One of the biggest early-season ultras in the United States – Bandera – welcomed hundreds of runners to Texas, including several ultrarunners from New England. One of them – Colleen Chase of Princeton, Mass. – came home with a victory while eight others from the region also earned finisher’s buckles in the 100K race. Beyond Bandera, New Englanders also conquered ultras in frigid Missouri and sunny St. Croix, USVI, during the Jan. 12-14 weekend. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Bandera

Colleen Chase burst onto the New England ultrarunning scene in 2021 with an eighth-place finish at the Ragged 50K in New Hampshire. A year later, she returned and won for her first ultra victory. Following a strong 2023 where she won the rugged 7 Sisters Trail Race, placed in the top 10 at the Sunapee Scramble, finished third at Ragged and third at the Kismet Cliff half marathon, Chase kicked off 2024 in style at the popular, competitive Bandera 100K on Jan. 13-14 in Bandera, Texas

Chase, 27, of Princeton, Mass., was one of 389 runners who toed the starting line of the two-loop course at the Hill Country State Natural Area. Following 62 miles of running and 6,600 feet of climbing on technical trails surrounded by sharp brush, Chase crossed the finish line in eighth place overall and first in the women’s field.

Hans Troyer, 23, of Newnan, Ga., was the overall winner out of 324 finishers within the 25-hour time limit and men’s champion in 7:45:40, well ahead of runner-up Jared Rothlauf, 37, of San Antonio, Tex. (8:52:27) and third-place Kwok Hin Lai, 36, of Helots, Tex. (9:40:55). The top four runners finished sub-4.

Chase dominated the women’s race and won with a 30-minute cushion in 10:32:19. Two more New England runners joined Chase in the women’s top 10. Sarah Aponte, 33, of North Andover, Mass., was the fourth-place woman in 11:41:53, and Sabrina Bohrer, 28, of Etna, N.H., was seventh in 12:33:03.

The top New England male finisher was 25-year-old Samuel Vincent of Wilmington, Vt., who placed 11th overall and 10th male in 10:47:18. Other top runners from the region were 27-year-old Wilson Ray of Cambridge, Mass. (39th overall, 11:50:22) and 31-year-old Tyler Sloan of Medford, Mass. (49th overall, 12:17:40). Other New Englanders who finished were 29-year-old Brandon Zaremba of Dorchester, Mass. (14:31:26); 45-year-old Tom Hooper of Lee, N.H. (14:41:37); and 52-year-old Dan Nogar of Portland, Maine (22:00:14).

In addition to the 100K main event, Bandera also offered a single-loop 50K race with 3,300 feet of gain. There were 154 starters of the competitive 50K race on Sunday. Of that group, 151 ultimately finished within 10 hours, led by 32-year-old Brandon Miller of Calgary, Alberta, in 3:35:10. Katherine Edwards, 36, of Brooklyn, N.Y., led the women’s field in 4:54:28. The lone New England resident in the field – 48-year-old William Roach of Hanover, N.H., – placed 13th overall in 4:57:14. The top 15 runners completed the race in less than five hours.

An additional 95 runners took part in a non-competitive 50K race on Saturday; no New England residents were among the 89 who ultimately finished.

The Shippey Ultras

Duncan Naylor may be a relative newcomer to ultrarunning, but he didn’t wait long to tackle the 100-mile distance.

Naylor, 18, of Newton, Mass., ran the 100-mile race at the fourth edition of the Shippey Ultras on Jan. 13-14 in High Ridge, Mo. The race took place on rolling singletrack and doubletrack trails and jeep roads through the woods at Beaumont Scout Reservation, just outside of St. Louis. Runners had to complete five 20-mile loops with around 3,000 feet of climbing per loop for a 15,000-foot challenge over the race’s 101.7 miles.

Ten runners started the 100-mile race and six ultimately finished within 34 hours. Conor Sprick, 31, of Pacific, Mo., led the way in 27:12:15, followed by 60-year-old Eric Buckley of St. Louis, Mo., in 31:37:43. Naylor rounded out the men’s podium in 32:03:35. Allie Oban, 37, of Douglas, Wyo., topped the women’s field in 32:09:49.

The event also offered 100K and 40-mile ultras; no New England residents competed in either of those races.

St. Croix Scenic 50

Winter may have descended upon New England, but Caleb Halvorson-Fried found refuge in a much warmer climate for his ultramarathon debut. Halvorson-Fried, 27, of Bangor, Maine, traveled to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to take on his first 50K at the 11th edition of the St. Croix Scenic Ultra on Sunday, Jan. 14.

The island race used a mix of rolling singletrack and shoreline trails on a figure-eight course that started and finished on the Cane Bay beach. Thirty-six runners started the race, and 33 ultimately finished within 9 1/2 hours. Halvorson-Fried was among the fastest in the field and top among the men. Local runner Bridget Klein, 40, of Christiansted, USVI, earned the overall win in 4:47:29. Halvorson-Fried was the first-place male and second overall finisher in 5:02:50, three minutes ahead of the next runner.

*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.