The 2024 ultrarunning season has been under way for more than a month, but here in New England it’s not unusual to see many runners hang up their sneakers and grab their skis for ultra adventures on snow. That was the case for several runners from the region who headed to Rumford, Maine, and took part in the Last Skier Standing event on Black Mountain. After days of competing on a 2.8-mile loop, Justin Lagassey of Plymouth, N.H., edged William Reed of Somerville, Mass., and 147 other competitors with a whopping 212.8 miles and 85,500 feet of gain. Several other runners scattered to starting lines of ultras across the country during the Feb. 9-11 weekend, including in Maryland, Oklahoma, Florida and Arizona. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Last Skier Standing

It was a record-smashing weekend at the fifth annual Last Skier Standing event on Feb. 9-12 at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine. Justin Lagassey, 32, of Plymouth, N.H., amassed 212.8 miles and 85,500 feet of gain, topping a field of 149 skiers and surpassing the previous record of 189 miles by a whopping 24-mile margin.

It wasn’t Lagassey’s first time winning such a race. He won the 2022 Uphill Will Vertical Challenge 24-hour race in Maine in 2022.

Lagassey’s victory at Last Skier Standing came on a 2.8-mile course that had to be completed on the hour, every hour. Lagassey was joined on all but one of his 76 laps by runner-up William Reed, 25, of Somerville, Mass., who finished with 210 miles. In addition to the challenge of the event itself, runners also had to endure a delay on lap 30 due to a lightning storm.

Brent Underkoffler, 34, of North Conway, N.H., lasted 73 laps and 204.4 miles as the final skier to surpass the 200-mile mark. Benjamin Lane, 30, of Groveland, Mass., was fourth with 184.8 miles, and Lukas Janulaitis, 22, of Centerville, Mass., was fifth with 168 miles. Colorado resident Ilana Jesse, 41, was the top female competitor with 37 laps and 103.6 miles, good for 10th overall.

The Algonquin 50K

Kelsey Miller has enjoyed her share of success at the Algonquin 50K during the past four years, finishing in the women’s top six each time including a runner-up finish in 2023. For her fifth trip to the event in Pocomoke City, Md., Miller upped the ante by taking on a new challenge.

Race organizers of the Algonquin 50K gave runners the opportunity to try a new twist on the event – the DUC 100K. Up to 30 runners were invited to run a Friday night 50K after packet pickup on an undisclosed course, followed by the traditional Algonquin 50K on Saturday morning. Twenty-four runners attempted the challenge, starting the first 50K on Friday night, Feb. 9. Ultimately, 16 of those runners finished the first 50K and the regular Algonquin 50K on Saturday, Feb. 10, and earned credit for finishing both the DUC 100K and Algonquin 50K races at Pocomoke River State Park. Miller, 39, of Portsmouth, R.I., was the seventh overall runner and second-place female finisher of the 100K in 13:56:27.

Given she had already run a night 50K the night before, Miller didn’t push for a top-10 performance in the regular Algonquin 50K this year, but she still had a strong showing and finished in 6:36:38, placing 91st overall (30th female) out of 212 finishers within the 8-hour time limit. She ran alongside fellow Middletown, R.I., resident irk Johnson, 63, who followed a few seconds later in 6:36:43. It was Johnson’s second time running the Algonquin 50K.

Katie Flament, 38, of Bridgeport, Conn., was the top New England resident on the modified out-and-back course and its singletrack and bridle trails. Flament placed 26th overall and ninth in the women’s field in 5:26:34.

Kurt Warwick, 35, of Clinton, Wash., and Alyssa Cook, 31, of Annapolis, Md., were the top men’s and women’s finishers in 3:46:39 and 4:41:25, respectively. Warwick missed the men’s course record by just 3 1/2 minutes and posted the second-fastest time in the event’s eight-year history.

Other New England residents among the finishers were Barny Sanchez, 46, of Charlton, Mass., who placed 55th overall in 5:59:38 for his third time finishing the race; Shaun Miller, 39, of Portsmouth, R.I., finished the race for the fourth time and was 68th overall in 6:12:50; and Chris Matthews, 50, and Darcie Renzulli, 52, both of Jericho, Vt., finished together in 7:31:35. It was Renzulli’s first ultra and Matthews’s fourth time finishing the Algonquin 50K.

Outlaw 100

Jeffrey Hunnewell has the Riverlands 100-miler on his mind, but he hopes a trip to Oklahoma will help him get ready.

Hunnewell started but didn’t finish Riverlands in 2023, so he’s going back for redemption. As part of his build-up, he kicked off his 2024 ultra season by running the 50-mile race at the sixth edition of the Outlaw 100 trail races on Fe. 10-12 in Wilburton, Okla. The event offered 135-mile, 100-mile and 50-mile ultras as well as several sub-ultra distance races. 

The event took place on singletrack, forested trails at Robbers Cave State Park with plenty of rocks and roots along the way. Hunnewell, 56, of New Gloucester, Maine, was among the 33 runners who finished the 50-mile race, completing it in 19:09:43. Ashley Rolewicz Pipkin, 24, of Yukon, Okla., won the race outright in 11:14:12 and set a new women’s course record. Cory McDaniel, 41, of Bentonville, Ark., topped the men’s field and finished second overall in 11:40:02.

Additionally, four runners finished the 135-mile race and 20 completed the 100-miler. No New England residents competed at those distances.

