The 2020 ultrarunning season is quickly coming to a close, but some of the sport’s speediest 100-mile and 24-hour runners capitalized on one final chance to log major mileage on Dec. 12-13 at the 11th annual Desert Solstice track race in Arizona. Among them was Scott Traer of Woburn, Mass., and his sizzling performance earned him a roundup all to himself this week.

Desert Solstice

It has been two years since Scott Traer last toed the starting line representing Massachusetts as a resident of the Bay State during an ultra, but after a two-year stay in Colorado he is back home in Woburn. On Dec. 12-13, he was the lone New Englander in the 22-runner field at the invitation-only Desert Solstice 100-mile and 24-hour track ultras at Central High School in Phoenix, Ariz.

Traer, 39, entered the 11th annual event focused on the 100-mile competition. Racing in a green Run Fastah hat (Traer’s coaching business) and a long-sleeve, button-down shirt for protection for the desert sun, Traer spent most of the day racing in the top five overall. He crossed the 50-mile mark in around 7 hours, surpassed the 82-mile mark in about 11 ½ hours, and ultimately finished 100.16 miles in 14:57:14. Traer’s time earned him seventh overall out of 18 100-mile finishers. Oliver LeBlond, 48, of Arlington, Va., took home the overall win in 12:41:57, a half-hour ahead of runner-up Ryan Clifford, 24, of Minot, N.D., who finished in 13:11:34.

Both LeBlond and Traer stopped after finishing their 100-mile efforts and finished 16th and 17th, respectively, in the 24-hour results. Nick Coury, 33, of Scottsdale, Ariz., won the 24-hour race with 155.41 miles, just ahead of 26-year-old Ryan Montgomery of Soda Springs, Calif., who logged 154.71 miles.

Traer previously ran Desert Solstice in 2019 and finished second overall that year in the 100-miler in 13:56:24.

*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.