The final day of July and first day of August featured several big performances from New England ultrarunners as they tackled courses across the country. Some ventured to the Mountain West for high-altitude adventures such as the High Lonesome 100; others stayed closer to home, with several heading to the mountains of Vermont for the Moosalamoo 36-miler. Then there was Cambridge resident Jenny Hoffman who road-tripped to New York and delivered a sizzling performance in the 100-mile race at the Beast of Burden – Summer Edition. Hoffman’s victory highlighted a busy weekend of racing and leads off this week’s roundup.

Beast of Burden – Summer Edition

After suffering a meniscus injury during a transcontinental run attempt and being sidelined for months, Jenny Hoffman made an emphatic return to ultramarathon racing at the 12th annual Beast of Burden – Summer Edition on July 31-Aug. 1 in Lockport, N.Y.

Running along the flat and fast Erie Canal Towpath for most of the four out-and-backs that make up the 100-mile race course, Hoffman – a 43-year-old resident of Cambridge, Mass., and physics professor at Harvard University – threw down a dominant performance. She cruised throughout the day and pulled away from the field, ultimately racing to the overall victory in 17:21:29. Her time was the third-fastest by a woman in course history and the fastest of any runner in the field by more than an hour. Men’s winner and overall runner-up Zach Crim, 29, of Haslett, Mich., followed in 18:26:53, while third overall finisher Michael McTighe, 29, of Rochester, N.Y., completed the course in 22:20:40.

For Hoffman, it was her second time completing the summer Beast of Burden. She last ran the race in 2014 when she was the first-place woman and fourth overall finisher in 18:47:37.

Hoffman wasn’t the lone New England resident to finish this year’s race. Michael Condella, 33, of Revere, Mass., finished 11th overall in 27:16:32, securing his third finish of the summer 100-miler. He has also finished the 50-mile race multiple times, as well as the winter edition 100-miler.

Of the 24 runners who started the 100-miler, 18 finished within the 30-hour time limit.

In addition to the 100-miler, another 30 runners completed two out-and-backs of the course in the 50-mile race. Kristin Gordon, 33, of North East, Pa., led all runners, winning in 8:30:33. She was joined at the finish line by three New England residents: Robert Scott, 67, of Woodbury, Conn., in 11:24:28; Barbara Graf, 62, of Leeds, Mass., in 12:31:56; and Olivier Kozlowski, 51, of Mansfield, Mass., in 14:55:03.

Moosalamoo

The Moosalamoo 36-mile trail ultramarathon in Goshen, Vt., is known for attracting familiar faces year after year and having a close-knit feel among the runners, volunteers, and crews who gather annually at the Blueberry Hill Inn for the deceptively difficult race. Many veterans returned for the 10th annual race on Saturday, July 31, but a trio of newcomers led the way in their Moosalamoo debuts.

Amanda Quinlan, 33, of Manchester, N.H., led all runners in her Moosalamoo debut, taking home the overall win in a speedy 6:29:58, followed less than six minutes later by race runner-up and men’s winner Jason Gray, 41, of Northbridge, Mass., in 6:35:12. The third overall finisher and women’s runner-up was 37-year-old Laura Ricci of Boston, Mass., who finished in 6:52:59. It was just the latest in a series of strong 2021 performances for Ricci, building upon her fifth-place finish at the Catamount 50K five weeks prior and her win at the Trail Animals Running Club’s “Don’t Run Boston” 50K in April.

Two more runners finished in less than seven hours. Nolan Pernia, 21, of Riegelsville, Pa., finished fourth overall in 6:54:09, followed by 27-year-old Sam Davis of West Roxbury, Mass., in 6:59:06. Cori Nawn, 29, of Boston, Mass., rounded out the women’s podium and finished sixth overall in 7:02:13, followed closely by 29-year-old Benjamin Manning of Palmer, Mass., in 7:02:39.

Other Massachusetts residents who were among the 54 finishers included Anthony Tieuli, 48, of Northbridge in 7:14:24; Lisa Rising, 30, of Cambridge in 7:27:41; Robyn Bratica, 37, of Milford in 8:46:45; Elizabeth Dougherty, 53, of Marlborough in 9:29:24; Natasha Sheehy, 29, of Boston in 10:24:13; Christine Feder, 51, of Westborough in 10:24:19; Katya Divari, 59, of Ashland in 10:24:24; and Marilyn Oberhardt, 56, of Arlington in 11:24:32.

