What began a year ago with the goal of inspiring residents of the Cape Cod communities to get moving – be it for a marathon, half marathon, 10K or 5K – is now challenging runners to move even farther. That’s because the second annual Cape Cod Moves “Y-Not” Trail Races on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Sandwich, Mass., also featured the event’s inaugural 50K ultramarathon.

In keeping with the event’s theme, runners were invited to a race expo that introduced attendees to a variety of active and outdoor activities, food demonstrations as well as a pre-race dinner that included healthy vegetarian and vegan options. A kids’ fun run and the sub-marathon races attracted the most runners, but the 50K enticed those seeking the most mileage via 10 trips around a 5K loop course.

A big mileage fan with recent success racing on Cape Cod dominated the race and earned the overall victory. Padraig Mullins, 37, of Cambridge, Mass., has numerous finishes of races 100 miles and beyond to his credit, including the Burning River 100-miler in Ohio in July. Mullins opened his 2019 racing season with a runner-up finish at the Caumsett Park 50K in New York, followed by a win at the Cape Cod Trail Race 50K in Falmouth in April. He went on to win the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug 100K in late April and Dawn 2 Dusk 2 Dawn 50K in May. Mullins added another victory Saturday when he hammered his way to the win at the Y-Not 50K in 4:12:34. Mullins’ closest competitor was 55-year-old James Nelson of West Hartford, Conn., who finished second overall in 5:05:40. He was followed by 31-year-old Dan Peterson of Randolph, Mass., who rounded out the men’s podium in 5:37:23. Peterson is preparing for the Pinhoti 100-miler in Alabama in November. Finishing a close fourth was 49-year-old Matthew Hall of Dudley, Mass., in 5:43:15.

In the women’s race, 22-year-old Elizah Markwood of Norwich, Vt., followed up her sixth-place finish at the Lost Cat 50K a month ago in Vermont by nabbing her first ultramarathon victory in just her second ultra in 5:47:56. A first-time ultramarathoner, 46-year-old Tara Driscoll of West Newbury, Mass., earned a second-place finish in 5:58:47, followed by 30-year-old Meghan Davis of Falmouth, Mass., in 6:06:52. It was Davis’ second podium finish of the year; she also finished third at the East End 50K in Easton, Mass., in August. East End and the Y-Not 50K are some of Davis’ final tune-up races before making her 100-mile debut at the Javelina Jundred on Oct. 26 in Arizona.

Fourteen runners finished the 50K race within eight hours.

Seven runners finished the marathon, with 32-year-old Brett Schollmann of Cortland Manor, N.Y., taking top honors among the men in 5:18:52 and 51-year-old Paula Finestone of Billerica, Mass., and 60-year-old Martha Gilford of Topsfield, Mass., tying for the victory in the women’s field in 6:39:44.

In the half marathon, 49-year-old Michael Norton of East Falmouth, Mass., defended his title in 1:43:36, less than a minute slower than his 2018 time, and 50-year-old Jill McGinn of Wellfleet, Mass., won the women’s race in 2:17:15. Stephanie Sloat, 29, of Seattle, Wash., won the 10K outright in 1:01:31 while 70-year-old Greg Cowan of Halifax, Mass., finished second overall and won the men’s race in 1:02:45. The overall win in the 5K went to 12-year-old Ava Bullock of Marstons Mills, Mass., in 23:17, while 43-year-old Keith Putnam of Marstons Mills finished second overall and first among the men in 23:20.