With the July 4 holiday on the horizon, the June 30-July 2 weekend was largely quiet for New England ultrarunners with only two local ultras in the region and just a handful of folks heading beyond the region to race. Several runners took on six hours of loops in Ansonia, Conn., where Northampton’s Eric Ciocca raced to victory. Others headed to Vermont for the Mt. Sparta 24-Hour Challenge (results from that event are unavailable as of this posting). Additionally, a few New Englanders traveled north across the border to Canada for hard-earned finishes of various distances of the Quebec Mega-Trail ultras. We have them covered in this short edition of the roundup.

Ansonia Six-Hour Trail Run

A year after finishing third at the Ansonia Six-Hour Trail Run, Eric Ciocca added an extra mile to his tally and finished atop the podium at the fourth annual event on Saturday, July 1, in Ansonia, Conn.

Ciocca was one of 72 runners who took on the challenge of completing as many laps of the 1.9-mile loop course at Ansonia Nature Center as they could while amassing around 170 feet of elevation gain per loop. Ciocca was one of six runners who surpassed the marathon distance with the 45-year-old from Northampton, Mass., logging 33.3 miles. Natalie Pertz, 31, of Washington, D.C., was second overall and first in the women’s field with 31.45 miles.

Joining Ciocca on the men’s podium were 30-year-old Michael Moglia of Great Neck, N.Y., and 36-year-old Franklyn Gandiaga of Derby, Conn., with 31.45 and 27.75 miles, respectively. Joining Pertz on the women’s podium were 43-year-old Lauren Edelman of Bridgeport, Conn., and 39-year-old Caitlin Rossi of Torrington, Conn., with 29.6 and 27.75 miles, respectively.

Quebec Mega-Trail

Big climbs and big miles greeted runners at the 11th running of the Quebec Mega-Trail on June 30-July 2 in Beaupre, Quebec. Among the event’s various distances were four ultramarathon offerings – 100 miles, 110K, 80K and 50K.

Canadians swept the podium of the 100-mile race and its 21,325 feet of climbing. Kevin Biggs led the men’s field in 20:17:29 while Kelsey Hogan led the women in 24:34:58, topping a group of 70 runners who finished within the 41-hour time limit. Three New England residents were among those who crossed the finish line. Cole Crosby of Cranston, R.I., led the local contingent, placing 14th overall in 26:37:13. Viktor Lemgart of Boston, Mass., finished 30th in 32:39:33, and Steven Turner of Rye, N.Y., placed 55th in 38:10:46.

Leah Nicholson was the lone New Englander among the 74 finishers of the 110K race within the 25-hour time limit. Nicholson, of Lebanon, N.H., handled the 16,400 feet of climbing just fine and earned a spot on the podium as the women’s runner-up in 18:03:16. Urko Larranaga of France and Genevieve Asselin of Canada won the men’s and women’s races in 13:51:23 and 15:14:32, respectively.

The 80K race challenged runners with 10,500 feet of climbing. Two Vermont men were among the 188 finishers of that distance within 21 hours. Jeremy Huckins of Waterbury Center finished 60th in 13:20:47, and Thomas Smith of Burlington placed 115th in 15:16:36. Canadians Ryan Patteson and Mylene Sansoucy led the men’s and women’s fields in 9:08:27 and 10:09:20, respectively.

The shortest ultra – the 50K – included 7,500 feet of climbing and saw three New England residents among the 385 finishers within 15 hours. Matthew Walker of Westerly, R.I., was the top runner from the region with his 25th-place finish in 6:21:56. Erin O’Toole of Biddeford, Maine, also had a solid day, placing 63rd overall and 12th in the women’s field in 7:07:19. Jeff Walker of Westerly, R.I., finished 122nd in 8:10:57. Canadians Jean-Philippe Thibodeau and Amelie Simard were the men’s and women’s winners in 4:55:52 and 5:54:40, 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.