While dozens of New England ultrarunners ventured outside of the region to race during the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 weekend, many stayed in the Northeast to tackle courses nearby, from steep, mountainous terrain to rolling singletrack and doubletrack, to easy-running gravel and even a track. Here in part two of the weekly roundup we catch up on the ultras that happened in New England and nearby New York and New Jersey. Big performances abounded, from a 100-miler with more than 40,000 feet of climbing in Vermont, to a record-setting night at the Joe English Twilight Challenge in New Hampshire that leads off this edition of the roundup.

Joe English Twilight Challenge

It was a record-setting night at the ninth edition of the Joe English Twilight Challenge thanks to Christopher Cappellini and Christin Doneski who threw down huge performances.

The Twilight Challenge uses a 2.62-mile loop course on rolling trails through Freestyle Farm in Amherst, N.H., offering a variety of races from the 6-hour ultra to a trail marathon, half marathon, two-loop challenge and youth two-loop run.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, both Cappellini and Doneski established early leads and became the first runners in the history of the event’s 6-hour race to complete 16 loops of the course for 41.92 miles. Both Cappellini, of Norton, Mass., and Doneski, of Hopkinton, N.H., established new men’s and women’s course records for their efforts. Cappellini also finished first overall in 5:52:26, while Doneski followed in 6:13:36. Runners are allowed to begin a final loop before six hours have expired. The duo outdistanced a field of 42 runners, 16 who completed at least 12 laps for a 50K finish.

Joining Doneski on the women’s podium were third overall finisher Alexandra Wolf of Somerville, Mass., and Deirdre Lowe of Salem, Mass. Wolf finished 15 laps (39.3 miles) in 6:56:57 and placed third overall. Lowe finished 14 laps (36.68 miles) in 5:45:19 and placed fifth overall. Lyssa Nowakowski of Buffalo, N.Y., was the fourth-place woman and seventh overall finisher with 13 laps for 34.06 miles in 5:46:16. Lesley Rossi of New Boston, N.H., followed with 12 laps for 31:44 miles in 5:45:51. Kathy Jacques of Norton, Mass., also finished 12 laps in 5:54:20 and was sixth in the women’s field.

Joining Cappellini on the men’s podium were runner-up and fourth overall finisher Mark Blakeley, also of Norton, with 15 laps (39.3 miles) in 6:03:11, followed by Nick Hill of Bennington, N.H., with 14 laps (36.68 miles) in 5:49:59. Ted Niemann of Columbus, Ohio, was fourth with 13 laps (34.06 miles) in 5:48:32. Six more men all finished 12 laps for 31.44 miles. They were Joseph Giarrusso of Bozeman, Mont. (5:30:59); Israel Agront of Medford, Mass. (5:44:05); Matthew Hofmann of Chelmsford, Mass. (5:45:09); Alex Cabrera of Brookline, N.H. (5:49:56); Joseph Putney of Bedford, Ala. (5:51:07); and William Caddoo of Wayland, Mass. (5:52:37).

Three runners completed the 10-loop marathon race with Russet Morrow of Millis, Mass., topping the field in 4:20:08. Kimberly Battipaglia of New Haven, Conn., was the runner-up in 4:45:51, and Annika Morgan of Redding Conn., rounded out the podium in 5:27:24.

Painemeister 100

One of the most grueling ultramarathon events in the United States made its debut on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Northfield, Vt. The inaugural Painemeister 100-miler and 48-Hour Endurance Challenge challenged runners to take on a 2.1-mile loop known as the Painemeister, smacking runners with 884 feet of climbing and 884 feet of descent within that short distance. The 100-miler required runners to complete 48 loops of the course for 100.8 miles and a whopping 42,441 feet of climbing and 42,441 feet of downhill.

Eleven runners started the 100-mile race and seven ultimately finished. Nicholas Mangiameli, 27, of Suffield, Conn., earned the victory in 43:31. Anthony Gadzi, 19, of Mendham, N.J., was second in 46:07. Joining Mangiameli and Gadzi at the finish line shortly after were Titus Barber, 20, and Clayton Strobel, 20, both in 46:53, followed by Joshua Bickford, 20, in 47:20; Owen McLaughlin, 20, in 47:30; and Guy Brouillette, 60, of St-Eustache, Quebec, in 49:47.

One runner completed the 48-hour endurance challenge. Isaac Lavado, 43, of Providence, R.I., completed 15 laps for 31.5 miles and 13,260 feet of climbing.

NipMuck Trail Marathon

Few New England trail races have endured for as long as the NipMuck Trail Marathon. The classic race played host to its 40th edition on Sunday, Oct. 1, in Ashford, Conn. To celebrate the major anniversary, race organizers added a 40-mile race in addition to the traditional 26.4-miler.

Thirteen runners completed the special edition event with 24-year-old Austin Frank of Bolton, Conn., earning the victory in 6:59:39, followed by 19-year-old Tobias Tello of Cheshire, Conn., in 7:12:53. Michael Medeiros, 38, of West Hartford, Conn., was the final sub-8-hour finisher and third overall runner in 7:45:00. Carolyn Wisnowski, 38, of Shirley, Mass., won the women’s race in 8:54:56, followed by 38-year-old Caitlin Roston of AShford, Conn., in 9:21:35. Olivia Beer, 24, of Rhinebeck, N.Y., rounded out the women’s podium in 9:55:24.