Wy’East Howl

It was a homecoming of sorts for Gretchen Funk at the Wy’East Howl on July 31-Aug. 1 on the trails around Mt. Hood in Oregon.

Funk was a regular on the trail and ultramarathon racing scene for a few years while living in Portland, Ore. Now a resident of Topsfield, Mass., the 30-year-old Funk returned to the Pacific Northwest to race the 100K race at the Wy’East Howl, and she delivered a memorable homecoming performance by racing to a second-place finish in the women’s field in 13:27:33, placing 20th overall along the way. Danielle Yokel, 47, of Etna, Calif., topped the women’s field and finished 16th overall in 13:09:45, while 34-year-old Richard Lockwood of Seattle, Wash., led the men in 9:07:22. The lolli-pop loop course tested runners with more than 10,000 feet of climbing, most of it on singletrack trails through forests and meadows.

Of the 98 runners who started the race, 76 ultimately finished.

For Funk, it was her second race in Oregon this year. She returned to the state in June for the Wy’East Wonder 50K. Prior to that, her most recent race was an eighth-place finish at the Stone Cat 50K in November 2019.

The event also included a 50K point-to-point race with 6,000 feet of climbing. Three New England residents were among the 189 finishers of that race, which was won by Todd Simpson, 36, of Portland, Ore., in 4:30:58 and Liberty Miller, 29, of Canoga Park, Calif., in 5:25:40. Julia Sullivan, 28, of New Haven, Conn., finished fifth among the women’s field in 5:55:03; Renee Laurencelle, 28, of Tyngsboro, Mass., was the eighth-place woman and 30th overall finisher in 6:17:58; and Connor McHugh, 26, of Old Saybrook, Conn., finished in 7:25:25.

High Lonesome 100

Rugged and remote, the High Lonesome 100-miler is quickly garnering a reputation as one of the toughest mountain races in the country with its high altitude and 22,500 feet of climbing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Runners returned to the Sawatch Range on July 30-31 to take on the fourth running of the race, starting and ending in Salida, Colo., and passing through two ghost towns, crossing five alpine passes, and amassing mileage on the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide along the way.

Jeremy Howard, 50, of Little Compton, R.I., led the New England contingent by placing 39th overall in 30:57:34. No stranger to high-altitude, Howard entered the race with multiple Leadville 100 finishes under his belt.

Other New England residents who finished included Scott Raymond, 40, of Cambridge, Mass., in 31:51:23; Connecticut’s Will Fisher, 50, in 23:11:18; and 35-year-old Joseph Sposato of Somerville, Mass., in 35:29:44.

A pair of Colorado residents, 30-year-old John Herrick and 36-year-old Salynda Heinl, topped the men’s and women’s fields in 21:23:00 and 25:06:44, respectively, as 94 runners finished within 37 hours.

Badger Trail Races

Sponsored by the popular Ten Junk Miles podcast, the popular Badger Trail Races returned to in-person racing July 31-Aug. 1 in Belleville, Wisc., after a virtual 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Runners were treated to many miles of smooth, soft, fast, easy-running terrain on the Jane Adams and Badger State trails, with ultramarathon options of 100 miles, 100K, 50 miles and 50K. Three Massachusetts residents took part in the 100-miler and earned buckles for their effort.

Wendy Cordeiro, 50, of New Bedford, Mass., earned her second 100-mile finish – and first since the 2015 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race – finishing 24th overall and third in the women’s field in 26:13:48. Kim Bueno, 47, of Austin, Texas, topped the women’s field in 23:44:05, while 29-year-old Martin Erl of Brookfield, Wisc., led all runners in 14:05:47.

Joining Cordeiro as finishers were Jenn Hoadley, 43, and Matthew Hoadley, 43, both of Scituate, Mass., who ran together and crossed the finish line side-by-side in 27:57:41.

Ninety-four runners finished the 100-mile race within the 36-hour time limit.

The event also included 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultramarathon distances. Of the 144 runners who completed those combined distances, none were New England residents.

*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.