All eyes were on Western States during the June 24-25 weekend … well, not all eyes, but most of them in the ultrarunning world. There were plenty of other ultras taking place in both the west and here in the east. In fact, there were so many New England ultrarunners racing throughout the country that covering it all merited a two-roundup week – plus a separate writeup on Western States. In this first roundup we catch up on how runners from New England fared at ultras in the Northeast. That included a pair of Massachusetts residents reclaiming titles at the gnarly Manitou’s Revenge in New York. We also catch up on the Catamount 50K in Vermont, the Gunstock TrailFest in New Hampshire, and Midnight Squatchapalooza in New Jersey.

Manitou’s Revenge

A pair of Massachusetts residents swept the men’s and women’s titles at the 10th edition of Manitou’s Revenge on June 24-25 as they completed the run from Windham, N.Y., to Phoenicia, N.Y., on the Long Path.

Daniel Grip and Kehr Davis – both past champions at Manitou’s Revenge during its 54-mile days – reigned once again on this year’s 53-mile course that eliminated about a mile of road from prior years. Fortunately for Grip, Davis and their fellow competitors, the race directors managed to keep all of the highly technical, rocky, steep, gnarly stuff on the point-to-point course through the Catskill Mountains, including the 15,000 feet of climbing.

Grip, 43, of Belchertown, Mass., won for the second time in three years – he won the 2021 race in 10:58:16. He topped the field this time in 10:46:08. Grip was the lone runner to go sub-11 hours. Joey Miller, 34, of Springfield, Ill., was a distant second in 11:28:16, followed by 33-year-old Jay Lemos of Beacon, N.Y., in 11:48:26. Justin Lewandowski, 34, of Newton, N.J., was the only other sub-12-hour finisher, doing so in 11:59:42. Five-time finisher and two-time champion (2017, 2019) Ben Nephew, 47, of Westborough, Mass., was fifth this year in 12:07:41.

Davis dominated the women’s race by nearly two hours, earning her fifth Manitou’s Revenge title in six tries while finishing 14th overall in 13:49:41. Davis previously won the race in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, and was the 2021 runner-up. Her closest competitor, 40-year-old Amy DeMarco of Shoreham, N.Y., finished in 15:37:30. Lisa Rising, 32, of Somerville, Mass., was the fifth-place female finisher in 16:04:54.

Other top-performing New England residents were Jason Reynolds, 44, of Greenwich, Conn. (21st; 14:23:01); Chad MacDonald, 36, of New Boston, N.H. (26th; 14:44:07); and Jason Gray, 43, of Northbridge, Mass. (31st; 15:24:33).

Ninety-nine runners finished the race within 24 hours. Other New England residents who finished were Howie Breinan, 54, of Manchester, Conn. (43rd; 16:17:03); Steve Fleck, 39, of Mendon, Mass. (61st; 17:44:39); Tyler Tulloch, 32, of Middletown, Conn. (63rd; 17:53:23); Charlotte Dequeker, 50, of Greenwich, Conn. (68th; 18:35:42); David Hollenbaugh, 54, of Boston, Mass. (73rd; 19:05:13); Dima Feinhaus, 60, of Waban, Mass. (90th; 21:20:24); Ilya Bass, 49, of Weston, Mass. (97th; 22:31:02); and Emilio Navarro, 56, of Cranston, R.I. (23:31:00).

Catamount 50K

A large pack of runners turned out for the ninth running of the Catamount 50K on Saturday, June 24, in Stowe, Vt. Runners once again took on the 25K loop course through hard-packed dirt trails, hardwood forests, maple farms and highland pastures, starting and finishing at the Trapp Family Lodge. There were 138 finishers within nine hours.

Nicholas Lemon, 31, of Wellesley, Mass., cruised to the victory in 4:07:51. It was Lemon’s second ultra victory in two tries, having also won the 2022 Stone Cat 50K. He was followed 11 minutes later by 24-year-old Brendan Carter of Watertown, Mass., who concluded his ultra debut with a runner-up finish in 4:19:09. Justin Neuman, 45, of New Haven, Conn., finished fourth overall and third in the men’s field in 4:36:34, just a few seconds ahead of 37-year-old Harrison Little of Hanover ,N.H., (4:36:57). Peter Quayle, 31, of South Portland, Maine, rounded out the men’s top five in 4:47:43, with 30-year-old Chad Sykora of Portland, Maine, less than a minute behind in 4:48:27.

