The first weekend of the new year is typically full of ultras around the United States, from fatass-style races to the popular Across the Years multi-day races in Arizona, to ringing-in-the-new-year races. Not this year. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, some New Year’s races went virtual while most were canceled. Only a handful happened with in-person racing, and two Massachusetts residents took part in one of them. That race – Arizona’s San Tan Scramble – is covered in the first roundup of 2021.

San Tan Scramble

Nicholas Fucile and Jacqueline Fucile have a big year of ultramarathon racing on tap – that is, if the United States finally gets the COVID-19 pandemic under control and races are able to take place. The residents of West Newbury, Mass., are signed up for Connecticut’s Traprock 50K in April and New Hampshire’s Kilkenny Ridge 50-miler in September. Following those races, Nicholas Fucile, 42, is slated to race the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-miler in October.

But first, the pair kicked off the new year by racing the San Tan Scramble 50K on Saturday, Jan. 2, in Queen Creek, Ariz.

The 11th annual race through the Goldmine and San Tan mountain ranges in San Tan Mountain Regional Park put COVID protocols in place to provide for a safer racing environment, including wave starts. Seventy runners started the race, and 64 finished within nine hours.

The pair finished side-by-side, tied for 27th overall, in 6:44:33. For Jacqueline Fucile, 36, she also finished fifth among the women’s field.

Derek Delancey, 42, of Gilbert, Ariz., topped the men’s field and took home the overall win in 4:22:05. Vivian Carrasco, 23, of Kemah, Texas, finished second overall and set a new women’s course record with her time of 4:32:06. The top five finishers completed the course in less than five hours.

*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.