For some runners, the idea sparked dreams and wonder. For others, it likely caused nightmares. For all who signed up, the moment of truth arrived during the Aug. 18-20 weekend with the inaugural running of the Jigger Johnson 100-miler in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and second edition of the 100K and 50-mile. One of the hardest 100-milers in the United States made its long awaited debut in New England, and it proved to be as brutal as advertised. There were several other ultras that attracted New England ultrarunners during the Aug. 18-20 weekend – including the annual TARC Summer Classic in Massachusetts (see separate recap story – but top billing in this edition of the roundup goes to the Jigger Johnson Ultras.

Jigger Johnson Ultras

Harsh, relentless and unforgiving. Those are the White Mountains on any given hike on any given weekend. For the first time, a 100-mile ultramarathon exposed runners to those conditions, making for one of the hardest ultras of that distance in the United States when the inaugural Jigger Johnson 100-miler and second edition of the 100K and 50-mile ultras took place Aug. 18-20 in Waterville Valley, N.H.

The event fulfilled years of dreaming and planning by White Mountain Endurance (now part of Aravaipa Running) to finally make a 100-miler possible. The first edition of that distance didn’t disappoint as it threw more than 32,000 feet of climbing, 104 miles of distance, heat, rain, and more at the runners. Of the 47 runners who started the out-and-back course, just 14 finished with only six runners spending less than two full days on the course.

Though he won handily, even 43-year-old Justin Kousky was tested mightily by the course. He has set course records and fastest known times on trails throughout the Northeast, and Kousky needed 31:06:43 to complete the race and secure victory. Runner-up Steven Young, 29, of Boston, Mass., was a distant second in 36:47:14, followed by 25-year-old Andrew Wojciak of Merrimack, N.H., in 38:45:12. Wojciak won the 50-mile race in 2022.

Finishing off the podium but in less than 48 hours were 37-year-old Hans Von Briesen of Waterbury, Vt. (fourth, 41:38:55); 30-year-old Steve Larick of Landenberg, Pa. (fifth, 42:03:12), and 46-year-old Marc Kelly of New Britain, Conn. (sixth, 47:20:27).

Additional finishers from New England were Scott Eugley, 31, of South Portland, Maine (seventh, 48:10:46); Michael Obara, 46, of North Kingstown, R.I. (eighth, 48:57:41); Gordon Collins, 44, of Poland, Maine (ninth, 50:58:08); Mathew Ridley, 33, of Quincy, Mass. (10th, 51:55:08); and Brian Staveley, 46, of Marlboro, Vt. (12th, 52:49:27).

The lone female finishers of the 100-miler both hailed from Cleveland, Ohio, and are finishers of numerous 100-mile races as well as the 2022 Cocodona 250-miler. Lee Conner, 50, was the women’s winner and 11th overall finisher in 52:13:40, followed by Karmell Ohlrogge, 38, in 53:22:34.

Runners in the 100K amassed more than 20,000 feet of climbing and submitted four New Hampshire 4,000-foot peaks – Carrigan, Osceola, East Osceola and Tecumseh. Runners in the 50-miler avoided climbing Carrigan and had a bit less climbing on the point-to-point course.

Twenty-three runners took on the 100K race, and 12 finished within 30 hours. Mark Young, 24, of Gilford, N.H., was the overall winner in 17:35:24 and knocked more than two hours off of the men’s course record. Zach McCarthy, 26, of Hanover, Maine, followed in 20:40:42, and 31-year-old Chris Paquette of Waterford, Conn., rounded out the men’s podium in 22:41:17. Only the top three finishers broke the 24-hour mark. Alex Letvinchuk, 33, of Amherst, N.H. (25:03:58) and Dylan Steven, 27, of Boston, Mass. (25:04:18) rounded out the top five. Sean Beaulieu, 27, of Bass Harbor, Maine, was the final New England male to finish, placing 10th in 29:04:39. The top two women’s finishers both were New Englanders. Adeine Casali, 22, of Harrison, Maine, was the top female in 27:32:17, finishing seventh overall, while 39-year-old Jennifer Boshco of Billerica, Mass., was the women’s runner-up and ninth overall finisher in 28:32:15.

