rio Del Lago 100 for Stephen Taylor, 50, of New Bedford, Mass. Taylor was the final finisher at Tahoe, crossing the finish line with less than seven minutes to spare in 34:53:32.

Additionally, 42-year-old Tom Morton also finished the race. A resident of Chicopee, Mass., Morton has taken on many of the country’s toughest 100-milers, including The Bear 100 in Utah, Wasatch in Utah, Eastern States in Pennsylvania, Bighorn in Wyoming, Leadville in Colorado, and international races such as the UTMB in the European Alps and the Fat Dog 120 in British Columbia. Morton added another tough finish to his resume at Tahoe, placing 111th in 32:46:55. It’s Morton’s second 100-mile finish of the year – he completed the Old Dominion 100 in Virginia in June – and he will return to The Bear in September.

*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.