When Northeast Race Management played host to its first 50K – then known as the Big Bear 50K – at DCR Massasoit State Park in East Taunton in 2017, a spirited race unfolded and ultimately went down to the wire with Cambridge resident Padraig Mullins holding off Andover’s Joe Loureiro by less than two minutes.

A year later, construction at the park forced the event to relocate to Watuppa Reservation in Fall River. The relocated and renamed Watuppa 50K enjoyed two exciting years of racing at the new venue, and it was slated for a third in May of this year until the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be canceled. The Watuppa 50K is one of a dozen Massachusetts ultramarathons have been canceled so far this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and several others have either been postponed or evolved into virtual events.

Not to be deterred, the organizers from Northeast Race Management kept a close eye on Massasoit State Park. They saw that the construction work that forced their race to move in 2018 was now complete, so this fall they have scheduled for a return to trail- and ultramarathon racing at Massasoit. The Massasoit Trail Races, with 50K, 30K and 10K distances, are scheduled to take place on Sunday, Oct. 25. Registration is open on UltraSignup at this link.