For 18 years, the Stone Cat Trail Races challenged runners with 50-mile and marathon distances. The race organizers from G.A.C. in Topsfield transitioned the event to a single-distance offering of a 50K in 2019, and that inaugural event featured impressive performances and competitive battles in both the women’s and men’s races, setting the stage for a highly anticipated second edition of the 50K in 2020.

That second edition will have to wait.

Race organizers announced on July 20 that the event has been canceled. It had been scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, on its usual course at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, but the COVID-19 global pandemic has continued to expand its wrath across the United States for several months which prompted the cancellation.

“Unfortunately we have decided that the best course of action this year is to cancel the race. We hope to see you in 2021,” the organizers wrote on the event website.

The Stone Cat 50K is the 15th Massachusetts ultramarathon to be canceled due to the pandemic. Another three events were postponed while four more were converted to virtual races.