After a few busy weeks of in-state ultras in Massachusetts, Aug. 24-25 was a quiet racing weekend in the Bay State. That didn’t keep runners from New England off the trails, however. Several raced in neighboring Vermont at the Lost Cat 50K, while a few headed to the West Cost to race at the Castle Peak 100K in California and the Cascade Crest 100-miler in Washington. Britta Clark was among them as the 25-year-old from Goshen, Vt., delivered a course record-setting performance at Castle Peak. Additionally, we tracked down results from the Anchor Down Ultra on Aug. 16-17 in Rhode Island for this week’s roundup.

Castle Peak 100K

Fresh off of her win at the Moosalamoo 36-mile ultra earlier this month in Vermont, Britta Clark traveled to the West Coast for her longest race to date and delivered another dynamite performance.

Clark, 25, of Goshen, Vt., toed the starting line of fifth annual Castle Peak 100K on Saturday, Aug. 24, in California, and she spent her day racing among the top men on the challenging point-to-point course from Truckee to the Sugar Bowl Resort in Norden. Along the way she climbed more than 15,000 feet and passed through the Tahoe National Forest, Tahoe Donner and Euer Valley and summitted Hawk’s Peak and Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Judah.

More than 210 runners started the race, and 144 finished within the 21-hour time limit. Jorge Maravilla, 41, of Mill Valley, Calif., took top honors in the men’s field in 12:00:16. Clark was the seventh overall finisher and placed first in the women’s field in 13:02:33. In doing so, Clark broke the old course record set by Roxanne Woodhouse in 2015 by 17 seconds; Woodhouse is a four-time champion of the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 and the winner of the 2016 Tahoe 200.

The victory was Clark’s third of the year at an ultra distance. She won Moosalamoo in her hometown a few weeks earlier, as well as the Catamount 50K in Stowe, Vt. In 2018, Clark won the Killington 50K and Catamount 50K, both in Vermont, as well as the Ochocho 50K in Oregon.

The top 13 overall finishers broke 14 hours. The women’s runner-up, 35-year-old Megan Arauzo of Novato, Calif., placed 15th overall in 14:17:00.

Three more New England residents also finished the race. Kevin Henschel, 28, of New Haven, Conn., placed 17th overall in 14:29:45 for his first 100K finish. Another first-time 100K finishers, 62-year-old Arthur Krieg of Cambridge, Mss., placed 72nd in 18:00:24. Meanwhile, 29-year-old Nicholas Reid of Somerville, Mass., placed 24th in his ultramarathon debut in 14:55:16.

Lost Cat 50K

A pair of men from Cambridge, Mass., dueled for the win at the second annual Lost Cat 50K on Saturday, Aug. 24, in East Dorset, Vt. Tucker Grose, 29, and Garrett Simon, 22, battled at the front of the pack throughout the race on the trails of Mount Aeolus, racing up and down several steep climbs on the technical trails before Grose ultimately emerged victorious in 4:27:00, followed by Simon in 4:31:19. Close on Simons’ heels was third-place finisher Jack Billings, 23, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., in 4:32:12.

In the women’s race, 25-year-old Jamie Cyr of Cambridge, Great Britain, cruised to the win in 5:29:53, finishing fifth overall. Jeannine Seyfert, 35, of Burlington, Vt., was a distant second (12th overall) in 5:47:53, followed by Justine Cohen, 47, of Lexington, Mass., in 5:54:00 and Kristi Atherton, 49, of Center Barnstead, N.H., in 5:54:20.

Three other New England residents earned top-10 overall finishes. Kenny Shardlow, 60, of Johnston, R.I., placed sixth in 5:33:43; Erik Hamilton, 34, of Dorchester, N.H., was ninth in 5:44:32; and 57-year-old Mike Lee of Manchester, Conn., was 10th in 5:44:50. Others in the overall top 20 were Chris Clapp, 50, of Portsmouth, N.H., in 5:44:57; Kenneth Tyler, 40, of Manchester Center, Vt., in 5:51:45; Jeff LeBlanc, 33, of Woburn, Mass., in 5:57:30; and Elizah Markwood, 22, of Norwich, Vt., in 6:01:25, who finished 20th overall and sixth in the women’s field. Sixty-one runners finished the race within eight hours.

