A busy July ultrarunning slate came to a close for New England ultrarunners during the July 28-30 weekend with many runners racing locally and several venturing outside the region. Local ultras included the Jug End Loop Ultra in Massachusetts (separate recap to follow), as well as the popular Moosalamoo 36-miler in Vermont and the close-knit SoapstoneSix in Connecticut where runners put up fast times and big mileage numbers. Additionally, several runners ventured beyond New England to take on mountain races in the West. That included the Pikes Peak Ultra and Never Summer Ultras in Colorado and the Tushars Mountain Races in Utah, where runners from the region had strong showings. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Moosalamoo

The last time Dylan Broderick raced the Moosalamoo 36-miler was in 2016 – just her second ultra. She placed fifth in the women’s field and eighth overall. In the years that followed, Broderick went on to either win or finish on the podium of Vermont’s biggest ultras several times, including the Vermont 100-miler, the Runamuck 50K and Catamount 50K. After seven years away, Broderick returned to Moosalamoo on Saturday, July 29, in Goshen, Vt. This time, she emerged victorious.

Broderick, 32, of Middlesex, Vt., won the women’s race and finished fourth overall in 6:41:57. Her closest competitor in the women’s field followed more than 20 minutes later. That was 35-year-old Kaitlyn Kacsuta of Brooklyn, N.Y., who finished in 7:02:50. Ashley Hensel-Browning, 37, of Weathersfield, Vt., rounded out the women’s podium in 7:13:35.

Topping the men’s field was 26-year-old Nathan Lalonde of Richmond, Vt., who raced the 36-miler for the first time after placing in the top two of the Moosalamoo 14-miler three times. Lalonde won in 6:06:56, followed by 25-year-old Adam Schwendt of Colorado Springs, Colo., in 6:32:40. Ben Judson, 27, of Winooski, Vt., was third in 6:34:14. Damion Perry, 31, of Boston, Mass., was the fourth-place male and fifth overall finisher in 6:54:47. It was Perry’s ultra debut.

Sixty-six runners finished the 36-mile race within 12 1/2 hours.

An additional 134 runners completed the Moosalamoo 14-mile race with 31-year-old Loren Kock of Burlington, Vt., outkicking 58-year-old David Herr of Canaan, Vt., to the finish line for the overall win. Kock finished in 2:14:42 followed 13 seconds later by Herr in 2:14:55. Hot on their heels was third overall finisher and women’s champion Haley Heinrich, 30, of Newbury, N.H., who set a new women’s course record of 2:16:12.

SoapstoneSix

The fourth edition of the SoapstoneSix Ultra took place on Sunday, July 30, in Somers, Conn., and the Shenipsit Striders’ event once again challenged runners with a 5-mile loop course that included six summits and 1,500 feet of climbing per loop. It also offered runners its traditional 6-hour race as well as a new 12-hour option to tackle the loop for double the fun.

Three runners took part in the inaugural 12-hour race with 36-year-old Tom Starodaj of New Britain, Conn., leading all runners with 48 miles, followed by 32-year-old Tyler Tulloch of Middletown, Conn., with 46 miles and 43-year-old Jillian Ellefson of Vernon, Conn., with 34 miles.

Six runners competed in the 6-hour race with just one – 30-year-old Austin Darley of Longmeadow, Mass. – achieving ultra distance mileage. Darley won the race with 30 miles, six miles beyond his closest competitor.

Pikes Peak Ultra

With his sights set on his first 100-mile race in October at the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail, 34-year-old Cory Powell of Nashua, N.H., had a big tune-up run at the Pikes Peak Ultra on Saturday, July 29, at Bear Creek Regional Park in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The event offered both 50-mile and 50K ultra distances; Powell was in the 50K. Racing on the crushed granite surface on the Ring the Peak Trail, Powell ascended Mt. Rosa and took in views of Pikes Peak along his way to finishing in 9:16:44. Powell was one of 129 runners to finish the race within 12 hours. Julian Schima, 22, of Boulder, Colo., led all runners in 5:30:55.

Another 50 runners completed the 50-mile race within 15 hours. No New England residents were among the finishers. Samuel Schillinger, 24, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, finished first overall in 9:35:06.

Tushars Mountain Runs

It has been nine months since Michael Kelleher last raced a trail ultramarathon, but the 30-year-old resident of Burlington, Vt., had a solid day in his return to racing.

Kelleher took on the 100K distance at the ninth annual Tushars Mountain Runs on Saturday, July 29, in Beaver, Utah, and tested himself against a high-altitude course with much of the running taking place at 10,000 feet above sea level or higher.

Kelleher was in prime form, just as he’d been when he finished the Javelina Jundred 100-miler in Arizona in less than 20 hours in November 2022, and just as he’d been when he won the Notchview Ultra 12-hour race and the Infinitus marathon earlier that year. Of the 87 runners who took on the Tushars 100K, 54 finished within 24 hours. Kelleher raced to a top-10 finish, placing ninth overall and eighth in the men’s field in 15:32:22. Francesco Sunseri, 33, of Crestline, Calif., edged 39-year-old Benjamin Bruno of McCall, Idaho, in a tight race for the men’s win with Sunseri finishing in 13:46:41 and Bruno following moments later in 13:49:26. Meghan Cihasky, 25, of Durango, Colo., finished fifth overall and first female in 14:51:55.

An additional 105 runners completed the Tushars 70K race within 24 hours; none were New England residents.

Never Summer Ultras

Colorado racing has been good to Jason Baker. The 24-year-old resident of Carver, Mass., made two prior trips to the state this year for ultras, winning the Run the Ranch 6-hour in Loveland in April and then finishing the Quad Rock 50-miler in Fort Collins in May before heading to Wyoming to race the Bighorn 100-miler in June.

Baker returned to Colorado to race the ninth annual Never Summer 100K on July 28-30 in Gould, Colo., and he handled the high-altitude course through the Never Summer Mountains and Medicine Bow Mountains just fine.

Of the 201 finishers of the race, Baker placed 25th overall in 16:39:12. Zachary Russell, 30, of Carbondale, Colo., and Mckendree Hickory, 35, of Oak Creek, Colo., were the men’s and women’s winners in 12:30:50 and 15:36;05, respectively.

Three other New England residents joined Baker among the finishers. Stephanie Christau, 36, of Williamstown, Mass., placed 49th overall and sixth in the women’s field in 18:06:19. She previously raced the Gorge Waterfalls 50K in April in Oregon and then the Zugspitz Ultra-Trail 69K in Germany in June as part of her build-up to the Bear 100 in September. Additionally, 47-year-old Michael Fenzel of Norwich, Vt., finished in 19:46:01 and 36-year-old Miki Sawada of Boston, Mass., finished in 23:51:06.

In the Never Summer 60K race, 195 runners finished within 15 hours. Clint Anders, 33, of Fort Collins, Colo., led the men’s field in 6:27:21 while Jenna Bensko, 26, also of Fort Collins, won the women’s race and placed seventh overall in 7:29:24. Christopher Welker, 27, of Thetford, Vt., was the lone New England resident among the finishers. He finished ninth overall and seventh among the men’s field in 7:37:41.

*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.