The Chesterfield Gorge Ultra in Massachusetts has quickly established itself as a popular early-June attraction for ultrarunners in New England, but there’s another low-key event that continues to tempt more runners to its course: the Connecticut Ultra Traverse, or CUT 112. The 112-mile north-south journey across the state is too much for some, so a 100K option was added in 2022 and a 50-mile version made its debut in 2023. There were many other popular ultras that attracted New Englanders during the June 2-4 weekend – including Cayuga Trails in nearby New York – but the CUT leads off this edition of the roundup.

CUT 112

The Connecticut Ultra Traverse – or CUT 112 – celebrated its sixth edition on June 2-3. The largely self-sufficient event took runners on a point-to-point journey, beginning in Southwick, Mass., and following the New England Trail’s blue blazes south to Long Island Sound in Guilford, Conn. Additionally, runners had the option to race either the MUT 100K on the first 62 miles of the course or the CUT 50 on the final 50 miles of the course.

Seventeen runners started this year’s CUT 112, and 12 ultimately finished within 44 ½ hours. New men’s and women’s course records were set as 33-year-old Jacques Saarbach of New Haven, Conn., and 44-year-old Jessica Crandall of Berlin, Conn., set new course standards in 25:40:09 and 29:46:32, respectively. Sandwiched between them at the finish line was overall runner-up Lee Davis, 41, of Hamden, Conn., who finished in 29:10:21. The top three overall runners were the lone sub-30-hour finishers.

Additional CUT 112 finishers included Jamie Miller, 41, of North Haven, Conn. (31:13:47); Marc Kelly, 46, of New Britain, Conn. (34:29:20); David Baker, 37, of West Hartford, Conn. (34:45:04); Samuel Dybdahl, 35, of Manchester, Conn. (37:03:22); Tony Didomizio, 37, of Rocky Hill, Conn. (38:39:02); Andy Daggett, 29, of Holden, Mass. (40:54:53); Matthew Burrell, 37, of Chester, Mass. (40:58:55); Kristijan Begic, 37, of Waterbury, Conn. (43:29:51); and Oak Miller, 41, of Raleigh, N.C. (44:13:48).

Five runners attempted the second edition of the MUT 100K on the first 62 miles of the CUT 112 course, and just one finished. That runner, 32-year-old Matthew Geary of Haydenville, Mass., finished in 14:12:19. The run was a big tune-up for Geary as he builds up to the Midstate Massive 100-miler in October.

Another nine runners finished the inaugural CUT 50-miler that started at the Berlin Turnpike and finished at Long Island Sound. Ian Connell, 27, of Guilford, Conn., followed his 2022 CUT 112 victory by winning the 50-miler in a speedy 8:10:49. Fred Willis, 38, of Cheshire, Conn., was the runner-up in 9:13:39, and 24-year-old Austin Frank of Bolton, Conn., placed third in 9:32:11. Fresh off of her victory at the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness 56-miler in May, 28-year-old Clorice Reinhardt of Westerly, R.I., was the first-place female at the CUT 50-miler in 10:08:41. Amy Hanlon, 48, of Danbury, Conn., was second in 11:16:20.

Cayuga Trails

Huge fields of runners gathered to race on the flowing singletrack trails, through the forests and past waterfalls, at the 11th edition of the Cayuga Trails 50 on Saturday, June 3, in Ithaca, N.Y.

The 50-mile field saw 175 runners take on the challenge and 124 finish within the 15-hour time limit. Two New England residents were among the top 10 finishers and one earned a victory. Brett Mastrangelo, 31, of Chester, Vt., topped the men’s field and earned the overall win in 8:12:27, far ahead of runner-up David Millar, 24, of Marmora, N.J., who secured second in 8:47:38. Joining Mastrangelo in the top 10 was 57-year-old Matt Czaplinski of Northampton, Mass., who finished eighth overall and seventh among the men in 10:08:26.

In the women’s field, 22-year-old Isabelle Danforth of Virginia Beach, Va., earned the win while also finishing sixth overall in 9:55:34. Jami Landry, 39, of Dryden, N.Y., was a distant second in 11:01:25. Michelee Boland, 36, of Burlington, Mass., was the top New England female finisher with her fifth-place performance in 11:21:19.