Cascade Crest 100

Two Massachusetts men secured hard-earned finishes at the 21st annual Cascade Crest 100 on Aug. 24-25 in Easton, Wash. The course is known for its difficult terrain on technical, forested mountain trails with more than 23,000 feet of climbing, more than 30 miles of it on the Pacific Crest Trail. An added dimension of difficulty is the 2.3-mile crossing through the Snoqualmie Tunnel, an unusual feature for an ultramarathon anywhere in the world.

Ultimately, Arlington resident Michael Barrett and Brookline resident Ian McLachlan were up to the challenge; they were among the 128 runners to complete the race within 34 hours.

Barrett, 48, finished 74th overall in 29:36:08 in what is his first of two 100-milers within less than a month. He will race the Run Rabbit Run 100-miler in September in Colorado. McLachlan, 33, placed 119th in 33:44:46 for his second 100-mile finish. His first 100-miler was Ghost Train in 2018.

Tyler Green, 35, of Portland, Ore., was the Cascade Crest champion in 18:04:40.

Anchor Down Ultra

The Anchor Down Ultra has enjoyed a brief but successful five-year history, surging in popularity since its inaugural race in 2015. One near constant throughout that time has been Christopher Cappellini. He didn’t run the event in its first year, but he has taken part in the 24-hour race every year since and he has won it each time.

Cappellini was back at the fifth annual Anchor Down Ultra on Aug. 16-17 in Bristol, R.I., and he once again hammered the 2.45-mile loop course at Colt State Park and secured his fourth straight victory in the field of 79 runners.

Cappellini, 53, of Norton, Mass., posted a winning total of 122.5 miles, not quite matching his outputs from 2018 (124.95 miles) or his course record-setting performance in 2016 (129.85 miles), but outdistancing the field by 12 miles.

Craig Coleman, 47, of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., was a distant second with 110.25 miles in the 24-hour race, followed by 48-year-old Paul Chekal of Lynnfield, Mass., and 47-year-old Brandyn Lewis of Canterbury, N.H., with 105.35 miles apiece. Thirteen men broke the 100-mile mark, including New England residents Benjamin Simanski, 36, of Greenfield, Mass.; 32-year-old Ben Kalweit of Newport, R.I.; David Foss, 50, of Rehoboth, Mass.; 33-year-old Peter Ouellette of Enfield, Conn; and 43-year-old Dave Baird of Shelburne, Vt., all with 100.45 miles.

The women’s 24-hour victory went to 28-year-old Hanna Littlefield of Pembroke, Mass., who logged 100.45 miles, a nearly marathon distance improvement over her fourth-place tally of 75.95 miles at the 2018 race and her first time surpassing the 100-mile mark. Cindy Sullivan, 38, of Guilford, Conn., finished second in the women’s race with 90.65 miles, followed by Kathy Jacques, 54, of Taunton, Mass.; Magdalena Sidor, 40, of Glendale, N.Y.; and Nikki Perry, 49, of Simsbury, Conn., with 83.3 miles apiece.

The top 25 performers completed at least 80 miles, and the top 48 surpassed 60 miles for the 24-hour race.

The 12-hour race had 34 participants, and 31 of them surpassed the marathon distance. Two Rhode Island men – Kurt Mias, 34, of Providence, and Michael Obaara, 42, of North Kingstown – tied for the win with 58.8 miles, followed by 44-year-old Rick Shoup of Naugatuck, Conn., and 48-year-old Jennifer Graves of Worcester, Mass., with 51.45 miles apiece. For Graves, the mileage total earned her first place in the women’s field. A trio of women – Linnea Laverty, 33, of Waltham, Mass.; Meghan MacDonald, 43, of Woonsocket, R.I.; and Kathryn Stoker, 52, of Norwalk, Conn. – all finished with 49 miles apiece, as did 50-year-old John McCleary of Redding, Conn. Christina Kennedy, 35, of Douglas, Mass., and 44-year-old Keith Selvitelli of Sutton, Mass., each finished 46.55 miles. The top 18 runners surpassed 40 miles.

In the six-hour race, 73 runners took part including 16 who went beyond a marathon distance. Steve Brightman, 50, of Providence, R.I., led the way with 41.65 miles; Joao Theoto Jr., 60, of Brazil logged 39.2 miles and 39-year-old Jeffrey Wohlen of Lakeville, Mass., finished 31.85 miles to lead the way. Kristini Aiksnoras, 44, of Bristol, R.I., was the top-finishing female with 29.4 miles, which she ran alongside 39-year-old Mark Aiksnoras. Two more runners – 45-year-old Scott Parker of North Easton, Mass., and 45-year-old Mark Donovan of South Easton, Mass. – also finished 29.4 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.