Samantha Stimac, 29, of Antigo, Wisc., rounded out the overall top three and earned first place in the women’s field in 4:27:04. Stimac was the runner-up a year ago, and she improved her time by eight minutes. It was also just the latest in a string of strong performances for Stimac. She won the Mt. Toby 50K in April. She was also the overall champion of the Midwest States 100-miler in 2022, and finished second in the Vermont 100K last July. Stimac highlighted a speedy women’s field that included a few other New England women known for fast performances. Four-time Vermont 100 top-five finisher and three-time Runamuck 50K defending champion Dylan Broderick, 32, of Middlesex, Vt., was the Catamount runner-up in 4:49:36. Rounding out the podium was 32-year-old Alia Rawji of Boston, Mass., in 457:46. Rawji won the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra 50K three weeks earlier. Caitlin Sheasley, 36, of Concord, Mass., was fourth in 5:02:13, and 28-year-old Lola Adahl of South Portland, Maine, rounded out the women’s top five in 5:13:43.

Gunstock TrailFest

The third edition of the Gunstock TrailFest took place June 24-25 at Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H. The event once again offered 50-mile and 50K ultramarathons in addition to seven shorter distance races. The ultras took place on a 10K loop course that runners completed eight times for the 50-miler and five times for the 50K, with more than 600 feet of gain per loop.

Thirty runners earned 50-mile finishes within 13 hours, and Jacob Movsessian and Jennifer Boshco secured victories in the men’s and women’s fields. Movsessian, of New Ipswich, N.H., won handily in the men’s race in 7:09:51. John Toscano of Salem, N.H., fended off Adam Ribeiro of Lowell, Mass., in a close race for second with Toscano finishing in 7:53:06 and Ribeiro finishing third in 7:54:19. Rick Gomes of Litchfield, N.H., was a distant fourth in 8:39:57.

Boshco, of Billerica, Mass., earned a dominant win in the women’s race in 8:58:17. Dawn Ego of Benton, Maine, was the runner-up in 10:01:24, followed by Melissa Andersen of Steep Falls, Maine, in 11:08:22.

Seventy-seven runners ultimately finished the 50K race within 9 1/2 hours with David Herr and Deirdre Lowe topping the men’s and women’s fields. Herr, of Canaan, Vt., led the men in 4:24:37, followed by Pedro Grullon of Lawrence, Mass., in 4:52:23, and Andrew Holm of Leavenworth, Wash., in 5:10:56. A pair of Massachusetts men rounded out the top five with Cory Grant of Beverly finishing in 5:14:06 and Sergev Moritz of North Andover finishing in 5:16:41.

Lowe, of Salem, Mass., was the fastest woman, winning in 5:20:00. Jessica Chevalier of Orford, N.H., placed second in 5:35:51, and Marissa Devlin of Newton, Mass., rounded out the podium in 5:54:50.

Midnight Squatchapalooza

Plenty of late-night miles were logged at the fourth running of the Midnight Squatchapalooza 12-hour and 6-hour ultras in Columbus, N.J. Runners took on a flat, fast 2.5-mile loop course at the Burlington County Fairgrounds while tackling the challenge of a midnight start.

Sixty-four runners competed in the 12-hour event with 56 surpassing the marathon distance. That included two New England residents. Trevor Meinke, 40, of Derby, Conn., finished 21st overall with a personal-record 45 miles achieved. Additionally, 46-year-old Brandon Magnuson of Ashland, Mass., logged 37.5 miles. Ryan Pottorf, 36, of Bloomsbury, N.J., topped the field with 60 miles, followed by 28-year-old Chadd Cosse of New York, N.Y., and Robert Ivan, 45, of Raritan, N.J., with 57.5 miles apiece.

Forty runners took part in the 6-hour race with 18 surpassing the marathon distance. None who logged ultra mileage were New England residents. Ross Charles-Winders, 34, of Warminster, Pa., and Matt Perkins, 44, of Kensington, Md., led all runners with 37.5 miles apiece.

*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.