An additional 34 runners took on the 50-mile race with 25 finishing within 30 hours. Notably, seven women dipped under the previous course record, including 30-year-old Claudine Soucie of Gatineau, Quebec, who was the overall winner in 16:56:42. Women’s runner-up and third overall finisher Annika Rollock, 27, of Cambridge, Mass., followed in 18:39, 41, followed by 24-year-old Grace Leightheiser of Boston, Mass. (third female, seventh overall) in 19:43:02. Other women who broke the previous course record were Lenka Matejkova, 45, of Lebanon, N.H. (20:39:26); Alyssa Macleod, 36, of Milton, N.H., (22:01:00); Kara Deming, 26, of Lebanon, N.H. (22:30:43); and Julia Magnusson, 51, of Maynard, Mass. (24:25:51).

In the men’s race, overall runner-up Ryan Grimaldi, 37, of Milton, N.H., led the men and posted the second-fastest men’s time in course history in 17:50:39, followed by 30-year-old Benjamin Silbeman of Salt Lake City, Utah, in 18:39:41. Nick Lee, 38, of Falmouth, Mass., was fifth overall and rounded out the men’s podium in 19:29:50. Close behind was Benjamin Aiken, 31, of Boston, Mass. in 19:43:02.

The top 15 overall finishers broke the 24-hour mark. Other New England residents among that group were Nathan Lazarus, 25, of Somerville, Mass. (eighth, 20:11:26); Daniel Keller, 47, of Concord, N.H. (ninth, 20:39:24); Jeremy Dougherty, 42, of Bar Harbor, Maine (11th, 21:39:44); Dylan Brann, 35, and Tony Ricardo, 41, both of Bar Harbor, Maine (tied for 12th, 21:39:45); and Benjamin Zamore, 34, of Cambridge, Mass. (15th, 22:30:43).

Lean Horse Ultras

Leah Mink had a successful 100-mile debut that nearly ended with a position on the women’s podium. Mink, 38, of Greenwich, Conn., took on the 18th edition of the Lean Horse 100-mile ultra on Aug. 19-20 in Custer, S.D. The event took place on the mostly flat, crushed limestone George S. Mickelson Rail Trail, offering runners the opportunity to run a fast time or achieve a personal distance record.

Runners had 32 hours to complete 100 miles. Of the 81 who started the race, 57 ultimately finished, including Mink who placed 20th overall and fourth in the women’s field in 26:04:53, one spot off the podium. Sarah Graves, 46, of Red Lodge, Mont., was first in the women’s race in 21:38:47, while 27-year-old Austin Baade of Roca, Neb., won the men’s race in 18:34:01.

The event also included a 50-mile race, and 64 runners finished, including Manchester, N.H. residents Olivia Brecheen, 31, and Tim Brecheen, 55, who ran together and finished in 12:23:50 and 12:23:52, respectively. Additionally, 41 runners completed the Lean Horse 30-mile race, including 44-year-old Mikey Seymour of Boston, Mass., who finished sixth overall in 5:30:59. Austin Freeburg, 39, of Douglas, Wyo., won the 30-miler in 4:53:46.

Twisted Branch 100K

The eighth edition of the Twisted Branch 100K took place on Saturday, Aug. 19, in Naples, N.Y. Runners had 20 hours to complete the race on the singletrack Bristol Hills Branch trail, amassing 10,000 feet of elevation gain while making the journey from Ontario County Park in Gannett Hill to the finish in Naples. Ultimately 158 of the 190 started succeeded in finishing.

Benjamin Linne finished the journey faster than anybody with the 26-year-old from Joppa, Md., winning in 10:36:43.

A trio of New England residents joined Linne among the fastest men in the field with Fred Wills leading the way. Wills, 38, of Cheshire, Conn., followed-up his runner-up finish at the CUT 50-miler in June by placing sixth overall at Twisted Branch in 11:54:36. Todd Curtis, 50, of Great Barrington, Mass., was 12th in 13:03:03, and 37-year-old Andrew Tidd of Plymouth, Mass. – the Hamsterwheel 12-hour champion in 2022 and third-place finisher at the Womp Romp 50K – was 14th in 13:04:07.

