It’s been a few months since Brian Burke headed south to race, but that one worked out quite well for the Medford, Mass., resident when he won the No Business 100-miler in October. Burke made a last-minute decision to head south again, this time to West Virginia. The result was another big-time effort as he earned a spot on the podium at the Cabin Fever 50K. Burke wasn’t the only New England resident to race during the Feb. 16-18 weekend – though it was a quiet weekend overall for ultrarunners from the region – but his performance leads off this edition of the roundup.

Cabin Fever 50K

It took Brian Burke a few months to figure out his next ultramarathon challenge after winning the No Business 100-miler in Tennessee in October 2023. He found that challenge with a last-minute trip to West Virginia for the third annual Cabin Fever 50K on Saturday, Feb. 17, in New River Gorge National Park. The event offered a rare point-to-point 50K, starting in downtown Fayetteville, passing through the national park along the New River – on parts of the Rim to River 100-mile race course – to the finish line at ACE Adventure Resort.

Burke went out with the top 10 of the field on snow- and mud-covered trails, held his ground and then made his move in the back half of the race, picking off runners as he climbed into the top five. The 42-year-old from Medford, Mass., eventually worked his way into third place with five miles to go and then fought like heck to hold the position, fending off a strong challenge in the final two miles. Burke ultimately finished third in 4:23:00, followed less than two minutes later by fourth-place Jacob Kuntz, 33, of Worthington, Ohio, in 4:24:42. Logan Kerby, 25, and David Smith, 30, both of Huntington, W.V., went 1-2 overall in 4:11:09 and 4:15:40, respectively. Vivian Cami Bobbitt, 26, of Tucson, Ariz., topped the women’s field in 4:50:08.

Three other New England residents joined Burke among the event’s 253 finishers within the 10-hour time limit. Ryan Higgins, 51, of Kittery, Maine, finished in 7:20:53; Ben Ibey, 48, of North Hampton, N.H., finished in 9:02:39; and Rachel Cook, 43, of Rochester, N.H., finished in 9:36:23.

Jackpot Ultras

Ed Peters has put up some big miles just 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, and the 72-year-old from Norwalk, Conn., bet big on himself again at the 11th annual Jackpot Ultra Festival on Feb. 16-18 in Henderson, Nev. The event offered multiple 100-mile races, a 50-miler, and 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour time-based races. No New England residents took part in the 100-mile races, the 24-hour or the 12-hour, but the region was represented in the 48-hour, 50-mile and 6-hour races on a 2.3094-mile loop course in Cornerstone Park. Peters was one of 59 runners in the 48-hour race, and he tied for 19th with 101.613 miles. It was the fourth time in six years that Peters has attended the event, and he has completed 100 or more miles each time. Eric Smeltzer, 49, of Lincoln, Calif., led all runners with 197.478 miles.

Kerri Haskins, 53, of Danville, N.H., was among the 25 runners in the 50-mile race. She finished in 15:22:22.

The final New Englander to race at the event was 53-year-old Adrian Williams of West Hartford, Conn. Williams was one of 51 runners to take part in the 6-hour race, and he earned his first ultramarathon finish with 31.197 miles, tying for 11th place.

Forgotten Florida

Point-to-point courses through a variety of Florida’s wildlands attracted a handful of New Englanders to the third annual Forgotten Florida 100-mile and 50-mile ultras on Feb. 17-18 in Christmas, Fla.

Two Massachusetts men were among the 42 finishers of the 100-mile race, with 32-year-old Justin Wyant of Boston placing 17th overall in 27:14:16 and 21-year-old Peyton Cauthen, also of Boston, following a little while later in 27:35:51. Runners had 33 1/2 hours to finish the race. Chris Miller, 48, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., earned the overall victory by a two-hour margin in a course-record time of 15:26:13. Jill Dennes, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., placed fourth overall and set a new women’s course record of 19:36:04.

Another 109 runners finished the 50-mile race within 16 hours, including Nick Wishart, 54, of Pawtucket, R.I., who was 36th overall in 12:00:02, and 32-year-old Tara Allen of Mount Desert, Maine, who was 38th overall and seventh in the women’s field in 12:11:27. Daniel Wilson, 35, of Tulsa, Okla., and Elizabeth Myers, 32, of Sarasota, Fla., were the men’s and women’s winners in 8:23:01 and 10:04:42, respectively.

*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.