The summer miles are piling up as New England ultrarunners conquer the busy summer racing season. Included among those miles has been plenty of vert, especially for those who traveled to Colorado during the July 21-23 weekend to tackle the high-altitude High Lonesome and Ouray 100-milers. Those big mountain races lead of this edition of the roundup.

High Lonesome 100

A pair of New England men were among the 125 finishers within 37 hours at the High Lonesome 100-miler on July 21-22 at Mount Princeton, Colorado.

Runners amassed 23,500 feet of climbing on a mountain course in the Sawatch Range where every step was above 8,200 feet and the high point topped out at 13,100 feet.

Bertram Johnson, 50, of Burlington, Vt., finished 28th overall in 30:38:39, and 64-year-old Peter Troast of South Freeport, Maine, was 63rd overall in 34:15:16. Jimmy Elam, 36, of Big Cottonwood, Utah, set a new men’s course record of 19:42:03 to take the overall win. Georgia Porter, 35, of Flagstaff, Ariz., was fourth overall and won the women’s race in 24:52:57, 17 minutes ahead of 36-year-old Marissa Watson of Salida, Colo., who was fifth overall and second female in 25:09:52.

Ouray 100

When Nicolas Cardwell decided to run 100-mile trail ultramarathons, he was attracted to tough, burly courses. That drew him to Colorado in 2021 for his first 100, the Silverton Ultra Dirty. For his second, he stayed in New England for the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100 where he finished 10th overall in 2022.

Cardwell, 36, of Durham, N.H., returned to Colorado for his third 100-miler on July 21-23 and joined 94 other runners at the starting line of the Ouray 100 in Ouray, Colo. The race through the San Juan Mountains amassed more than 40,000 feet of gain. Only half of the field ultimately finished, and Cardwell as among the top performers. Of the 48 finishers within 57 hours, Cardwell placed 10th overall in 39:01:11.

Hayato Nishikata, 30, of Kosai shi, Japan, won the race in 31:52:20. Sarah Ostaszewski, 32, of Flagstaff, Ariz., pulled away from the women’s field in the final hours and finished third overall in a new women’s course record 33:47:38.

Many on the Genny

Steven Chard had New York on his mind when he put together his 2023 ultramarathon calendar. His big event is the Twisted Branch 100K in Naples, N.Y., in August. As a tune-up, the 45-year-old from Wrentham, Mass., ran his first ultra of the year at the Many on the Genny Ultra on Saturday, July 22, in Castile, N.Y.

The 45-mile race took runners along one side of the gorge in Letchworth State Park and then back through the other side. Chard navigated the day and finished in 12:26:12. Nathan Couse, 29, of Clifton Springs, N.Y., led all runners in 7:06:37 while third overall finisher Mika Thewes, 32, of Lakewood, Colo., set a new women’s course record of 7:18:31. There were 111 finishers within 14 1/2 hours.

Tahoe 100K

The Tahoe 200 was the main event during the July 21-22 weekend in Lake Tahoe, Calif., but about two-dozen runners took on a tough 100K on parts of the same course. Included among that group was 26-year-old Will Boardman of Burlington, Vt., who made his ultra debut at the fourth edition of the Tahoe 100K.

Included among the parts of the Tahoe 200 course where 100K runners ventured was a climb above 9,000 feet, making the mileage even more difficult to achieve. Boardman ultimately got it done, finishing in 18:01:45. Jose Gonzalez, 41, of Fairfield, Calif., won the race in 14:15:54.

Ode to Laz

Backyard ultras have been a big attraction for Jes Parker since she started running ultras in 2020. In particular, she has been drawn to Michigan for a few of them. In 2022, she made her Backyard Ultra debut at the Ode to Laz Backyard Ultra in Holly, Mich., completing 37.5 miles in just her second ultramarathon. She returned to the state in May 2023 to take on another backyard-style event by the same race organization at the Perfect PR Backyard by Ode, finishing as the third female with 58.33 miles. She returned to Ode to Laz on Saturday, July 21, and once again took on the 4.167-mile course. This time she finished seventh among the women and 21st overall with 58.33 miles.

Cody Eubanks, 40, of Jefferson City, Mo., won with 125.0 miles. Top female and overall runner-up Stephanie Bland, 36, of Lake Orion, Mich., completed 120.83 miles. The top nine runners all completed 100 or more miles.

*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.