Whispering Pines

A year ago, Fred Woods completed one loop in the Whispering Pines 12-hour run/walk for a 5-mile finish. On Saturday, Feb. 10, Woods returned to the 12th annual event and earned his first ultramarathon finish in Inverness, Fla.

Woods was the lone New England resident in the field. The 43-year-old from China Village, Maine, was one of 67 runners who took part in the 12-hour race and one of 46 who completed at least six laps of the 5-mile trail loop course for 30 miles and an ultramarathon finish. Woods was one of 15 runners who finished the race with 30 miles. Nels Matson, 41, of Bradenton, Fla., led all runners with 13 laps and 65 miles. Three more runners completed 12 laps and 60 miles. Another six runners finished with 50 miles, including first-place female Anna Schermerhorn, 37, of Riverview, Fla.

Another 61 runners took part in the event’s 6-hour race; no New England residents were among the field.

Black Canyon Ultras

Snow struck Arizona and delivered a delayed start to the 11th edition of the Black Canyon 100K and 60K Ultras on Feb. 10-11 in Mayer, Ariz. Once running got underway, several fast performances were unleashed on the Black Canyon National Recreation Trail with the top three men and top three women in the 100K all securing Golden Ticket entries into the Western States Endurance Run.

Hayden Hawks, 32, of Cedar City, Utah, won the race outright in a new men’s course record of 7:30:18, followed by Jupiter Carera Casas, 30, of Estado De Mexico, Mexico in 7:39:56, and Chris Myers, 27, of Los Angeles, Calif., in 7:43:02. Rachel Drake, 32, of Portland, Ore., led the women’s field in 8:47:23, followed by Becca Windell, 37, of Fort Collins, Colo., in 8:52:46, and Lauren Puretz, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colo., in 9:06:58.

All six of the podium finishers earned Golden Tickets. The “gold” in the Golden Tickets typically comes from the runners’ pockets. Event organizer Aravaipa Running covered the Western States entry fees for runners who earned Golden Tickets at Aravaipa’s Javelina Jundred in November 2023. It is unclear whether that is the case for those who secured Golden Tickets at Black Canyon as language clarifying this practice that was included in the Javelina Jundred Runner’s Manual was omitted from the Black Canyon Runner’s Manual. The Western States Golden Ticket sponsor – global shoe company HOKA – pushes all costs associated with the Golden Ticket onto the runners, including entry fee and travel expenses. Only Aravaipa and UTMB/Ironman played host to Golden Ticket races this year and UTMB/Ironman also pushes all costs, including entry fees, onto the runners.

Ultimately, 736 runners finished the 100K within 21 hours. Though no Golden Tickets came home to New England, one runner from the region was in the hunt and was less than six minutes off the podium. Eric LiPuma, 30, of Richmond, Vt., placed seventh overall in 7:48:48. Another familiar name from the region – Massachusetts resident and 22-year-old native of Cedar Hill, Mo., Cody Poskin – placed 33rd overall in 9:09:58. Poskin won the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-miler in October 2023. Additionally, 29-year-old Conor Callahan of Wilton, Conn., was among the top 100 finishers, placing 59th overall in 9:59:28.

Fourteen more New England residents earned 100K finishes at Black Canyon. Finishing in the top half of the field were Joanna Fortier, 34, of Richmond, Vt. (110th, 11:31:31); Shelby Farrell, 33, of Connecticut (161st, 12:34:13); Colin Smith, 37, of Swampscott, Mass. (212th, 13:23:02; Stephen Bennett, 34, of Swampscott, Mass. (214th, 13:23:03); Giuseppe Le Pera, 57, of Bedford, N.H. (333rd, 14:47:29); and Pierre Massat, 34, of Northborough, Mass. (14:58:09). Additional New Englanders who finished were Marc Solari, 36, of Durham, N.H. (15:27:56); Tommy Vanderheiden, 19, of Bethel, Conn. (15:55:52); Brian Vanderheiden, 54, of Bethel, Conn. (15:55:53); Amber Christoffersen, 42, of Cambridge, Mass. (17:49:10); Brian Mangouri, 32, of Mansfield, Mass. (18:11:29); Matthew Della Bitta, 56, of New Canaan, Conn. (19:15:54); Andrew Meisler, 60, of West Hartford, Conn. (19:42:22); and Thomas Matlack, 59, of Dedham, Mass. (20:20:00).

In the event’s shorter race – the 60K ultra – 338 runners finished within 12 hours. Eli Hemming, 28, of Kremmling, Colo., and Elena Horton, 27, of Salt Lake City, Utah, were the men’s and women’s winners in 4:06:39 and 4:57:19, respectively. Hemming set a new men’s course record while Horton ran the third-fastest women’s time ever. Four New England residents got in on the action with 31-year-old Kelly Snyder of Somerville, Mass., leading the local crew. In just her second ultra, Snyder placed 47th overall and 19th in the women’s field in 6:27:13. Former Arizona resident Addison Sember, 25, now living in Brookline, Mass., built upon her third-place finish in the women’s field at January’s G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K and finished 30th in the women’s field (70th overall) in 7:09:43. Sember is building up to the Waldo 100K in Oregon in August. Additionally, Stephanie Solla, 32, of West Berlin, Vt., earned her second ultra finish in 7:54:18, while Sara Hole, 24, of Stamford, Conn., finished her first ultra in 9:50:03.

*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.