Part I of our May 13-14 weekend roundup focused on ultras beyond New England. Here in Part II, we catch up on results from three New England ultras beyond the Bay State. Each saw some big performances by runners from the region. In Connecticut, Clorice Reinhardt and Jenny Hoffman turned in the top two women’s times in course history at the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health. In New Hampshire, the men’s and women’s course records fell at the Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler. And in Vermont, runners gutted out hard-earned finishes at 100 miles, 50 miles and 50K at the Blood Root Ultra. Read on to learn more about it.

The Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health

A year after finishing second overall and first in the women’s field at the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health, Clorice Reinhardt earned the outright victory and set a new women’s course record at the fifth annual event on Saturday, May 13. Still, it didn’t come easy. Reinhardt had to fend off a strong challenge from another fast woman – Jenny Hoffman – who ultimately logged the second-fastest women’s time in course history.

The 56-mile north-south traverse of Connecticut on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail took runners from West Suffield to New Haven. Twenty-two runners started the day and 16 ultimately finished. Reinhardt, 28, of Westerly, R.I., led the way in 9:06:54, followed by Hoffman, 45, of Cambridge, Mass., in 9:33:10. Dave Gilbert, 44, of Tinton Falls, N.J., finished third overall and first in the men’s field in 11:00:34. Caitlin Roston, 37, of Ashford, Conn., was the fourth finisher and third female in 11:43:46. Caitlin Rossi, 39, of Torrington, Conn., was the fourth woman and sixth finisher in 11:51:01.

Joining Gilbert on the men’s podium were Byron Lane, 55, of Stony Brook, N.Y. (11:47:10) and Kristijan Begic, 37, of Waterbury, Conn. (11:52:37).

Both Reinhard and Hoffman have bigger goals in their sights in June. Reinhardt will run the 112-mile Connecticut Ultra Traverse while Hoffman will head to Milwaukee, Wisc., to take part in the 24-hour race at Six Days in the Dome.

Manchester 2 Monadnock

The men’s and women’s course records fell at the eighth running of the Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler on Saturday, May 13, in southern New Hampshire.

Starting in downtown Manchester, runners covered a mix of dirt and paved roads and trails as they made their way to Jaffrey and then took the Pumpelly Trail to the summit of Mt. Monadnock before taking the gnarly descent down the White Arrow Trail before connecting on the Parker Trail to the finish line at the Poole Reservoir.

Fifty-five runners started the race, and 46 ultimately finished within 16 hours. Antoine Beland St-Onge, 29, of Shawinigan, Quebec, toppled the men’s course record in his ultra debut, winning in 7:22:57. Kevin Hartstein, 33, of Hanover, N.H., followed in 8:04:42. Finishing third overall and setting a new women’s course record was 34-year-old Lexi Jackson, 34, of Goffstown, N.H., in 8:48:24.

Sam Lundquist, 34, of Manchester, N.H., rounded out the men’s podium in 9:26:00, followed by Kevin Grickis, 39, of Southwest Harbor, Maine, in 9:36:08; Danforth Sullivan, 39, of Sudbury, Mass., in 9:36:09; and Ned Dalzell, 37, of Newbury, Mass., in 9:46:58 as the final sub-10-hour finishers.

Rounding out the overall top 10 were Eugene Cordwell, 27, of Boscawen, N.H. (10:16:56); Thomas Leo, 34, of Princeton, Mass. (10:21:21); and Jay Doubman, 51, of Winchester, Mass. (11:06:06).

Jackson was joined on the women’s podium by Alison Roy, 39, of Kensington, N.H., and Emily Rose, 35, of Portland, Maine, who finished in 11:13:56 and 11:21:31, respectively. Multi-time Vermont 100 champion Kathleen Cusick, 48, of Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., was the fourth-place female in 11:23:47, and 55-year-old Katy Kelly of Dorchester, Mass., finished fifth in 11:49:15.

Peak Blood Root Ultra

The latest edition of the Peak Blood Root Ultra took place May 8-13 in Pittsfield, Vt., once again challenging runners with multiple distances on loop courses in the Green Mountain foothills.

Fourteen runners started the 100-mile race, and four finished. Kevin MacDonald, 31, of Revere, Mass., did so the fastest, winning in 32:32:10. He was joined by Eric Schidt, 36, of Denville, N.J. (36:01:34) Craig Paton, 51, of Ellington, Conn. (36:13:37); and David Kleparek, 43, of Elizabethtown, Ky. (37:23:10) in finishing under the 38-hour cutoff.

Forty-two runners began the 50-mile race, and 20 ultimately finished. Julien Marie Betrand Dauplais, 31, of Montreal, Quebec, led all runners in 10:21:13, followed by Vermont residents Adam Cronin, 24, of Burlington, and Josh Rollins, 47, of Barre, in 10:6:35 and 11:43:10, respectively, to top the men’s field. Ariel Cudmore, 31, of Sainte-Beatrix, Quebec, was the women’s champion in 11:45:40, followed by 51-year-old Karen Benway of Williston, Vt., in 12:15:39, and 43-year-old Shelly MacPhail of Shelburne, Vt., in 14:08:02.

One hundred runners completed the 50K, with the top nine men all completing the race in less than six hours. Dylan Flewelling, 20, of Oakland, Maine, led the way in 5:06:02, followed by a pair of runners from Quebec, 26-year-old Baptiste Jouzier (5:15:14) and Patrick Plourde-Lavoie (5:33:10). RJ Thompson, 38, of Stowe, Vt., (5:37:22) and James King, 27, of Corinth, Vt. (5:38:46), rounded out the top five with 39-year-old Bryce Spare of Adams, Mass., close behind in 5:40:32. Jennifer Malmborg, 25, of South Burlington, Vt., was the top female competitor in 6:10:14, followed by 46-year-old Valorie Taylor of Mendon, Vt., in 6:41:44. A pair of Quebec runners, 42-year-old Veronique Lecuyer and 43-year-old Marieve Fontaine, finished third and fourth in 6:55:40 and 6:55:41, respectively.

*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.