The Feb. 24-25 weekend was relatively quiet on the trails of New England, but several runners from the region scattered throughout the country to race in the South and the West. In a separate roundup we’ll catch up on New Englanders’ performances out West at the Orcas Island 100, the Big Alta 50K, and the Moab Red Hot Ultras, but in this edition we look at the races in the South. New Englanders raced in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, and three local runners secured spots on the podium while another returned to the place where his ultrarunning career began 18 years ago. We have it all in this edition of the roundup.

Space Pirate

Jared Buchanan has spent the past few years focusing on ultra distances of 100 miles and beyond. That’s still on his agenda this year, but he kicked off his 2024 racing season with one of the shortest distances he’s raced in quite some time when he took part in the second annual Space Pirate 100-mile and 33.3-mile ultras on Feb. 24-25 in Port Canaveral, Fla. Buchanan, 34, of Ellington, Conn., opted for the 33.3-mile race.

Both distances offered point-to-point courses along Florida’s Space Coast, with the 100-miler starting at Cherie Down Park in Cape Canaveral and the 33.3-miler starting at Pepper Beach Park in Fort Pierce. Both races finished at Jensen Beach Park.

Nine runners completed the 100-mile race, led by 42-year-old Jim Macaluso of Spring Grove, Ill., in 18:04:11. None of the competitors were New England residents. Buchanan was one of 10 runners who completed the 33.3-mile race. He placed second overall in 5:54:05. Todd Mcauley, 55, of Jensen Beach, Fla., won the race in 5:41:05.

Buchanan will next race the Badwater Cape Fear 51.4-miler in March, followed by the Denali 135-miler in Alaska in June. In 2023, Buchanan completed the 100.5 miles at the Jackalope Jam 48-hour, and also finished the Cocodona 250 and Badwater 135. In 2022, he finished both Cocodona and the Moab 240.

Swamp 50K

Fresh off of a big 2023 that saw Jim Ploof finish sixth overall at the Forgotten Florida 100-miler and win the 250-mile race at Infinitus in Vermont, the 55-year-old from Salisbury, Vt., has more big goals in store for 2024. Ploof is ramping up to the Georgia Death Race 74-miler in March, but he kick-started his season at the ninth annual Swamp 50K on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Palm Coast, Fla.

The course challenged runners with plenty of flowing singletrack trails and around 2,300 feet of climbing. Ploof was one of three non-Florida residents in the field; the other two hailed from Kentucky. He represented New England with a strong performance and placed third overall in 5:16:39. John Olar, 50, of Bradenton, Fla., and Doug Watson, 46, of Alachua, Fla., went 1-2 in 4:49:42 and 5:08:50, respectively. KC Northrup, 37, of Sanford, Fla., topped the women’s field in 5:59:59. Twenty-one runners finished the race within nine hours.

FarmDaze 24

Lisa Diener put up a big number in her inaugural ultramarathon. The 37-year-old from Concord, N.H., was one of 62 runners who took part in the 24-hour race at the eighth annual FarmDaze 24 endurance festival on Feb. 24-25 in Brooklet, Ga. Runners took on a nearly 2-mile loop course through forest and fields on a farm, completing as many loops as they wanted. Diener ultimately logged 77.85 miles, finishing 18th overall and third in the women’s field for a spot on the podium. Tammy Lin, 33, of Flowery Branch, Ga., was the women’s winner with 86.52 miles.

The top eight runners all completed 100 miles or more, led by men’s champion Connor McClelland, 28, of San Diego, Calif., with 108.99 miles. Diener was joined in the 24-hour field by fellow New England resident Benjamin Delikat, 32, of Cambridge, Mass. Racing the event for the sixth time in seven years, Delikat completed 44.98 miles.

The event also included 12-hour and 6-hour races. No New England residents were among those who logged ultramarathon mileage in those races.

Mount Cheaha 50K

Joe Ferrini stepped to his first ultramarathon starting line eighteen years ago at Cheaha State Park in Delta, Ala. He was 52 years old and taking part in a brand new trail race, the Mount Cheaha 50K.

Ferrini would ultimately run the event five years in a row before taking a few years off. He returned for his sixth running of the race in 2014. A decade would pass before he visited again. On Saturday, Feb. 24, Ferrini returned to the 19th edition of the Mount Cheaha 50K and the 70-year-old resident of Rehoboth, Mass., added yet another finish to his resume. He once again successfully navigated the point-to-point course and reached Alabama’s highest point – 2,407-foot Mount Cheaha – completing the course in 10:06:59. He was one of 199 runners to finish the race. Graham Grant, 27, of Carrollton, Ga., won the race in 4:54:00.

*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.