More than 850 trail- and ultrarunners took on races in New England during the Oct. 14-15 weekend, from Ghost Train in New Hampshire (will have separate recap), to the Forbidden Forest 30-Hour Ultra in Connecticut, Devil’s Den in Vermont, and the Rhode Island Trail Classic, all of which were featured in a previous roundup. In this edition of the roundup we catch up on how New Englanders did at races beyond the region. First we head to California where two Boston residents earned top-five finishes in the 50K at the Kodiak Ultras. Then we travel north to Oregon where Sudbury resident Shelley Liu had a strong showing at the Rogue Gorge 50K. From there we head to Arizona where a few New Englanders explored the Navajo Reservation on foot at the Canyon De Chelly 55K. Finally, we close out the roundup in Virginia where a few ultrarunners – first-timers and veterans alike – raced at My First 50.

Kodiak Ultras

Philip Royer and Hannah Rowe stood atop the men’s and women’s podiums at the Ragged 50K in New Hampshire in August. During the Oct. 14-15 weekend the pair of 32-year-olds from Boston, Mass., were again among the top performers at a trail ultra as they each secured top-five finishes in the 50K race at the Kodiak Ultras in Big Bear Lake, Calif.

The 50K distance was the shortest ultra at the event, which also included 100-mile and 100K distances.

Royer placed third in the men’s field in 3:56:05. Chad Hall, 35, of San Diego, Calif., led the men in 3:45:41. Meanwhile, Rowe was the fifth-place female in 4:58:47. The fast women’s field was led by 31-year-old Dani Moreno of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., in 4:19:08. Other New England residents who finished the 50K were Kyle Burns, 28, of Boston, Mass. (7:05:35); Jan Prenoveau, 67, of Harwinton, Conn. (9:16:40); and Eric Barron, 36, of Middleton, N.H. (10:06:53).

Three New England men were among the 162 finishers of the 100K race. Justin Dyszelski, 36, of Waterbury, Vt., was the top local finisher in 11:53:11, good for 10th place in the men’s field. Cole Crosby, 34, of Cranston, Ri.I., was the 23rd male to finish in 13:12:21, and 62-year-old Tao Yang of Methuen, Mass., finished in 19:44:56. Rod Farvard, 28, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., and Amanda Basham, 33, of Boulder, Colo., won the men’s and women’s races in 9:18:22 and 11:04:13, respectively.

The event’s longest race – the 100-miler – saw 155 runners successfully finish with Vincent Bouillard, 30, of Ventura, Calif., and Claire Bannwarth, 34, of Village-Neuf, France, leading the men’s and women’s fields in 16:22:08 and 21:10:28, respectively. James Legler was the lone New England resident among the finishers. Legler, 40, of Barre, Mass., finished in 31:59:48.

Rogue Gorge 50K

Shelley Liu made her ultra debut a year ago at the Rogue Gorge 50K, finishing 14th in the women’s field in 6:15:32. On Saturday, Oct. 14, Liu returned to the race in Union Creek, Ore., for her second ultra and improved by exactly 16 minutes. 

Liu, 24, of Sudbury, Mass., and her fellow runners took on an out-and-back course on rolling singletrack trails along the Upper Rogue Wild & Scenic River with around 3,000 feet of climbing, and Liu finished 30th overall and sixth in the women’s field in 5:59:32.

Chris Wright, 33, of Bend, Ore., and Karin Strickland, 31, of Pisgah Forest, N.C., topped the men’s and women’s fields in 4:22:26 and 5:35:44, respectively, to lead the field of 111 finishers within 9 1/2 hours.

Canyon De Chelly 55K

A half-dozen New England ultrarunners took on the ninth running of the Canyon De Chelly 55K on Saturday, Oct. 14, on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. The out-and-back course took runners on sand and trails up Canyon De Chelley, as well as up Bat Canyon Trail to the Spider Rock overlook. Runners took in scenic views of the canyons, as well as pictographs, petroglyphs, and ancient ruins.

Brian Mooney was the top performer from the region. Mooney, 57, of Brattleboro, Vt., finished 15th overall in 6:47:31. Douglas Cluff, 60, of Middletown, R.I., also was among the top third of the field, placing 44th in 8:18:41. Other runners from the region who finished were Steve Price, 44, of Gales Ferry, Conn. (9:20:26); Kevin Price, 47, of Groton, Conn. (9:20:27); Mitchell Darrow, 60, of South Portland, Maine (9:55:01); and Gretchen Crusberg, 53, of Brookline, Mass. (11:37:13).

Karl Walczak, 43, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Alyssa Wendt, 29, of Crested Butte, Colo., were the men’s and women’s winners and led the field of 137 finishers in 4:41:50 and 6:32:00, respectively.

My First 50

Despite its name, the My First 50 Ultras did not mandate that runners be undertaking their first ultra – or first 50-miler or 50K for that matter. Still, the 10+-mile loop course and its rolling terrain was welcoming for first-timers and veterans alike at the second annual event on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Williamsburg, Va.

Thirty-nine runners started the 50-mile race, which consisted of five loops and around 2,000 feet of elevation gain. A trio of New England residents were among the 23 finishers of the 50-miler, including the women’s champion. Victoria Goodheart, 35, of Meredith, N.H., topped the women’s field and finished eighth overall in 11:24:01. It was her fourth ultra and second 50-miler. She ran her first 50-miler four years ago at the Barrier Island Ultra in Mustang Island, Texas. 

Shawn Owens, 36, of Greenfield Township, Maine, placed sixth overall in 11:04:50. It was his first 50-miler after finishing four 50Ks. Aleks Kozlowski, 18, of Mansfield, Mass., also was among the finishers. Kozlowski earned his first ultramarathon finish in 14:11:34.

Daniel Kingsley, 38, of Fredericksburg, Va., led all runners in 9:26:28 to claim victory in his ultra debut.

Another 26 runners completed the 50K race; none were New England residents.

*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.