Additional 50-mile finishers from New England included Miguel Murrieta, 40, of Newton, Mass. (11:21:20); Kevin Ward, 35, of Bolton, Conn. (12:04:35); Tyler Gagnon, 32, of Manchester, Conn. (12:22:30); Mark Stoutzenberger, 41, of Cranston, R.I. (12:37:38); Brendan Morrison, 33, of Marlborough, Mass. (12:45:02); Sam Farnsworth, 62, of Stow, Mass. (12:52:06); Paul Wnuk, 34, of Manchester, Conn. (13:02:46); and Michael Ward, 30, of Cambridge, Mass. (13:50:48).

In the fourth edition of the Cayuga Trails 50K race, 202 runners started and 181 ultimately finished. Seth Marcaccio, 28, of London, Ontario, led a fast men’s field and cruised to the win in a course-record 4:13:35, followed by 28-year-old Mead Binhammer of Attleboro, Mass., in 4:41:28. Ben Robinson, 28, of Tunkhannock, Pa., rounded out the men’s podium and was the final sub-5-hour finisher in 4:55:24. Joining Binhammer among the top New England men were 31-year-old Michael Sage of Charlestown, Mass., who finished 14th in 6:05:22, 24-year-old Coulter Ralston of Burlington, Mass., who was 23rd among the men in 6:40:58, and 36-year-old Matt Marsh of Tyringham, Mass., who was 25th in the men’s field in 6:49:34.

In the women’s 50K field, 24-year-old Maria Burgess of Ithaca, N.Y., edged 37-year-old Rebecca Watters of Atlanta, Ga., for the win, Burgess in 6:23:24 and Watters in 6:25:47. Becca Millar, 20, of Marmora, N.J., rounded out the podium in 6:27:10. Lily Blackshaw, 25, of Boston, Mass., was the top New England female finisher with her sixth-place effort of 6:57:03 in her ultra debut. Brook Blackshaw, 25, of Boston, Mass., was seventh in 7:03:44 in her ultra debut.

Worlds End Ultras

Kehr Davis has taken on some of the burliest, most grueling ultras in the Northeast throughout her ultrarunning career. On Saturday, June 3, the 46-year-old resident of Pittsfield, Mass., added another tough course to the list of those she has conquered: the Worlds End 100K.

Since its first year in 2015, the Worlds End 100K has challenged runners with 63.8 miles of rugged, rocky, oftentimes steep singletrack and doubletrack trails through Worlds End State Park in Forksville, Pa. From rock scrambles to ladders and tree- and root-grabbing climbs along the edge of waterfalls, Worlds End hits runners with a bit of everything while amassing 12,400 feet of climbing. This year’s race saw one of its largest fields of finishers with 104 runners completing the course within the 19-hour time limit. Davis finished 16th overall and fifth in a tough women’s field, finishing in 14:43:30. 

Reagan McCoy, 25, of Lock Haven, Pa., led all runners in 11:46:45. He was joined on the men’s podium by Scott Lesh, 39, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. (12:30:26) and Gabriel Batdorf, 38, of Leesport, Pa. (12:30:33). Justyna Wilson, 47, of Fairless Hills, Pa., topped the women’s field in 13:54:32, after outkicking 30-year old Jill Dennes of Nashville, Tenn., to the finish line. Dennes was the women’s runner-up in 13:55:13. Elaine Sheikh, 29, of Rockford, Mich., rounded out the women’s podium and placed 10th overall in 14:12:35.

Four other New England residents joined Davis among the 100K finishers. Michae Yanchuk, 39, of Chepachet, R.I., placed 19th overall in 14:51:16; Edward Shibley, 44, of West Springfield, Mass., finished 42nd in 16:41:00; 43-year-old Belinda Nyakowa of Leominster, Mass., finished in 18:23:27; and 43-year-old Travis Reardon of Danvers, Mass., finished in 18:37:22. There were 104 finishers within the 19-hour time limit.

Another 135 runners completed the Worlds End 50K race, which had 6,000 feet of climbing. Carly Eisley, 43, of North Stonington, Conn. (8:0112) and Scott Belisle, 45, of Wilton, Conn. (8:30:34) were the lone New England residents among the finishers. Justin Scheid, 37, of Succasunna, N.J., and Lisa Fisher, 39, of Cogan Station, Pa., were the men’s and women’s winners in 5:21:50 and 6:23:16, respectively.