Danielle Snyder, 37, of Bend, Ore., followed up her victory at the Black Hills 100-miler in South Dakota in June and last year’s Orcas Island 100-mile victory by winning the women’s race at Twisted Branch in 13:48:00. A pair of New England women joined her on the podium with 44-year-old Jessica Crandall of Berlin, Conn., finishing second in 13:48:03, and 33-year-old Sarah Aponte of North Andover, Mass., taking third in 14:06:03. Aponte was third at last year’s Twisted Branch in 14:17:42, so although she didn’t climb higher on the podium she set a personal best time for the course by 11 minutes.

Fabulous Fahnestock

A dozen New England residents were among the finishers of the inaugural Fabulous Fahnestock 50K on Saturday, Aug. 19, in Cold Spring, N.Y. Included among the group of finishers from the region was the men’s champion.

Eighty-two runner finished the race within 12 hours, led by 38-year-old Shannon Capps of Philadelphia, Pa., who was the overall winner and first-place female in 5:50:53. Men’s champion and overall runner-up Richard Chmielecki, 41, of Greenwich, Conn., followed in 6:11:33. Another New England resident – 39-year-old Carter Moore of Ridgefield, Conn. – also earned a spot in the top 10, placing seventh among the men and 10th overall in 7:07:20.

The top 26 finishers all completed the race in less than eight hours. That included 40-year-old Paul Viscontini of Stamford, Conn. (23rd, 7:47:47) and 40-year-old Trevor Meinke of Derby, Conn. (26th, 7:58:27).

Other finishers from New England were John Dunn, 58, of New Canaan, Conn. (33rd, 8:17:45); Javier Perrone, 50, of Bristol, Conn. (35th, 8:21:50); Rebecca Doring, 34, of Cornwall Bridge, Conn. (36th, 8:25:49); Kalina Paunovska, 27, of Cambridge, Mass. (37th, 8:29:37); Molly Fraher, 35, of Goshen, Conn. (39th, 8:32:10); Jake Kampner, 25, of Boston, Mass. (44th, 8:46:04); Kimberly Hadermayer, 43, of Ridgefield, Conn. (52nd, 9:32:36); and Seng-Lai Tan, 52, of Sudbury, Mass. (77th, 10:44:13).

Backcountry Rise

The trails of Mt. Margaret Backcountry and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument lured runners to the sixth edition of the Backcountry Rise 50K and 50-mile ultras on Saturday, Aug. 19 in Toutle, Wash., and a trio of New England residents were among the competitors.

All three runners from the region took part in the 50K race, which tested runners with 7,600 feet of climbing while racing on remote singletrack trails. Eli Nixon, 25, of Eliot, Maine, was among the fastest finishers as he placed seventh overall in 5:29:53. It was a homecoming of sorts for Nixon who recently moved to Maine from Bend, Ore., and did extensive racing in the Pacific Northwest prior to moving. Talon Hull, 24, of Seattle, Wash., led all runners in 4:33:38 while Abbigale Forsman, 28, of Minneapolis, Minn., led the women’s field in 5:58:29 and placed 13th overall.

Joining Nixon among the finishers were 27-year-old Emily Azalone of South Burlington, Vt., who finished in 9:14:33, and 30-year-old Renee Laurencelle of Tyngsboro, Mass., who finished in 9:35:18.

Bulldog 50K

Tao Yang picked a West Coast classic trail race to be his first ultramarathon. Yang, 62, of Methuen, Mass., picked the 31st annual Bulldog 50K in Calabasas, Calif., for his ultra debut on Saturday, Aug. 19. The race that bills itself as “Southern California’s oldest 50K’ presented plenty of challenges with 5,800 feet of climbing over 28.88 miles through the Santa Monica mountains.

Yang was one of 171 runners who finished within nine hours. Yang did so in 7:36:53. Scot Munson, 32, of Van Nuys, Calif., led all runners in a speedy 4:00:41.

*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.