The August 11-13 weekend saw dozens of ultrarunners flock to western Massachusetts for the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s popular Sweltering Summer Ultra, but it was also a big weekend for other ultras in New England and beyond as runners from the region took on a wide variety of races. Sweltering Summer will have its own separate recap, but in this edition of the roundup we look to Rhode Island and numerous big performances at the Anchor Down Ultra, as well as Vermont for the third edition of Lover’s Lane. We also turn to New York and the annual Beast of Burden Summer Edition, as well as to the West where runners from New England took on the Bigfoot 200 and Fat Dog 120.

Anchor Down Ultra

There were plenty of big miles in Little Rhody when runners took on the latest running of the Anchor Down Ultra 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour races on Aug. 11-12 at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I. The 2.45-mile loop course has been home to many big-time performances during the past decade, and the 2023 edition was no exception.

The 24-hour race produced the biggest mileage output as 84 runners took on the loop for a full day. Of that group, 73 surpassed the 50-mile mark, 50 achieved at least 60 miles, 37 eclipsed the 70-mile mark. Most notably, 11 runners achieved 100 miles or more and took home belt buckles for their efforts. Included among the 100-mile finishers were nine New England residents, including both men’s and women’s champions who hailed from Norton, Mass.

Christopher Cappellini was the men’s winner with 49 laps for 120.05 miles in 23:32:00, while Kathy Jacques placed third overall and first among the women with 32 laps for 105.35 miles in 23:34:35. Sandwiched between them was overall runner-up Ryan Danby of Providence, R.I., who joined Jacquest with 105.35 miles, but did so two minutes faster in 23:32:23. Fourth overall finisher and women’s runner-up Kuan Yu Hsieh of Danbury, Conn., logged 42 laps and 102.90 miles in 23:15:37.

Five more New England residents finished 41 laps for 100.45 miles. They were Mark Stoutzenberger of Cranston, R.I. (22:51:16), Aaron Stevens of Salem, N.H. (23:12:09), Andy Vuong of Quincy, Mass. (23:13:33), Jon Perroni of Bristol, R.I. (23:35:07), and Christian Johnson of Portland, Maine (23:39:52).

The 12-hour race saw 39 of the 51 participants surpass the marathon distance, with Joseph Baldasare of Point Pleasant, N.J., leading all runners with 29 laps and 71.05 miles (11:28:08). Greg Stone of Hampstead, N.C., was the only other runner to eclipse the 60-mile mark, finishing with 26 laps and 63.70 miles (11:37:38).. Billy Martin of West Islip, N.Y., rounded out the men’s podium with 23 laps and 56.35 miles (11:14:46). Lynn McElroy of Cranston, R.I., was the women’s winner and fourth overall finisher with 23 laps and 56.35 miles in 11:57:53. Kathleen Shoda of Satellite Beach, Fla, followed with 22 laps and 53.90 miles in 11:46:30.

The top eight 12-hour finishers all surpassed the 50-mile mark. Other New England residents among that group were Frederick Meyerson of Kingston, R.I. (53.90 miles), Antone Debettencourt of Westerly, R.I. (51.45 miles), and Thomas Smith of Raynham, Mass. (51.45 miles).

An additional 72 runners competed in the 6-hour race with 21 surpassing the marathon distance. A pair of Massachusetts residents topped the men’s and women’s fields with Carter Mikkelsen of Holliston leading the men with 18 laps for 44.10 miles (5:59:54) and Ericka Coutts of West Roxbury leading the women with 13 laps and 31:85 miles (5:49:34). Joining MIkkelsen on the men’s podium were Steven Decastro of Pawcatuck, Conn., with 16 laps for 39.20 miles and Douglas Hackenyos of Canton Conn., with 14 laps for 34.3 miles. Coutts was joined on the women’s podium by Bethany Hackenyos of Canton, Conn., and Kathleen Kearns of West Roxbury, Mass., with 12 laps and 29.40 miles apiece.

Lover’s Lane Ultra

After two years as a 6-hour event, the race directors of the Lover’s Lane Ultra doubled the opportunity for big mileage by adding a 12-hour race for the third annual event on Saturday, Aug. 12, in Chester, Vt.

Twenty-six runners took on the 12-hour race on the 1.75-mile loop course that was a mix of jeep trails, rolling singletrack and doubletrack. Twenty-two runners surpassed the marathon distance with eight eclipsing the 50-mile mark. That included 39-year-olds Keith Bourassa of Keene, N.H., and Kevin Kellis of Richmond, N.H., as well as 32-year-old Elisa Gardner of Surrey, N.H., who all completed 52.5 miles and topped the men’s and women’s fields. Tom Hooper, 44, of Lee, N.H., joined Bourassa and Kellis on the men’s podium with 50.75 miles, while 30-year-old Eleni Peterson of New Ipswich, N.H., and 47-year-old Amanda Paul of Swanzey, N.H., rounded out the women’s podium with 50.75 miles apiece. Also achieving that distance were 52-year-old Robert Breckenridge of Keene, N.H., and 53-year-old Bernie Gee of Brookfield, Conn.