Another 77 runners completed the 26.4-mile race with 31-year-old James Boeding of West Hartford, Conn., and 48-year-old Debbie Livingston of Bolton, Conn., topping the men’s and women’s fields in 3:51:57 and 4:39:53, respectively. Boeding edged 31-year-old Daniel Rogoz of Hamden, Conn., for the overall win by three minutes with Rogoz finishing second in 3:34:54. 

NJ Trail Series One Day

The 10th edition of the NJ Trail Series One Day took place over three days from Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, N.J. The distance festival took place at the same location and on the same course as the popular Three Days at the Fair in May.

This year’s edition included 72-hour, 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour ultra opportunities on a 1-mile looped course consisting of crushed gravel and pavement.

The 72-hour offering made its debut in 2022. This year, 15 runners took part, all completed at least 40 miles, and 12 achieved at least 100 miles. Two runners smashed that barrier and surpassed the 200-mile mark by the end of the weekend. Darren Words, 52, of Morristown, N.J., and Tim Craig, 35, of New York, N.Y., both eclipsed the 200-mile mark with Words amassing 230 miles and Craig completing 210 miles. Pablo Espinosa, 43, of St-Polycarpe, Quebec, was a distant third with 173 miles. Top honors in the women’s field went to Elena Camacho, 59, of Port Chester, N.Y., who was eighth overall with 138 miles. Another notable finisher was Emmy Stocker. The 65-year-old from Old Greenwich, Conn., finished fourth in the women’s field and 12th overall with 100 miles. It was the second time Stocker has completed 100 miles in a 72-hour race this year. She previously did so in July at the Notchview Ultra.

Twenty-two runners took on the 48-hour event with 10 of them achieving 100 miles or more. Sean Gavor, 45, of Perth Amboy, N.J., led the way with 135 miles, followed by 46-year-old Jason Smith of Downingtown, Pa., with 123 miles. Fred Baldwin, 71, of Cato, N.Y., and Walt Hamer, 68, of Stockholm, N.J., followed with 115 miles apiece. Cindy Sullivan, 42, of Guilford, Conn., was fifth overall and first-place female with 112 miles. Bob Keating, 76, of Nashua, N.H., was the final New Englander to hit the 100-mile mark. Keating completed 110 miles and placed sixth overall.

The 24-hour race included 26 runners, of which all but two achieved ultramarathon mileage and two completed 100 miles or more. Colleen Drahos, 39, of Randolph, N.J., led the way by blistering the course for 120 miles. Second overall finisher and first-place male Jake Robinson, 29, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., followed with 102 miles. Angela Scarinci, 41, of North Haven, Conn., was the top New England finisher, women’s runner-up and third overall finisher with 97 miles. Other top New Englanders were Joseph Laskey, 59, of Southington, Conn., who placed sixth overall with 87 miles; Claire Robinson-White, 44, of Milton, Vt., who was fifth-place woman and 14th overall with 66 miles; and 54-year-old Jeffrey Brunoli of Glastonbury, Conn., with 50 miles.

Nine runners competed in the 12-hour race and six of them achieved ultramarathon mileage. All of those runners surpassed the 40-mile mark, led by 37-year-old Michael Rolek of Randolph, N.J., with 62 miles. Bill Wells, 55, of Wilbraham, Mass., followed with 58 miles, and 34-year-old Cole Crosby of Cranston, R.I., was third with 54 miles. Sonia Feil, 31, of Willow Grove, Pa., finished fourth and was first among the women’s field with 53 miles. Barbara Graf, 64, of Leeds, Mass., was the runner-up with 50 miles.

Eight runners took on the 6-hour event, but none from New England. Dawn Gajewski, 45, of Nutley, N.J., won the race outright with 33 miles. Men’s champion Mark Edwards, 37, of Gallatin, Tenn., followed one lap behind with 32 miles.

City Invincible Track Ultra

Padraig Mullins has taken on his share of track-based events during his 12 years of running ultras, from The Stinger All-Comers Track Race in Georgia to Six Days in the Dome in Wisconsin, just to name a few.

Mullins’ latest track event – the inaugural City Invincible Track Ultra – helped break in the brand new outdoor track facility at the Camden Athletic Complex along the Camden waterfront on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Camden, N.J. Runners had 24 or 12 hours to race on a 400-meter track with views of the Philadelphia skyline and Ben Franklin Bridge surrounding them.

Mullins, 41, of Norton, Mass., was one of nine runners who competed in the 12-hour race. All but one of the runners achieved ultramarathon mileage and the top three surpassed 50 miles. Mullins finished second overall with 63.0690183 miles, trailing only Alex Franko, 37, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., who won with 65.0554440 miles. Brian Paulson, 31, of Audubon, N.J., was a distant third with 53.3851926 miles.

An additional 10 runners competed in the 24-hour event with the top three achieving 100 miles or more. All runners completed at least 49 miles. No New England residents competed in the 24-hour race, which was won by 43-year-old John Calabrese of Richardsville, Va., with 106.0254757 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.