The Oct. 7-8 weekend was Midstate Massive weekend for hundreds of ultrarunners throughout New England as the three-distance event – 100-miles, 50 miles and 30-miles – took runners into four of the region’s states. Still, it was far from the only ultra event in New England that weekend as two other popular events also took place: Bubba’s Backyard Ultra in New Hampshire and the Big Brad Ultras in Maine. There were several other ultras across the country that attracted runners from the region – and we’ll have them covered in a second roundup – but this edition stays in New England.

Bubba’s Backyard Ultra

Ed Clifford’s reign continues.

Clifford, 58, of Raymond, N.H., remains the only champion of Bubba’s Backyard Ultra in the event’s history. Clifford earned his latest victory at the fifth annual event on Oct. 7-8 in Center Conway, N.H. Clifford took on the same 3.5-mile loop course that he knows so well, including its logging roads, snowmobile trails, forested singletrack, and occasional climbs that add up to around 250 feet of gain per loop.

Brian Burke pushed Clifford to the limit during each of the past two years. This year Burke was away, volunteering at another race, so the assist fell to 25-year-old Will Peterson of Naples, Maine. Peterson finished fifth at the 2021 race and 20th in 2022. This time Peterson amassed 133 miles – his best showing ever on the course – but Clifford went one lap more for a winning tally of 136.5 miles. Third overall honors went to the last woman standing, 38-year-old Megan Jensen of Essex Junction, Vt. Jensen earned her first 100-mile performance, ultimately compiling 119 miles, which was one lap shy of tying the women’s course record.

Of the 98 runners who took part in Bubba’s this year, 12 surpassed the 100-mile mark. Others who did so were Benjamin Feinson, 31, of Richmond, Vt. (115.5 miles); Lukas Janulaitis, 22, of Centerville, Mass. (115.5 miles); Maia Buckingham, 30, of Richmond, Vt. (115.5 miles); Danny Mejia, 28, of Portland, Maine (112 miles); Ian O’Reilly, 40, of Kensington, N.H. (108.5 miles); Peter Bonito, 38, of Westmoreland, N.H. (105 miles); Aaron Copeland, 40, of Strafford, N.H. (105 miles); Conor Brown, 22, of Manchester, N.H. (101.5 miles); and Tyler Seppala, 40, of Sharon, N.H. (101.5 miles).

Big Brad Ultras

Matthew Cheney burst onto the trail-running scene in April 2016 when the then-23-year-old raced to the overall win in the marathon at the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain in New York. Two years later he made his ultra debut with a hard-fought victory in the 50K at the Ultra Race of Champions in Virginia.

After a 5-year hiatus, Cheney returned to racing on Sunday, Oct. 8, at the 12th annual Big Brad Ultras in Pownal, Maine, and he finished in a familiar place: the top of the podium. Now living in Brunswick, Maine, Cheney earned his first victory as a New Englander in the 50-mile race. The 30-year-old dominated from the start and nearly took down a course record that has stood since 2014. Cheney rolled to victory in 7:47:32, just three minutes shy of Jeremy Ritcey’s course record of 7:44:20. Jacob Brady, 28, of Portland, Maine, was a distant second in 8:23:30.

Topping the women’s 50-mile field was a relative newcomer to ultra racing. Steph Nichols ran her first ultra less than a month ago when she placed 16th in the women’s field at The Rut 50K in Montana. The 23-year-old from Bozeman, Mont., finished third overall and first in the women’s field in 9:30:41. Her performance was the sixth-best by a woman in course history. Nichols won by nearly 2 1/2 hours. Joining her on the podium were Alyssa Lamontagne, 38, of Lebanon, Maine (11:58:38) and Rosie Warfield, 40, of Honolulu, Hawaii (12:04:51). Sunshine Mechtenberg, 52, of Brunswick, Maine, and Barb Daggett, 53, of Thomaston, Maine, rounded out the women’s top five in 12:21:28 and 13:23:15, respectively.

Other top men in the 50-miler included Samuel Van Pelt, 30, of Seattle, Wash. (9:43:07); Ryan Nichols, 29, of Rumford, Maine (9:55:02); and Will Morris, 18, of Pownal, Maine (10:05:42) who were third, fourth and fifth.

Twenty-three runners completed the 50-miler within 13 1/2 hours.

An additional 33 runners finished the Big Brad 50K race within 10 hours, and a pair of Maine residents swept the victories while finishing 1-2 in a close race. Michael Smith, 39, of Cumberland topped the field in 5:06:10 while 20-year-old Lila Gaudrault of Cape Elizabeth was close behind in 5:07:44. Gaudrault’s time was the third-best by a woman in course history, and she and Smith outdistanced the rest of the field by more than an hour.

Gaudrault highlighted a strong day for the ladies as the top three women all finished in the top five overall. Natalie Nichols, 28, of Rumford, Maine, was third overall and second female in 6:16:27 while Claudia Sacks, 25, of Richmond, Vt., rounded out the podium and finished fifth overall in 6:25:19. Giant Parlin, 47, of Portland, Maine, was the second-place male and fourth overall finisher in 6:22:19. Jake Chambers, 32, of Portland, Maine, snagged the final spot on the men’s podium in 6:44:17, two minutes ahead of 31-year-old Portland resident William Olsen (6:46:29).

*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.