The Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile race course is daunting during the best of conditions. It is front-loaded with climbing, the majority of it on rugged, technical singletrack trails where the footing is tricky and progress is often slow. The back half has several miles of road, so runners who’ve made it that far can try to pick up the pace, only to then be smacked with even more technical trails during the late miles in Douglas State Forest.

The event earned its reputation during mostly dry conditions through its first four years. The fifth edition of the race – which took place Oct. 7-8 – took course conditions to a diabolical new level as rain drenched the course, making rocks extra slippery and turning portions of the trail into rivers.

Runners began the race in wave starts over a 5 1/2-hour period, starting at the Windblown Cross Country Ski Area in New Ipswich, N.H. During the course of 33 1/2 hours, just 43 of the 120 runners who started would ultimately complete the journey across Massachusetts from north to south, into Rhode Island and Connecticut and then back into the Bay State to the finish line at Douglas State Forest. The well-deserved and long-awaited sunny skies that greeted them were a far cry from what they endured to get there.

Each of the wave starts began with temperatures in the low 60s, a light breeze, high humidity and patches of rain that added a slick glaze to the rocks along the way toward, up and over Mt. Watatic and onward to Mt. Wachusett.

The wind picked up and steady rain began to fall as runners headed into the evening hours. A heavy deluge began around 8 p.m., and turned part of the trail into pools of water and other spots into temporary rivers. Temperatures plunged to the low 40s, causing soaked runners to shiver and forcing several to withdraw.

Those who survived until morning were rewarded as blue skies emerged. Cody Poskin was the first runner to emerge from the woods, dash down the final hill, around the bend and onward to the finish line next to Wallum Lake. It was a little after 9 a.m., just shy of 50 degrees and breezy, and sun soaked the finish line when Poskin, 21, of Cedar Hill, Mo., secured his victory. Despite the miserable conditions he’d endured, Poskin clocked the fourth-fastest time in course history with his 19:47:08 performance. A little more than two hours later, 2022 champion and course-record holder Corin Kwasnik joined Poskin at the finish line. After winning last year’s race in 18:54:41, Kwasnik was the runner-up in 22:06:29. Danny Hartman, 38, of Easthampton, Mass., eventually rounded out the men’s podium in 23:29:46 as the final sub-24-hour finisher. It was Hartman’s third time going 100 miles, first during a FKT effort on the Massachusetts portion of the New England Trail in 2021 and again in July 2023 when he earned a top-10 finish at the Burning River 100 in Ohio. Thomas Standish, 17, of Acton, Mass., finished fourth in his 100-mile debut, completing the course in 24:28:24, followed by 34-year-old Jameson Boswell of Plymouth, N.H., in 24:32:20.

While all runners endured the elements during the race, Laura Ricci also had to navigate a nagging hamstring injury – less than ideal for technical climbing and slick surfaces. Still, that didn’t deter her as the 39-year-old Boston resident battled through everything and finished first in the women’s field (eighth overall) in 25:10:48. The victory capped a busy race season that included the Chuckanut 50K in Washington March, a win at the TARC Wapack and Back 50-miler in May, and the Ragged 75 Stage Race in New Hampshire in August, all building up to Midstate.

Forty-two minutes after Ricci finished, 28-year-old Brianna Russell of Tucson, Ariz., joined her at the finish line as the women’s runner-up in 25:52:52. It was Russell’s second 100-mile finish, and first time completing the distance since finishing the inaugural Midstate Massive 100 in 2019 when she placed third in 30:45:48. Eleni Peterson, 30, of New Ipswich, N.H., rounded out the women’s podium in 29:49:11 to cap her 100-mile debut. Elizabeth Nesbitt, 41, of Burlington, Vt., was fourth in 29:43:31; Catalina Romero, 23, of Gurnee, Ill, was fifth in 30:21:36; and Belinda Nyakowa, 43, of Leominster, finished sixth in 31:07:09 in her 100-mile debut.

The brutal conditions of the race took their toll on the finishers as well as those who didn’t make it to the end at Douglas State Forest. The runners with the most finishes in event history all were struck down by the conditions. Four-time finishers Joe Loureiro and Dane LeBlanc both dropped after 86 miles, and three-time finisher Kathleen Walker also ended her race early. Three-time finisher Pascal Barbini was the final runner across the finish line; the 56-year-old from Westborough, Mass., earned his fourth finish of the race in 33:10:51.

Windram-Geddes Makes Explosive Debut with 50-Mile Victory

Morgan Windram-Geddes is a new face on the New England ultrarunning scene, but she’s no newcomer to impressive long-distance feats.

The 41-year-old resident of Stockbridge, Mass., has set supported fastest known times on the Massachusetts and Connecticut portions of the Appalachian Trail, as well as the point-to-point Fife Pilgrim Way in the United Kingdom. She has also raced extensively in the UK, including podium finishes at the 2015 Cateran Trail Ultramarathon 109.6-miler, the 2016 West Highland Way 95-miler, and the 2017 Highland Fling Race 53-miler.

