When Jenny Hoffman stepped to the starting line of her 24-hour race at Six Days in the Dome in Wisconsin, she was laser-focused on locking up a position on the United States 24-Hour National Team. By the time the clock expired, the resident of Cambridge, Mass., had turned in the race of her life, earned a victory and surged into one of the top qualifying positions for Team USA with one week remaining in the qualification period. While Hoffman’s big effort during the June 16-24 event was one of the most remarkable performances by a New England ultrarunner during the past week, she was far from the only one racing. We highlighted results from several events in the Northeast in a previous roundup, and this one showcases Hoffman’s effort in the Midwest as well as those by a handful of New England residents who took on tough races out west in Colorado, Oregon and Utah.

Six Days in the Dome

The window of time to qualify for the United States 24-Hour National Team is closing with the final date to qualify slated for July 2. The top six women and men will make up Team USA at the IAU World 24-Hour Championship on Dec. 2, 2023, in Taipei, Taiwan. Jenny Hoffman strengthened her bid for one of the six spots on the women’s team with a masterful performance at Six Days in the Dome on June 16-24 in Milwaukee, Wisc.

Prior to Six Days, Hoffman was sitting in the sixth position for a spot on the team thanks to her 136.608-mile effort at last year’s event. Hoffman, 45, of Cambridge, Mass., surged into the third position with a dominant 145.4868-mile effort in the 24-hour race at this year’s Six Days, topping the women’s field by 25 miles and finishing third overall behind 38-year-old Jeffrey Urbanski of Broomfield, Colo. (151.3282 miles) and 38-year-old Chris Roberts of Kirkwood, Mo. (150.4845 miles). Marina Lazic, 37, of Belgrade, Serbia, was the women’s runner-up with 120.1399 miles and 34-year-old Megan Alvarado of Springfield, Va., finished third with 112.9756 miles.

Along her way to her personal-best 24-hour performance, Hoffman clocked a 7:34 50-mile time, 9:29:50 100K and 15:26:51 100-mile effort.

Twenty-five runners took part in the six-day race, including two New England residents who both surpassed the 100-mile mark. Newton Baker, 81, of Montpelier, Vt., logged 112.4245 miles and finished 20th, while 37-year-old Will Bradley of Westminster, Mass., was 21st with 111.3223 miles. The top four runners surpassed the 400-mile mark with 44-year-old Nicolae Buceanu of Dublin, Ireland, leading all runners with 498.9208 miles.

No New England residents took part in the 72-hour or 48-hour races, and 41-year-old Bryan Twomey of Norwich, Conn., was the lone New England resident in the 12-hour race. He finished eighth with 27.0039 miles. Chikara Omine, 40, of Sacramento, Calif., topped the field with 62.2744 miles.

San Juan Solstice

Since running his first ultra in 2021, Mark Ehler has found himself called back to Colorado, its trails and mountains many times. Ehler, 33, of South Burlington, Vt., made his ultra debut at the 2021 West Line Winder 50K in Buena Vista, Colo., and finished 12th overall. He returned to Colorado in July 2022 and ran his longest ultra yet, the Never Summer 60K in Gould.

On Saturday, June 24, Ehler once again returned to Colorado – this time to Lake City – where he joined 288 other runners at the starting line for the 27th edition of the San Juan Solstice 50-miler. A loop course with around 12,500 feet of climbing and two marches to above 13,000 feet of altitude awaited them.

Ehler had another memorable day on the Colorado trails, finishing 24th out of 199 finishers in 11:22:39. Ryan Sullivan, 33, of Grand Junction, Colo., led the men’s field in 8:39:17. Katherine Dickman, 31, edged 41-year-old Amy Sturgill of Bishop, Calif., for the women’s win by less than a minute with Dickman finishing in 11:19:57 and Sturgill following in 11:20:27.

Wy’East Wonder

Jason Hyatt began running ultras in 2019 at the Vermont 50K. Four years later, Hyatt tackled his first 50-miler at the fifth running of the Wy’East Wonder Trail Ultras on Saturday, June 24, in Parkdale, Ore. The event – which also included a 50K – took place on scenic trails around Mt. Hood, taking runners on a point-to-point journey along two ridgelines with plenty of climbing but even more downhill. Hyatt and his fellow 50-mile competitors amassed 7,000 feet of climbing and 10,000 feet of descent on their way to the finish line.

Hyatt, 49, of East Falmouth, Mass., finished in the top half of the field, placing 45th out of 110 finishers in 11:31:20. Matthew Bigman, 30, of Portland, Ore., won the race in 7:25:46.

An additional 215 runners competed the 50K race within 9 1/2 hours, amassing 4,000 feet of climbing and 7,000 feet of descent. Keith Laverty, 36, of Bainbridge Island, Wash., topped the field in 4:25:26. Fabien Lecoq, 45, of Stoneham, Mass., was the lone New England resident in the field and he finished 88th in 6:48:25.

Bears Ears Ultras

In his build-up to the Run Rabbit Run 100-miler in October, Nicholas Hart found a challenging tune-up race at the Bears Ears Ultras. Hart, 29, of Oakland, Maine, took part in the 50-mile race at the third annual event on Saturday, June 24, in Monticello, Utah. Runners tackled singletrack trails and high altitude as they wound through aspen groves and plenty of exposed sections in the Abajo Mountains near Bears Ears National Monument and Canyonlands National Park.

Thirty-nine runners completed the 50-miler within 15 hours, including Hart who finished in 14:30:11. Jonathan Foote, 20, of Highland, Utah, led all runners in 10:15:36.

Another 102 runners completed the 50K race; none were New England residents.

*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.