The post-Vermont 100 recovery week meant not many ultrarunners from New England were racing during July 22-23, but it wasn’t a completely quiet weekend. Seven runners from the region were among the finishers of the Cascade Crest 100-miler in Washington State, including two who battled into the top 10. That race gets this edition of the roundup all to itself.

Cascade Crest 100

The New England contingent was small but mighty at the Cascade Crest 100-miler on July 22-23 in Easton, Wash.

First run in 1999, this classic Pacific Northwest 100-miler takes runners through the 2.3-mile-long Snoqualmie Tunnel, includes mileage on the Pacific Crest Trail for nearly a third of the race, and tests runners’ mettle with more than 23,000 feet of climbing.

Of the 160 runners who started the race, 126 finished within the 35-hour time limit. Included among that group were seven finishers from New England – two of them in the top 10.

Expectations were high for Ben Quatromoni. The 34-year-old from Newport, R.I., won his ultra debut in the 50-mile race at the 2020 Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail. Since then, he has amassed several ultramarathon victories and podium finishes, most notably a win at the 2021 Eastern States 100-miler in Pennsylvania. He entered Cascade Crest in fine form, having placed second at the Cayuga Trails 50-miler in June.

The leaders pulled away early and Quatromoni avoided temptation to give chase, opting to run his own race. He was in the top five for the duration and ultimately climbed to a third-place finish in 20:55:59. Jesse Lang, 37, of Richland, Wash., led all runners and was the men’s champion in 19:07:58. For Lang, it marked the fourth time he has won the race, adding to his victories in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Runner-up Mike Sidic, 39, of Vancouver, B.C., followed in 20:00:06.

Joining Quatromoni in the top 10 was 40-year-old Andy Vermilyea of Castleton, Vt. Vermilyea spent his entire race inside the top 10, running as high as third place, before finishing sixth overall in 22:06:44.

Hannah Bright, 27, of Sandy, Ore., topped the women’s field and finished 10th overall in 23:31:34. It was the first official 100-mile race for Bright, though she surpassed the distance in October 2021 when she completed 103.5 miles and finished fourth overall at the Lastest Not Fastest Last Person Standing race in Bend, Ore.

The top 13 overall finishers completed the race in less than 24 hours.

Two more New England men were among the top 25 overall finishers. Bertram Johnson, 49, of Burlington, Vt., placed 20th in 24:51:09 and 37-year-old Joshua Burns of Huntington, Vt., was 23rd in 25:22:56.

Additional New England residents among the finishers were Elizabeth Nesbitt, 40, of Burlington, Vt., who finished 48th in 29:30:34; 51-year-old Will Fisher of Redding, Conn., who was 84th in 32:12:49; and 42-year-old Christopher Lay of Somerville, Mass., who finished 75th in 31:23:56.  For Lay, it was at least his fifth 100-mile finish, adding to his finishes of the 2015 TARC 100, 2016 and 2018 Vermont 100, and the 2021 Grindstone 100.

Additionally, former New Hampshire resident Jennifer Shultis, 53, now of Kingston, Wash., finished 66th overall in 30:47:28. For Shultis, it was a short turnaround from the Western States Endurance Run a month earlier when she completed the course slightly over the cutoff.

*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.