New England ushered in March with its first ultramarathon of the month on Sunday, March 1, at the Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra 50K in Rupert, Vt. The event, which made its debut in 2019, challenged competitors with a four-loop course, more than 8,500 feet of vertical gain and numerous steep descents – all of it on snowy singletrack and doubletrack trails in the northern Taconic Mountains.

Six runners successfully completed the 50K race with 35-year-old Cody Cutler of Sterling, Mass., taking home the win in 6:33. It was Cutler’s first ultra of the year, building off a strong 2019 where he placed in the top five at the Cape Cod Trail Race 50K and The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler at Wachusett Mountain.

Cutler was followed eight minutes later by runner-up Ethan Nedeau, 47, of Leverett, Mass., in 6:41. Jack Billings, 24, of Burlington, Vt., rounded out the podium in 6:56. Other finishers were 52-year-old Joe Loureiro of Andover, Mass., in 7:15; 52-year-old Neal Saxe of Brattleboro, Vt., in 8:28; and 34-year-old Daniel Whitmoyer of Sunapee, N.H., in 8:44.

Additionally, 12 more runners completed two loops of the course in a 25K race that was won by 49-year-old Bernie Gee of New Fairfield, Conn., in 3:25. Candi Christenson, 42, of Westhampton, Mass., topped the women’s field in 4:22.

*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.