June opened with a bang for New England ultrarunners as one of the busiest racing months of the year began with several big-time performances at races in the Northeast and across the country. That included Norton resident Padraig Mullins’ podium finish at the classic Old Dominion 100-miler in Virginia and Rhode Island resident Ben Quatromoni’s runner-up performance at the Cayuga Trails 50-miler in New York, as well as a major show of force by New Englanders at the grueling Worlds End 100K in Pennsylvania. Those performances and more are included in this edition of the roundup.

Worlds End Ultramarathons

The Worlds End 100K has quickly earned a reputation as one of the most challenging 100K races in the Northeast with a remote 63.8-mile course that tests runners with rugged terrain with nearly 13,000 feet of climbing.

Ultrarunners from New England delivered a show of force at the eighth edition of the race on Saturday, June 4, at Worlds End State Park in Forksville, Pa., as six runners from the region placed among the top 25.

Ryan Williams, 33, of Concord, Mass., and Russell Dresher, 40, of Berlin, Mass., led the way as both placed in the overall top 10. Anton Laptsenak, 33, of Stoughton, Mass.; Shawn Powers, 47, of Attleboro, Mass.; and Matthew Galle, 24, of Fairfield, Conn.; also were among the New England men in the top 25. Most notably, 39-year-old Kara Olivito of Lynn, Mass., secured a spot on the women’s podium.

Williams placed seventh overall in 13:37:19, followed by Dresher who was eighth in 13:49:12. Justin Scheid, 36, of Succasunna, N.J., earned the overall win in 10:54:48, well ahead of runner-up Aaron Clineman, 28, of Pittsburgh, Pa., who placed second in 12:20:33.

Laptsenak finished 16th in 14:56:12, Powers was 17th in 15:18:08, and GAlle finished 23rd in 15:32:50.

Olivito was the women’s runner-up and 25th overall finisher in 15:39:14. She was edged out for the women’s victory by 36-year-old Kristy McBride of Marquette, Mich., who finished 18 minutes ahead and 18th overall in 15:21:02.

Ten New England residents were among the 107 runners who finished the grueling race within the 19-hour time limit. In addition to the six who placed in the overall top 25, other finishers from the region included Jamie Miller, 40, of North Haven, Conn. (47th, 16:57:28); Daniel Green, 35, of Boston, Mass. (48th, 16:59:16); Peter Guza, 41, of North Andover, Mass. (17:44:11); and Jared Gell, 42, of Ridgefield, Conn. (18:47:08).

In the World End 50K race, 26-year-old Ryan Horne of Chicopee, Mass., placed ninth out of 131 finishers in 6:05:00. Karen Prado, 55, of Wethersfield, Conn., also finished in 9:17:51. Reagan McCoy, 24, of Lock Haven, Pa., won by nearly an hour in 4:40:15. Kara Moyer, 35, of Montoursville, Pa., topped the women’s field in 6:58:15.

Old Dominion 100

Padraig Mullins secured his second ultramarathon podium finish of the year at the Old Dominion 100-miler on June 4-5 in Fort Valley, Va.

Mullins, 40, of Norton, Mass., built upon his February victory at the Caumsett Park 50K in New York and his 11th-place finish at the Sri Chinmoy 100K in April in the United Kingdom by throwing down a strong performance and placing third overall at Old Dominion in 19:16:00. One of American ultrarunning’s original 100-milers, the race was first held in 1978. Chad Lasater, 49, of Sugar Land, Texas, won this year’s event in 18:24:23, followed by 30-year-old James Weaver of Denver, Pa., in 18:36:04. Kathleen Cusick, 47, of Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., was the women’s champion in 21:55:54.

Two other New England residents were among the finishers. Cliff Li, 52, of Brookline, Mass., finished in 25:43:01 and 48-year-old Steven Labranche of Oakdale, Conn., followed shortly after in 25:50:26.

Cayuga Trails 50

Flowing singletrack, waterfalls, forests and stone stairs – the Cayuga Trails 50 had it all at its 10th edition on Saturday, June 4, in Ithaca, N.Y. Runners were treated to 50-mile and 50K distance options, with the longer race serving as the main event. The course provided a stiff challenge, but runners were up to the test.

