While the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out most of the trail ultras in New England this year, a few events have managed to happen. That now includes the Enchanted Forest 6-Hour Ultra, which postponed from its traditional April race date to August in hopes that the pandemic would subside. That hasn’t happened, but the race went on and is featured in this edition of the roundup.

Enchanted Forest 6-Hour Ultra

After a four-month wait, the fourth annual Enchanted Forest 6-Hour Ultra took place in-person on the trails of Roosevelt State Forest on Saturday, Aug. 22, in Stratford, Conn.

Originally scheduled for April 18, the event was postponed until August in hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic would be history. The pandemic has only spread nationwide, but cases have reduced in the Northeast which allowed the event to go forward. 

Forty-six runners toed the starting line to take on the loop course. Ultimately, 20 surpassed the marathon distance, some by just a few yards while others by several miles. Five runners logged more than 30 miles for the day.

In his final big tune-up before running the Wildcat Ultra 100-miler in Florida on Sept. 5, 44-year-old Andy Costa of Shelton, Conn., led all runners with 36.54 miles. He was followed by 49-year-old Rob Leder of Stamford, Conn., who completed 32.48 miles. A trio of men finished the day with 30.45 miles apiece, starting with 35-year-old David Maher of Norwich, Conn. (5:37:54), who was followed by Matthew Hall, 50, of Dudley, Mass. (5:42:54), and Zack Wisnowski, 30, of Monroe Township, N.J. (5:50:06). Mark Sheeran, 61, of Walpole, Mass., was the sixth overall finisher with 28.42 miles.

Making her ultramarathon debut, 43-year-old Jessica Testerman of Milford, Conn., finished first in the women’s field and seventh overall with 28.42 miles. The next five women all finished with 26.39 miles apiece. Jennifer Bell, 54, of Dalton, Mass., was the first to finish that distance (5:24:43), placing second in the women’s field. Lauren Griffin, 52, of Marlborough, Conn., was the third-place woman (5:36:09), followed by Donna Collins, 52, of Warwick, R.I. (5:53:19); Noelle Colbert, 43, of West Springfield, Mass. (5:56:50); and Toni Canora, 50, of Stamford, Conn. (5:56:50).

*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.