New Englanders made the most of opportunities to race ultras during the jam-packed March 22-24 weekend, as many raced locally at the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra in Massachusetts and several others scattered throughout the country to at least a dozen other starting lines. Our first roundup of the week focused on local runners’ results at ultras in the South. Here in our second roundup, we head to the heartland and the West where New Englanders took on Ohio’s Backyard Ultra, the Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra in Kansas, the Behind the Rocks Ultras in Utah, and the classic Crown King Scramble in Arizona.

Ohio’s Backyard Ultra

Maia Buckingham has been a regular at Bubba’s Backyard Ultra in New Hampshire in recent years. The 31-year-old from Richmond, Vt., turned in a 94.5-mile effort and was the top female finisher (sixth overall) in 2021. In 2022, she returned with a 122.5-mile effort and top female finish (fifth overall), before notching a 115.5-mile performance and second-place female finish (fourth overall) in 2023.

Buckingham ventured beyond New England for her fourth Backyard Ultra event when she took part in the sixth annual Ohio’s Backyard Ultra on March 23-24 in Lucasville, Ohio. Ohio’s Backyard Ultra has been the scene of many big-time performances in recent years, including a 229.16-mile effort from Harvey Lewis in 2021. Lewis wasn’t in the field this time, but Jennifer Russo was. Russo entered the event with two prior assists – including for Lewis’s 2021 effort when Russo was the runner-up with 225 miles. This time, Russo 58, of New Richmond, Ohio, was the last person standing and earned the victory in her 44th hour of running and 183.33 miles. Tyler Keenan, 26, of Newark, Ohio, earned the assist, starting his 44th yard but failing to return in under an hour.

Buckingham finished 36th overall and tied for ninth in the women’s field with a 70.83-mile effort. Ninety-five runners took part in the event, which had the typical Backyard Ultra format of a 4.1667-mile course and alternated between its Day Course (two 2.08-mile loops) on doubletrack trails, gravel, grass and dirt, and an out-and-back Night Course on dirt, gravel and pavement.

Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra

Four runners from Connecticut headed to the heartland and took part in the 11th edition of the Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra on March 23-24 in Ottawa, Kan. The event offered 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultras on a flat, crushed limestone out-and-back rails-to-trails course, and the New Englanders toed the starting line for the 100K and 50K options.

The top local performance came from Kim Hooper-Stanley who earned a spot on the 100K podium. She finished third overall and was the second-place female finisher in 12:04:30. Carrie Grant, 45, of Lincoln, Neb., earned the overall victory and secured first-place female honors in 10:04:14, topping the field of 21 finishers. Michael Dunn, 56, of Leavenworth, Kan., followed as the top male in 10:47:52. Kathryn Stoker, 56, of Norwalk, Conn., was 10th overall and fourth-place female in 14:24:40, four seconds behind the third-place female.

Two more New England residents took part in the 50K race and were among the 43 finishers. Tracie Sundack, 58, of Westport, Conn., was 16th overall in 5:45:28, and Sujatha Unny, 50, of Wilton, Conn., was 25th in 6:56:23. Jeffrey Kern, 41, of Independence, Mo., and Neela D’Souza, 46, of Clarington, Ontario, were the top male and female finishers in 4:05:51 and 4:24:57, respectively.

Forty runners finished the 100-miler, led by 39-year-old Cody Jones of Kansas City, Kan., who set a new course record in 14:11:12. Andrea White, 31, of North Las Vegas, Nev., led the women’s field in 17:15:28. Fifty-two runners completed the 50-miler, with Samuel Holland, 34, of Columbia, Mo., and Kayla Straub, 34, of Newton, Kan., going 1-2 and topping the men’s and women’s fields in 6:19:41 and 7:11:13, respectively.

Behind the Rocks Ultras

The panoramic views of Moab make the Behind the Rocks Ultras an ideal destination race for any ultrarunner. For Michael Gagnon, it was the scene for a spectacular ultra debut. Gagnon headed West for the 10th edition of the race on Saturday, March 23, in Moab, Utah. He raced the 50-miler – the event also offered a 50K distance – on the technical slickrock trails of the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Area. Gagnon, 29, of Plymouth, N.H., was up to the task and held his own just fine. Of the 72 runners who finished within the 14-hour time limit, Gagnon placed eighth overall in 9:13:14. He was one of two New England residents in the 50-mile race. Oliver Brown, 28, of Boston, Mass., placed 25th overall in 10:43:34.

Ben Handrich, 37, of Salem, Ore., and Keavy Baylor, 27, of Washington, D.C., led the men’s and women’s fields in 7:47:14 and 9:50:04, respectively.

Another 250 runners finished the 50K race within 12 hours, led by Cole Campbell, 24, of Gunnison, Colo., and Anne Flower, 34, of Colorado Springs, Colo., were the men’s and women’s winners in 3:41:36 and 4:23:39, respectively. Former Massachusetts resident Kyle Pietari, 37, now of Golden, Colo., finished fifth overall in 4:17:57. Julianna Catania, 25, of Brookline, Mass., had a strong day of racing and placed 97th overall in 6:44:42 to close out her ultra debut. David Landers, 52, of Dover, N.H., also finished in 8:51:49.

Crown King Scramble

Nora Robichaud picked one of the classic North American ultras for her ultramarathon debut when the 27-year-old from Brentwood, N.H., took on the Crown King Scramble 50K on Saturday, March 23, in Phoenix, Ariz. The event dates back to 1987, and the 32nd edition once again tested runners with a point-to-point course on dirt roads, beginning at Lake Pleasant Regional Park and finishing at the Crown King Saloon. Runners amassed plenty of vert along the way, including a 4,000-foot climb to the pinnacle view of Crown King with just a few miles to go.

Ryan Raff, 24, of Flagstaff, Ariz., earned the overall win in 3:41:24, fending off 35-year-old David Roche of Boulder, Colo., by three minutes. Megan Roche, 33, of Boulder, Colo., finished ninth overall and topped the women’s field in 4:30:25. Robichaud was 17th in the women’s field and 84th overall, capping a strong ultra debut in 6:58:19.

There were 284 finishers within 11 hours.

*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.