Old Dominion 100

Twenty-two years ago, Blake Benke made his 100-mile debut at the Old Dominion 100-miler in Virginia and finished in 22:47:06, an impressive performance for a first-timer at the distance. Benke has gone on to complete many other 100-milers in the years since, including Western States, Vermont, UTMB and the Badwater 135.

On June 3-4, Benke returned to where it all began for him – Fort Valley, Va. – to once again run the Old Dominion 100. The 46-year-old resident of Westport, Conn., proved he has gotten better with age. He took on the loop course through the Massanutten Mountains and Shenandoah River Valley with 14,000 feet of climbing, and he once again easily beat the 28-hour time limit at the 43rd edition of the event. Benke placed 24th overall in 22:45:09 – a 2-minute improvement from his debut in 2001.

Mitch Abeles, 33, of Maryland, and Meg Landymore, 36, of Pasadena, Md., led the men’s and women’s fields in 18:07:58 and 19:11:10, respectively. Three other New England residents joined Benke among the 53 finishers. Amos Molnar, 31, of Providence, R.I., capped his 100-mile debut by finishing ninth overall in 20:41:59. Gregory Smith, 28, of Foster, R.I., earned his first 100-mile finish in 25:26:28, and 41-year-old Tek Ung of Cranston, R.I., added Old Dominion to her collection of 100-mile finishes, completing the race in 26:57:55.

Dam Yeti 50

The seventh annual Dam Yeti 50 once again offered first-time ultrarunners and longtime ultra veterans an opportunity to run a first or fastest 50-mile or 55K ultra on Saturday, June 3, in Abingdon, Va. The point-to-point courses both finished at Wolf Hills Brewery.

Jennifer Napillanutter, 48, of Lunenburg, Mass., was the lone New England resident among the 92 finishers within 14 hours. She finished in 12:31:53. Randy Taylor, 41, of Kansas City, Mo., was the overall winner in a men’s course record-setting performance of 6:01:54. Amanda Reynolds, 38, of Pineville, N.C., finished third overall and first among the women in 6:58:04.

Another nine New England residents were among the 167 finishers of the 55K race which saw Patrick Reagan, 36, of Savannah, Ga., and Tara Wommack, 40, of Greensboro, N.C., set men’s and women’s course records in 3:38:43 and 4:20:08, respectively.

Heather Forchilli, 32, and Killian Madden, 30, both of Worcester, Mass., were the top New Englanders, finishing their first ultramarathons in 47th and 48th place in 6:55:18 and 6:55:21, respectively. Bonnie Foley, 42, of Princeton, Mass., also earned her first ultra finish, placing 54th in 7:08:13. Additional finishers included Kelly Hacking, 52, of Canterbury, N.H. (7:16:31); Kimberly Boisvert, 51, of Boscawen, N.H. (7:16:32); Lynn Frasca, 60, and Scott Frasca, 62, of Sidney, Maine, who finished together in 9:09:46; and Julia Becker Collins, 41, of Marlborough, Mass. (9:18:42) and Melissa Cutori, 52, of Charlton, Mass. (9:29:04) who both finished the race for the second year in a row.

Sawmill Ultra

Robert Cameron made his ultrarunning debut in December 2022 when he finished the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Fells Winter Ultra 32-miler at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Cameron, 31, of Rockland, Mass., tackled his second ultra when he took on the 38.45-mile race at the fourth annual Sawmill Ultra on Saturday, June 3, in Mt. Charleston, Nev.

The event took place at around 7,500 feet above sea level in the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest and Lee Canyon outside of Las Vegas, and runners raced on a course consisting of three small loops (5.64 miles, 8.2 miles, 4.3 miles) that runners completed multiple times. Multiple sub-ultra distances and team relays were also offered.

Cameron was one of 12 runners who finished the 38.45-miler, and he placed third overall in 7:56:42 for his first ultra podium. Edher Ramirez, 37, of Las Vegas led all runners with a new men’s course-record time of 7:24:17. Joshua Eddy, 42, of Henderson, Nev., was second in 7:44:27. Natasha Proctor, 27, of Phoenix, Ariz., finished fourth overall and set a new women’s course record with her time of 8:13:50.

*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.