Runners had 15 hours to complete the race, and 115 did so. Seven New England residents secured spots among the top 50 finishers. Ben Quatromoni, 34, of Newport, R.I., led the New England contingent and placed second overall in 8:00:58, trailing only 25-year-old Ryan Clifford of New Hyde Park, N.Y., who won in 7:18:33. It was the second runner-up finish in an ultra this year for Quatromoni; he previously placed second at the Behind the Rocks 50-miler in Moab, Utah, in March. Quatromoni won the Eastern States 100-miler in Pennsylvania and Kilkenny Ridge 50-miler in New Hampshire in 2021. Joining Quatromoni in the top 10 was another Rhode Island resident, 37-year-old Justin Hetherington of Jamestown, who placed ninth overall in 9:45:54, one spot behind women’s champion Erica Mitchell, 37, of Minneapolis, Minn. (9:45:33).

Other New England residents who placed in the overall top 50 were Randy Patrick, 41, of Spofford, N.H. (13th, 10:11:51); Brian Cocuzzo, 38, of West Hartford, Conn. (22nd, 10:38:09); Allie Bartak, 34, of Sunapee, N.H. (29th, 11:43:20); Christopher Lay, 41, of Somerville, Mass. (41st, 12:11:27); and Betty Secor, 61, of Salisbury Cove, Maine (50th, 12:22:44).

Dan Timmerman, 41, of Trumansburg, N.Y., and Riley Brady, 27, of New Hope, Pa., were the winners of the 50K race in 4:43:51 and 5:12:00, respectively. Leslie O’Dell, 46, and Ryan Welts, 41, both of Albany, N.Y., were the top women’s and men’s finishers from New England. They finished eighth and ninth overall in 5:35:11 and 5:43:59, respectively, and O’Dell was the second-place woman. Joe Dollard, 40, of Cambridge, Mass., finished 10th overall in 5:45:42. There were 143 finishers within 14 hours.

North Fork 50

It has been a few years since Tyler Dion last raced an ultra, but the 26-year-old resident of Southborough, Mass., shook off the rust with a solid day at the 12th running of the North Fork 50 on Saturday, June 4, in Buffalo Creek, Colo.

Dion, whose last race was a victory in the Cloudsplitter 50K in October 2019, took on the 50-mile distance at North Fork. Racing on a loop course with an out-and-back section added in, Dion handled the altitude and 6,500 feet of climbing and placed 16th out of 52 finishers in 10:30:11. Eric Holmstead, 29, of Denver, Colo., won the race in 8:10:07.

An additional 142 runners completed the North Fork 50K race. Stephanie Christau, 35, of Old Town, Maine, was the lone New England resident in the field. She placed 48th overall and 20th among the women in 6:54:19 in what served as a final big training day before racing the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-miler in July.

Dam Yeti 50

The fifth edition of the Dam Yeti 50 took place on Saturday, June 4, with runners racing either 50 miles or 55K point-to-point from Whitetop Station to Wolf Hills Brewery in Abingdon, Va.

A trio of New England women took part in the 55K race and were among the 208 finishers.

Kristina Reech, 41, of Orange, Conn., led the New England contingent, placing 33rd overall and 12th in the women’s field in 6:27:37. Melissa Cutroni, 51, of Charlton, Mass., and Julia Becker Collins, 40, of Marlborough, Mass., also finished in 8:38:36 and 9:04:23, respectively. Ron Wireman, 40, of Knoxville, Tenn., was the overall winner in 3:39:59. Ashley Hauserman, 39, of Decatur, Ga., led the women’s field and placed seventh overall in 5:16:36.

The event also included a 50-mile race, but no New England residents were among the 92 finishers. Amy Hamilton, 46, of Abingdon, Va., was the overall winner of that race in 6:18:36. The men’s winner and third overall finisher was Jamie Fowler, 51, of Charlotte, N.C., in 6:55:22.

The Full Mo 50K

Eric Lousararian made his ultramarathon debut on Saturday, June 4, when he traveled to Sheridan, Ind., to race the second annual Full Mo 50K. The fast, slightly downhill, point-to-point course spans the entire Monon Trail, starting in Sheridan and finishing at The Garage Foodhall at the historic Bottleworks in Indianapolis, and runners took full advantage of the terrain to turn in fast times – Lousararian was no exception.

Lousararian, 35, of Needham, Mass., cranked out a sub-5-hour performance for his first ultra, finishing 16th overall in 4:53:29. Of the 53 starters, 41 runners finished in less than eight hours. The top three finished in less than four hours, including 31-year-old Cory Kirkham of Carmel, Ind., who set a new course record with his winning time of 3:31:21.

*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.