MassUltra Roundup: Squatchy Leftovers

Thanksgiving week was heavy on eating and light on ultramarathon racing throughout the United States. Still, for one Massachusetts man the holiday week included being thankful for finishing his first ultra. Milford’s Alex Kovner finished the Squatchy Leftovers 50K in New Jersey, and he gets this edition of the roundup all to himself.

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MassUltra Roundup: JFK 50 and Dead Horse

After months of heavy racing, the Nov. 19-20 weekend was relatively light in anticipation of upcoming Thanksgiving feasts. The most notable ultra in the country was among the few that took place, with 50 New England residents earning finishes at the 60th edition of the JFK 50 in Maryland. Additionally, a handful of runners headed West to Moab to race the Dead Horse Ultras. Both of those races make for some light pre-holiday reading in this edition of the roundup.

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Photos: Race for DFL

Beast Coast Trail Running’s third edition of the “Race for DFL” Last Person Standing event took place Nov. 19-20, 2022, at a farm in Winchendon, Mass. Seventy-three runners took part in the event, which used a mixed-terrain 4.1666-mile loop course. A new race started on the hour, every hour, until only one runner remained. The race lasted for 30 hours, most of it in below-freezing temperatures. The following are a small sample of photos from the event by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery can be found at this link.

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Results: Race for DFL

The third edition of Race Director Amy Rusiecki’s Race for DFL last-person-standing event took place Nov. 19-20, 2022, in Winchendon, Mass. Runners took on a 4.1666-mile loop course, starting a new loop on the hour, every hour, until one runner remained. Seventy-three runners took part in this year’s event, and two runners surpassed the 100-mile mark.

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MassUltra Roundup: Bold Coast Bash, Mt. Tam, Tunnel Hill, RutFest, and Cowboy 200

Fall is finally asserting its grip on New England with overnight temperatures plummeting into the 20s. Even a bit of snow has dusted parts of the region, signaling that the 2022 ultrarunning season is nearing its conclusion. We’re not there yet, however. There are still a handful of ultras remaining here in Massachusetts and throughout the region before we close the book on 2022. There are even more ultras remaining across the country that continue to entice runners from the region. A couple of those regional and national races happened during the Nov. 12-13 weekend, including the Bold Coast Bash 50K in Maine. Additionally, we caught up on RutFest and the Cowboy 200 from a week earlier. Read on to learn more about them in this edition of the roundup.

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Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the sixth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. A revised course made its debut this year which extended the loop from 3.1 to 3.5 miles. Runners had six hours to complete the loop as many times as they could. The following is a small sample of photos taken at the race by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full photo gallery of 134 photos can be viewed at this link.

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Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra

The Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) played host to the sixth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. This year’s event marked the debut of a revised course that expanded the loop distance from 3.1 miles to 3.5 miles including a few additional hills. Runners amassed around 630 feet of elevation gain per loop.

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MassUltra Roundup: The Hamsterwheel and 8 Hours at the Farm

New England ultrarunners were so busy racing during the Nov. 4-6 weekend that it merited two roundups this week. We highlighted results from five races outside of New England in Part 1. Though we’re still awaiting the results from RutFest in Vermont, the results from the Hamsterwheel in New Hampshire and 8 Hours at the Farm in Connecticut are in – and they featured some big-time performances. None were bigger than those turned in by Massachusetts residents Cody Cutler and Laura Ricci at the Hamsterwheel. Both Bay Staters smashed course records with their winning performances, and they lead off Part 2 of this week’s roundup.

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