The Sept. 15-17 weekend was a busy one for ultrarunners in Massachusetts with ultra events in both the eastern and western parts of the Commonwealth (MetroWest Backyard Ultra in Needham and the Free to Run Trail Races in Pittsfield), but the racing didn’t stop there. Many New Englanders also gathered in New Hampshire for the classic Pisgah Mountain Trail Races, where Brian Rusiecki returned to a course he knows well and secured another victory. Others headed to New York for the Pawling 24 time-based event, while others headed south to Georgia and Tennessee or west to Arizona to compete. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Pisgah Mountain Trail Races

For years Brian Rusiecki was a notorious racer. He was known to race ultras on three consecutive weekends to race his way into shape for the season, and then race several more ultras – usually including the Vermont 100.

Rusiecki has stepped back from serious racing in recent years. He still toes the line once in a while, oftentimes at sub-ultra distances, but he returned to the ultra distance on Sunday, Sept. 17, when he raced the 50K at the Pisgah Mountain Trail Races in Chesterfield, N.H. Rusiecki has been a regular at the event through the years, racing it 11 times – most recently in 2019 – and winning it in 2009 and 2014. Rusiecki kicked off the rust at the 21st edition of the event at Pisgah State Park and pushed the pace for two trips through the figure eight-style 25K loop course, amassing around 4,600 feet of gain by the time he was done.

Rusiecki, 44, of South Deerfield, Mass., collected his third Pisgah title, winning in 4:46:00. He fended off another familiar face and longtime competitor, 58-year-old David Herr of Canaan, Vt., who was the runner-up in 5:05:00. Herr completed Pisgah for the 14th time and has six victories to his record. Behind the two longtime veterans was 31-year-old Karl Gottschalk of Keene, N.H., who finished third in his ultra debut in 5:11:00.

Christopher Parker, 41, of Cambridge, Mass., and Ari Ofsevit, 39, of Cambridge, Mass., rounded out the men’s top five in 5:18:00 and 5:28:00, respectively, followed by Sean Meissner, 50, of Perkinsville, Vt. (5:45) and Keith Bourassa, 39, of Keene, N.H. (5:52).

The women’s field also featured plenty of familiar faces. Elizabeth McGurk, 28, of Lebanon, N.H., placed fourth overall and first-place female in 5:15:00. It was her first time racing the 50K at Pisgah, but she won the event’s 23K race in both 2017 and 2018. Amy Rusiecki was the runner-up in 6:09:00. The 44-year-old resident of South Deerfield, Mass., finished Pisgah for the seventh time, a feat that included victories in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Julie Corey, 45, of Holyoke, Mass., was third in 6:16:00, followed by 38-year-old Carolyn Wisnowski of Shirley, Mass., who earned her third finish at Pisgah.

Pawling 24

Several New England residents took part in the fourth edition of the Pawling 24-Hour Trail Running Festival on Sept. 16-17 in Pawling, N.Y. The event offered its signature 24-hour time-based ultra, as well as 12-hour and 6-hour options. Runners tackled a 1.7-mile loop course around Green Mountain Lake that was a mix of grass, pavement, and singletrack dirt with around 160 feet of gain per loop.

Thirty-two runners took part in the 24-hour race. Sheryl Wheeler, 60, of Earlton, N.Y., was the lone runner to surpass the 100-mile mark. She earned the overall win with a women’s course-record performance of 100.3 miles. Shane Kelly, 35, of Whitehall, N.Y., was second overall and first male with 96.9 miles. James GAwle was the top performing New England resident. Gawle, 72, of Webster, Mass., hammered out 78.21 miles and placed ninth overall. Bernie Gee, 53, of Brookfield, Conn., also had a big day with 56.1 miles.

Eighteen runners logged miles in the 12-hour race. Kim Hooper-Stanley, 61, of Bethel, Conn., was the lone New England resident in the field. She placed fourth overall and second female with 45.92 miles. Gabriela Olivera, 49, of Kingston, N.Y., led the women with 52.7 miles while Byron Lane, 55, of Stony Brook, N.Y., topped the men’s field with 56.1 miles.