Another 43 runners competed in the 6-hour race with seven achieving ultramarathon mileage. Benjamin Jones, 25, of White River Junction, Vt., led all runners with 36.75 miles, followed by 53-year-old Peter Oviatt of East Hampton, Conn., with 35.0 miles. Both 39-year-old Ian MacLauchlan of Wallingford, Vt., and 28-year-old DArio Seyb of Springfield, Vt., finished with 31.5 miles apiece. The top three women all finished with 28.0 miles as 33-year-old Kayla Munson of Jamaica, Vt., 38-year-old Kristina Siladi of Perkinsville, Vt., and 43-year-old Jennifer Crawford of Essex Junction, Vt., swept the podium.

Beast of Burden – Summer

It has been quite the year in running for Tony Bonanno. The 58-year-old resident of Ellington, Conn., started his season with a victory in the 50-mile race at the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultras and followed it up by winning the CT Trailmixers’ Spring Fling 600 10-hour ultra. On Aug. 12-13, Bonanno secured his third win of the year when he competed in the 14th edition of the Beast of Burden summer race in Lockport, N.Y.

The event took 100-mile runners on four out-and-backs of the Erie Canal towpath. It was Bonanno’s first time running the race, and he placed first in the men’s field and second overall in 20:07:52. Rhiannon Schade, 33, of Basking Ridge, N.H., was the women’s champion and overall winner in 19:47:03.

Three more New England residents were among the 25 finishers within 30 hours. Caitlin Rossi, 39, of Torrington, Conn., was ninth overall and the women’s runner-up in 25:58:27, followed by 41-year-old David Stawski of Manchester, Conn., who was 10th overall in 26:36:52. Event regular Michael Condella, 35, of Revere, Mass., finished 17th in 28:23:21.

Another 23 runners completed two out-and-backs for 50-mile finishes within 16 hours, led by 23-year-old Ethan Koza of Newtown, Pa., in 6:32:31. A pair of New England residents also were among the finishers, with 32-year-old Andre Medeiros of Dartmouth, Mass., placing fifth overall in 10:11:36. Christopher Collins, 46, of Griswold, Conn., was 12th in 12:15:45.

Bigfoot 200

A stacked women’s field turned in a dandy of a battle at the Bigfoot 200 from Aug. 11-15 near Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. A trio of women all broke the course record in the race for the win, including 43-year-old Aliza Lapierre of Richmont, Vt., who was one of two New England residents to finish the point-to-point race.

Ultimately, 140 runners finished the race within 107 hours, including the top three women who finished 2-5-6 overall. Mika Thewes, 32, of Lakewood, Colo., placed second overall and earned the new women’s course record with her winning time of 58:21:12. LaPierre followed as the women’s runner-up and fifth overall finisher, also dipping under the old course record with her time of 65:13:31. About an hour later, 32-year-old Allison Powell of Apex, N.C., finished third female and sixth overall in 66:17:41, also under the old record.

Ryan Shephard, 39, of Abbotsford, B.C., was the overall winner and posted the second-fastest men’s time ever in 54:24:20. Luke Robins, 43, of Jericho, Vt., finished 126th overall in 104:13:36.

In addition to the 200-miler, another 100 runners successfully completed the sixth edition of the Bigfoot 40-miler within 19 hours. Included among that group was 40-year-old Anna Blazejewska of Sandwich, N.H., who finished 13th in the women’s field and 59th overall in 13:06:16. It was the final race of Blazejewska’s build-up to the Cuyamaca 100K in California in October. Matthew Sheeks, 39, of LaGrande, Ore., and Brook Eberle, 25, of Taos, N.M., led the men’s and women’s fields and finished 1-2 overall in 7:36:31 and 8:40:28, respectively.

Fat Dog 120

One of the toughest ultramarathons in Canada – the Fat Dog 120 – once again challenged runners to 124 miles of point-to-point trails and 26,000+ feet of climbing on Aug. 11-13 in Manning Park, B.C. 

Austin Black, 32, of Intervale, N.H., was the lone New England resident among the finishers of the 120-mile race, completing the race in a tie for 31st in 41:25:28. Of the 141 runners who started the race, 78 ultimately finished, led by 38-year-old Hannes Gehring of Crested Butte, Colo., in 29:59:35. Andrea Tarras, 39, of Chilliwack, B.C., topped the women’s field in 35:27:15.

The event also offered 100K, 50-mile and 40-mile ultras, but no New England residents were among the finishers at those distances.

*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.