With Thanksgiving just a few days away, several ultrarunners from New England sought out opportunities to burn a bunch of calories prior to the big holiday feast. Most headed to Maryland for the classic JFK, and two Massachusetts women, Somerville’s Sarah Aponte and Boston’s Kate Mingle earned top-10 finishes, as did Vermont’s Alexander Jinks. Additionally, Eric Despres of Gardner, Mass., earned his second straight podium finish at the Dinosaur Valley 100 in Texas, and Westminster’s Will Bradley tallied 200 miles in Florida at the Icarus UltraFest. All of those feats are highlighted in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: JFK, Dinosaur Valley, and Icarus UltraFest
Monthly Archives: November 2019
Cold Takes a Toll on Runners, Coffee at TARCkey Trot
WINCHESTER, Mass. — Below-freezing temperatures took a toll on runners at the Trail Animals Running Club’s fourth annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Wright-Locke Farm, but the first casualty was the coffee. Continue reading Cold Takes a Toll on Runners, Coffee at TARCkey Trot
MassUltra Roundup: Chimera, TNFEC-San Francisco, and Dead Horse
While the TARCkey Trot (separate article) attracted the largest crowd of New England ultrarunners to Wright-Locke Farm in Massachusetts during the Nov. 16-17 weekend, a few runners from the region headed West to tackle new trails. None had a bigger day than Kara Olivito who won the Chimera 100K outright in California. Several others took part in the North Face Endurance Challenge championship races in California, while others raced the 50-miler or 50K at Dead Horse in Moab, Utah. Those races are included in this week’s brief roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Chimera, TNFEC-San Francisco, and Dead Horse
Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fourth-annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra and 5K on the trails of Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass., and neighboring Whipple Hill on Saturday, Nov. 16. The following are a small sample of photos from the day. A full gallery of 123 photos can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link. Continue reading Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fourth annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra and 5K trail races on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass., and the trails of neighboring Whipple Hill. Runners had six hours to complete a 3.1-mile loop as many times as they could, with only completed loops counting. Continue reading Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
MassUltra Roundup: Tunnel Hill and Georgia Sky to Summit
As the 2019 ultramarathon season nears its close, the slate of races is shrinking in Massachusetts and beyond. With the TARCkey Trot 6-hour ultra on tap for Nov. 16, the Nov. 9-10 weekend was light on races. Three runners from New England hit the road for ultras beyond the region, though, with two earning belt buckles at the Tunnel Hill 100 in Illinois and another earning a finish at the Georgia Sky to Summit 50K. Both are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Tunnel Hill and Georgia Sky to Summit
‘Narrow Vision’ Highlights Robidoux’s Boundary-Pushing Run at Western States
BOSTON, Mass. — Kyle Robidoux’s running journey has been all about pursuing the uncomfortable, but he looked fully at ease as he stood in front of the crowd of runners who gathered to watch a screening of a short film about his adventure at the Western States Endurance Run. Continue reading ‘Narrow Vision’ Highlights Robidoux’s Boundary-Pushing Run at Western States
MassUltra Roundup: The Hamsterwheel, Pachaug, Farm to Farm, and the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness, and Pinhoti
After several busy weekends of ultramarathons in Massachusetts, it was quiet in the Bay State on Nov. 2-3. There were still plenty of races nearby in New England, however, from the Hamsterwheel time-based ultras in New Hampshire, to the small and scenic Farm to Farm ultras in Maine, to two brand new events in Connecticut — the Pachaug 50-miler and the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness. Beyond those regional races, several New Englanders headed south to Alabama and brought home finishers belt buckles from the Pinhoti 100-miler. All of those races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: The Hamsterwheel, Pachaug, Farm to Farm, and the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness, and Pinhoti
A Stacked Field, a Spirited Race and a Smith Victory at Stone Cat
IPSWICH, Mass. – The friendly banter, the anxious smiles, the fidgeting and deep breathing… all were on display in the minutes leading up to the start of the Stone Cat 50K, foreshadowing what was about to happen.
Yes, the runners were chilly – it was just 31 degrees on this sunny Saturday morning – but they were also nervous. This day was going to hurt, especially for those who hoped to contend for the win. After 18 years of offering 50-mile and marathon distances, the Stone Cat organizers combined the two races into a single 50K offering this year. That meant the fastest fellas were all in one race, and they all knew it. Continue reading A Stacked Field, a Spirited Race and a Smith Victory at Stone Cat
Nawn Celebrates Return to New England with Stone Cat Victory
IPSWICH, Mass. – When Cori Nawn stepped to the starting line of the Stone Cat 50K on Saturday morning, she didn’t know what to expect of the competition around her. Then again, it wasn’t of much concern to her. She was just happy to be there.
“I recently moved back to the area from Texas,” Nawn said. “I lived in San Antonio for five years and I moved back up here after getting my Ph.D. I’m really happy to be back, and I just wanted to run a fall race because fall is my favorite season.” Continue reading Nawn Celebrates Return to New England with Stone Cat Victory
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