The summer 100-miler season is in high gear, and New England ultrarunners took on some tough ones at the high-altitude High Lonesome 100 in Colorado and the hot and humid Burning River 100 in Ohio. Additionally, a few runners from the region took on the tough Never Summer 100K in Colorado and the classic Minnesota Voyageur 50-miler in Minnesota. We have all of those races covered in this week’s roundup.

High Lonesome 100

Joseph D’Alessio is no stranger to big mountain races. From multiple finishes of the Bear 100 in Utah, to the Eiger Ultra-Trail 100K in the Swiss Alps, to the Bighorn 100 in Wyoming, the 42-year-old resident of Cambridge, Mass., doesn’t back down from a steep challenge.

D’Alessio’s newest challenge came at the third annual High Lonesome 100 July 26-27 in Salida, Colo. The race wound through the Sawatch Range in the Rocky Mountains on a loop that included portions of the Continental Divide and Colorado Trail. The entire course was at least 8,000 feet above sea level with a high point of 13,150 feet, and D’Alessio and his fellow competitors were tested with 22,500 feet of climbing.

Ultimately, D’Alessio was among the 86 runners to complete the race within the 36-hour time limit, finishing 70th in 34:44:13. Up next for D’Alessio are the Wasatch 100 in September and the Pinhoti 100 in November.

One other New England resident also finished the race. Michael Fenzel, 43, of Norwich, Vt., finished 24th in 29:18:32. Luke Jay, 38, of Littleton, Colo., was the men’s winner in 22:22:45, nearly an hour ahead of runner-up Mike Wolfe, 41, of Bozeman, Mont., who finished in 23:15:52. The top women’s finisher was Silke Koester, 36, of Boulder, Colo., who placed sixth overall in 25:28:20.

Burning River

Two veteran 100-mile runners led the way for the New England contingent at the 13th annual Burning River Endurance Runs on July 27-28 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Racing on an out-and-back course along the Cuyahoga River Valley Corridor, Padraig Mullins of Cambridge, Mass., and Maddy McCarthy of Newbury, Mass., both delivered strong performances. Mullins, 37, who won the Cape Cod Trail Race 50K, Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug 100K and Dawn 2 Dusk 2 Dawn 50K earlier this year in his buildup for the Big Backyard Ultra Last Man Standing event in October, finished 39th overall in 23:51:26. He was the final sub-24-hour finisher in the 100-miler at Burning River.

The 35-year-old McCarthy has several 100-milers under her belt, including top-10 finishes at Leadville and Vermont, a runner-up finish at the 2016 Rio Del Lago 100 in California, and the overall win at the 2012 Pine Creek Challenge in Pennsylvania, as well as the grueling Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc 105-miler in the European Alps and the classic Western States Endurance Run. McCarthy had a good weekend in her Burning River debut, finishing 54th overall and eighth in the women’s field in 25:49:06.

Additionally, 55-year-old Doug Beaulieu of West Newfield, Maine, finished 55th overall in 25:50:29; 36-year-old Collen Smith of Nashua, N.H., was 75th overall in 27:24:49; 49-year-old Russell Stroud of Simsbury, Conn., was 83rd overall in 27:50:17; and 30-year-old Kevin Koncilja of Boston, Mass., placed 135th overall in his first 100-mile race in 29:22:18.

The final finisher from the region, 57-year-old Matthew Coz of Madison, Conn., bounced back from a DNF at the 2018 race to complete this year’s race – his first 100-mile finish ever – in 29:26:17. There were 161 finishers within the 30-hour time limit.

Joey Miller, 31, of Springfield, Ill., was the top overall 100-mile finisher by an hour, winning the race in 17:25:08. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Emily Collins of Akron, Ohio – fresh off of her win at the Ethan Allen 24-Hour Race in Vermont just two weeks earlier (118.229 miles) – finished sixth overall and was the first-place finisher in the women’s race in 20:01:35.

In addition to the 100-mile race, another 141 runners completed the 50-mile race. That included three New England residents. Rachel Snow, 30, of Needham, Mass., led the way for the region by placing 36th overall in 11:07:23. Additionally, 44-year-old Emily Rusiecki of Bar Harbor, Maine, finished in 12:57:43, and 34-year-old Kirsten Beverley-Waters of Portland, Maine, finished in 13:21:04. Runners had 15 hours to complete the 50-miler.

Never Summer 100K

Five New England residents tackled high alpine trails and altitude above 10,000 feet along the way to the finish line of the fifth annual Never Summer 100K on Saturday, July 27, in Gould, Colo.

Stacey Clark, Kyle Sevits, Debbie and Scott Livingston, and Kevin Maier were all among the 220 runners to complete the course within 24 hours. Another 98 runners dropped along the way.

Clark, 37, of East Berlin, Conn., finished 41st overall and seventh in the women’s field in 16:24:18; while Sevits, 35, of West Yarmouth, Mass., followed in 42nd in 16:24:46. Debbie Livingston, 44, of Bolton, Conn., placed 145th overall in 20:58:25, while 46-year-old Scott Livingston was 182nd in 22:17:01. Maier, 35, of Bolton, Mass., finished just ahead of the cutoff in 23:49:42.

Hannes Gehring, 33, of Denver, Colo., took top honors in the men’s field in 11:47:06, while 29-year-old Sabrina Stanley of Silverton, Colo. – the reigning Hardrock 100 champion – finished fifth overall and was first in the women’s field in 13:46:47.

Minnesota Voyageur

Brian Patterson was the final finisher of the 38th annual Minnesota Voyageur 50-miler on Saturday, July 27, in Carlton, Minn., but the 60-year-old resident of Watertown, Mass., also knows what its like to finish near the front of the field at this, one of the country’s oldest ultramarathons.

A former Minnesota resident, Patterson has now finished the out-and-back course 14 times. He wasn’t there for its inaugural running in 1982, but he first toed the line in 1984. He returned in 1985, then earned a 10th-place finish in 1986 in 8:32:05, followed by a fourth-place finish in 1987. The 1987 race marked his best finish in terms of both place and time (7:55:12). He returned again in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2005 before a 14-year absence. He was the final of 239 finishers in his return this year, posting a time of 14:06:35.

While Patterson has been a regular at the race, 25-year-old Alex McQuown made his Minnesota Voyageur debut this year. A resident of Cambridge, Mass., McQuown finished 69th overall in 10:46:20 in what was his first 50-mile race and second ultra. He made his ultramarathon debut in April at the Trail Mix 50K in Rockford, Minn. McQuown will be back in action at the TARC Summer Classic 40-miler in August.

Adam Doe, 31, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was the men’s winner in 7:14:38 – a full 21 minutes ahead of his closest competitor. Margaret Ho, 30, of Onalaska, Wisc., brought home the women’s win and finished ninth overall in 8:23:25, securing the ninth spot on the women’s course-record board with her effort.

*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.