Another 19 runners raced the 6-hour event. Zandy Mangold, 49, and Beatrice Land, 27, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., led the men’s and women’s fields with 34.2 and 30.6 miles, respectively. Alexander Evans, 30, of Watertown, Conn., was the lone New England resident to achieve ultra mileage. He placed fourth overall and third among the men’s field with 28.9 miles.

Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Ultra

After four trips to Arizona in five years to race the AZT Oracle Rumble 50-miler in Oracle, Ariz., Alex Markle decided to make the Grand Canyon State the site of his first 100-miler.

Markle, 42, of Burlington, Mass., opened this season once again at AZT Oracle Rumble and had a strong showing as he finished in the top half of the field. He followed it up with a sixth-place finish at the inaugural Free Spirit 50K in Leyden, Mass., in mid-May. Finally, he headed back to Arizona and took part in the 10th edition of the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra on Sept. 16-17 in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Markle raced along the Arizona National Scenic Trail on a mix of singletrack and doubletrack dirt and forest roads as he made his way from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, amassing around 7,000 feet of climbing along the way. Markle ultimately finished 16th overall and 12th in the men’s field in 28:18:42. Vasileios Paschalidis, 44, of Tucson, Ariz., finished first in 20:35:37. Thirty-seven runners finished within 32 1/2 hours.

Another 82 runners completed the event’s 55K race. None were New England residents, though former Massachusetts and Vermont resident John Fegyveresi was among the finishers. Fegyveresi, 46, now lives in Flagstaff. He finished 33rd in 7:17:35.

Georgia Jewel

Randy Heins made his trail-racing debut just this year when he won the 25K at the Vegan Power Trails Races at Pittsfield State Forest in June. 

Heins wasted little time taking the leap to ultras from there. He entered the 50-mile race at the Georgia Jewel and toed the starting line at the 13th annual event on Sept. 15-16 in Dalton, Ga.

Heins handled the point-to-point course just fine, and the 42-year-old resident of North Andover, Mass., finished 68th overall in 13:14:11. John Brown, 41, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., won the race in 7:52:16 and led a field of 100 finishers within 15 1/2 hours.

The Georgia Jewel also offered 100-mile and 35-mile races; no New England residents were in the field for either of those distances.

Barkley Fall Classic

Spots in the Barkley Marathons were once again at stake for the winners of the ninth annual Barkley Fall Classic 50K on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Frozen Head State Park in Wartburg, Tenn. The victories went to Maxime Gauduin, 36, of Theys, France, and Christine Rugloski, 26, of Denver, Colo., who led the men’s and women’s fields and finished 1-3 overall in 9:13:39 and 9:44:02, respectively.

There were 135 finishers within 13 1/2 hours, including five New England residents with two cracking the overall top 25. Austin Darley, 31, of Longmeadow, Mass., followed up his victory at the Soapstone Six 6-Hour earlier this year by finishing 19th at the Barkley Fall Classic in 10:56:40. He was followed closely by 60-year-old Bill Tidd of Alton Bay, N.H. – a finisher of seven 100-milers – in 21st place overall in 10:57:09. Jay Doubman, 52, of Winchester, Mass., also had a strong day and earned a 30th place overall finish (25th in the men’s field) in 11:11:03. For Doubman, it was a nearly one-hour improvement from his performance in 2021.

Both New England women who competed finished in the top 10 of their field with 45-year-old Jill Lizotte of Coventry, R.I., placing seventh female, 41st overall, in 11:25:56. Melissa De Fabrizio, 35, of Stratford, Conn., was 48th overall and 10th-place female in 11:36:32. For De Fabrizio, it was a 50-minute improvement over her Barkley Fall Classic performance in 2021 and it capped a busy 2023 season where she won the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra and finished the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100-miler.

*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.