The 2024 ultrarunning season officially opened on Saturday, Jan. 6, in traditional fashion with the 24th edition of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K in Topsfield, Mass. Around 250 runners took part in that classic event, and it will be featured in a separate recap. Still, a handful of New Englanders ventured outside the region to take on ultras during the Jan. 5-7 weekend, with some heading to nearby New York for the Frozen Flamingo 50K and Recover From the Holidays 50K, and others heading southwest to Arizona to race the San Tan Scramble 50K. We have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

San Tan Scramble

A dominant women’s field put on a show at the 14th annual San Tan Scramble 50K on Saturday, Jan. 6, in Queen Creek, Ariz., and a New England resident was right in the middle of it.

A fast field took on the singletrack trails through the foothills of the San Tan and Goldmine ranges in San Tan Mountain Regional Park. The top women led the way and extended their advantage as the race went on. Ultimately, the top two finishers both broke the women’s course record with 33-year-old Allison Baca of Golden, Colo., earning the overall win and new course record. Arden Young, 38, of Canmore, Alberta, also broke the previous record and finished second overall in 4:20:14. Men’s champion Matt Hamilton, 31, of Glendale, Ariz., followed close behind in 4:25:10, and snagged third place overall. 

A few minutes after Hamilton finished, women’s third-place podium finisher and fourth overall runner Lindsay Weigel crossed the line in 4:34:11. Weigel, 31, of Concord, N.H., posted the fifth-fastest women’s time in event history with her effort.

Eighty-five runners started the race and 78 finished within nine hours. The top five were the lone sub-5-hour finishers.

Weigel will return to Arizona in February to race the 60K race at the Black Canyon Ultras.

Michael Lawrence, 48, of Natick, Mass., also was among the finishers. The two-time 100-miler finisher at Ghost Train completed the San Tan Scramble 50K in 8:25:38.

Frozen Flamingo 50K

Three New England residents were among the finishers of the inaugural Frozen Flamingo 50K on Sunday, Jan. 7, in Queens, N.Y., and one earned a victory.

Luna Hsieh, 30, of Danbury, Conn., was the first-place female finisher and fourth overall finisher in 4:36:32. Soufyane Benhalima, 41, of Commack, N.Y., led the men’s field in 4:22:12. Runners took on a 2.07-mile paved loop course and had 10 hours to complete the loop 15 times for an ultra finish.

Joining Hsieh among the finishers were fellow New Englanders Barny Sanchez, 46, of Charlton, Mass., who finished in 7:06:29, and 29-year-old Noel Sanders of Jamaica Plain, Mass., who finished in 8:44:47. Fifty-eight runners completed the 50K within the time limit.

MHRRC Recover from the Holidays 50K

A pair of Connecticut ultrarunners kicked off the new year by earning podium finishes at the Mid Hudson Road Runners Club (MHRRC)’s Recover from the Holidays 50K on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Norrie Point in Staatsburg, N.Y.

Tobias Tello, 19, of Cheshire, and Amy Hanlon, 49, of Danbury, were the men’s and women’s runner-up finishers at a race where runners took on a 5K loop course. Runners had the opportunity to complete the loop anywhere between one and 10 times. Twenty-three runners finished 10 loops for 50K finishes within 6 1/2 hours. Tello placed second overall in 4:19:54, trailing only 38-year-old Jamie Stroffolino of Stormville, N.Y., who won the race in 4:05:50. Chris Rice, 50, of Suffern, N.Y., rounded out the men’s podium in 4:48:00.

In the women’s field, Hanlon was the runner-up in 5:25:55. Sheryl Wheeler, 60, of Earlton, N.Y., earned the win in 5:18:27. Other New England residents among the finishers were Allison Lassoe, 61, of Sheffield, Mass., in 5:38:59, and Kim Hooper-Stanley, 61, of Bethel, Conn., in 5:46:48.

*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.