The Midstate Massive 50-miler was her first ultra in the United States, and Windram-Geddes threw down a monster performance. She surged to an early lead despite the deluge of rain and darkness of a nighttime start and went on to win the race outright in 8:19:09, a full 41 minutes faster than the next runner and men’s champion. She also set a new women’s course record for her effort, comfortably topping 2022 winner Meredith Edwards’ time of 8:40:11, and logged the second-best time of any runner ever on the course. Only men’s course record-holder Ben Quatromoni has gone faster, winning the 2020 race in 7:47:22.

Windram-Geddes may be new on the scene, but some of her competitors were not. One of the most accomplished ultrarunners in the region during the past 16 years, Amy Rusiecki dedicates much of her time now to race directing a variety of events, from classic New England events like the Vermont 100 and Seven Sisters Trail Race, to her own Beast Coat Trail Running race series in western Massachusetts. Though she doesn’t race as frequently as she used to, the 44-year-old resident of South Deerfield, Mass., still toes the starting line a few times a year and pursues some big goals. With the Pinhoti 100-miler on her calendar in November, Rusiecki raced the Pisgah Mountain 50K in New Hampshire in September and finished second. She followed that up with the Midstate Massive 50-miler and placed second in the women’s field (12th overall) in 10:32:07.

Elizabeth Faye rounded out the women’s podium and finished 23rd overall in 12:09:59. For Faye, 41, of Randolph, Mass., it was a five-minute improvement from 2022 when she finished sixth in the women’s field. It was also Faye’s fourth top-five finish at a trail race this year. She was second in the women’s field at the Snow Devil Ultra SnowShoe Race Marathon in February in Vermont, fifth at the Trail Animals Running Club’s “Don’t Run Boston” 50K in April and third in September at the Kilkenny Ridge 25-miler in New Hampshire.

Jessica Cotnoir, 34, of East Orange, Mass., was a close fourth in the 50-mile race in 13:04:15. It was Cotnoir’s third ultramarathon finish and her first 50-miler. Daria Cunningham, 47, of Lunenburg, Mass., was fifth in 14:23:57. It was Cunningham’s third straight finish of the Midstate Massive 50-miler after completing the 30-miler in 2020. Corie McCord, 43, of Proctorsville, Vt., was sixth in 16:07:59. It was McCord’s second ultramarathon finish and her first 50-miler. She placed ninth in the women’s field in the 30-mile race at the 2022 Midstate Massive.

In the men’s field, 32-year-old Damion Perry of Boston, Mass., earned the victory while finishing second overall in 8:59:10. Perry’s performance secured him the fourth position on the men’s course record board. It was also the first ultra victory for Perry, who made his ultra debut in July with a fourth-place finish at the Moosalamoo 36-miler in Vermont. Twelve minutes later, 36-year-old Mark Hartman of Coventry, R.I., finished as the men’s runner-up in 9:11:46. Two seconds separated the third- and fourth-place men as 33-year-old Soledad Martinezbravo of Newport, R.I., finished in 9:36:16 and 30-year-old Zachary Schreiber of Hagerstown, Md., followed in 9:36:18. Austin Klavins, 24, of Portland, Maine, followed a minute later in 9:37:28 to round out the men’s top five.

Fifty runners completed the 50-miler within 17 hours.

Nadeau, Lesh Cruise to Course Records in 30-Mile Race

Unlike the 100-mile and 50-mile runners, those in the Sunday morning 30-mile race avoided the worst of the rain and cold. They still had to navigate a wet course that had been soaked the day before, but sunny skies lit the way and warmed the day. In fact, two runners may have helped dry the course from their scorching performances.

Keith Nadeau and Robyn Lesh finished 1-2 and earned the men’s and women’s victories while also setting new course records. Nadeau won the 50-miler in 2019, finished third in the 100 in 2020 and eighth in 2022. The 34-year-old from Fairhaven, Mass., took his first crack at the 30-miler this time and smashed the men’s course record by nearly seven minutes, winning in 3:57:44. Shortly after Nadeau finished, Lesh joined him at the finish line. The 29-year-old from Durango, Colo., was the women’s champion and third overall finisher in the 30-miler in 2022. This year she stepped up one spot on the overall leaderboard and defended her title while finishing six minutes faster. In doing so, Lesh won and set a new women’s course record of 4:31:28, eclipsing the previous record by 43 seconds (Marissa Rivera’s 4:32:11 performance in 2019).

Joining Nadeau on the men’s podium were Travis Gibbons, 33, of Kelowna, B.C. (5:03:51) and David Stoffregen, 56, of Salem, Mass. (5:07:26). Sam MacGinty, 26, of Boston, Mass., was fourth in 5:17:06, followed by Tom Wolejko, 42, of Lunenburg, Mass.., in 5:21:15.

Lesh was joined on the women’s podium by 42-year-old Jill Hussain of Concord, Mass., who placed second in 5:29:38, and 31-year-old Jennifer Brown of Belmont, Mass., who was third in 5:59:17.

Sixty-nine runners finished the 30-mile race within 10 hours.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 8:44 a.m. October 18, 2023, to update Danny Hartman’s running history.