The Massachusetts ultrarunning schedule began its April ramp-up during the April 8-9 weekend as Amy Rusiecki’s Beast Coast Trail Running Series kicked off with the annual Mt. Toby 50K Ultra and 24K trail races. More than 150 runners took part in the two distances. Still, several New England ultrarunners ventured beyond the Bay State to race during the weekend – including a pair who made their ultra debuts out west. Sam Randall of Amherst, Mass., burst onto the ultra scene with a top-10 performance at the Diablo Trails Challenge 50K in California, and Uyenphuong Nguyen of Cambridge, Mass., battled for a hard-earned finish at the scenic and tough Smith Rock Ascent 50K in Oregon. Additionally, a number of other runners from the region flocked to Bear Mountain, N.Y., for the second annual Big Bear Squatch North. We’ve got them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

April opened with a bang for several New England ultrarunners with trips to events throughout the country. No race was a more popular draw than the Gorge Waterfalls Ultras in Oregon where several runners from the region took on either the 100K or 50K distances on singletrack trails through the spectacular Columbia River Gorge. Also out west, Maine’s Gordon Collins reunited with old friends and took in the warm weather and smooth singletrack of California at the Placer Trail Running Festival. And in the heartland, Tiffany Woodger of Granville, Mass., earned her first 100-mile finish at Vernal Equinox. Those efforts and more are included in this edition of the roundup.