The busiest March ultrarunning slate in recent memory for New Englanders came to a close with a relatively quiet March 30-31 weekend. Just a handful of runners from the region took on ultras with a few traveling to Georgia for the Georgia Death Race and two more heading west to Utah for the Antelope Island Buffalo Run. We have both covered in this edition of the roundup.

Georgia Death Race

A year ago, David Jackson took on the 74-mile Georgia Death Race and completed the course in 22:04:41. The 36-year-old from Brookline, Mass., returned for a second crack at the rugged point-to-point course on March 29-30, overcoming its 16,000 feet of climbing during the journey from Byron Herbert Reece Farm in Blairsville, Ga., to the finish line in Amicalola Falls State Park. Jackson was once again up to the challenge, finishing 80th overall in 21:53:19 – an 11-minute improvement from the year before. Of the 260 runners who started the 12th edition of the race, just 141 finished within the 25-hour time limit.

Jackson was one of two New England residents among the finishers. Jim Ploof, 55, of Salisbury, Vt., placed 34th overall in 19:10:36. It was also Ploof’s second time completing the race. He previously did so in 202 when he finished ninth overall in 17:36:23. 

Brendan Connell, 32, of Batesville, Ark., and Shannon Wheeler Deboef, 47, of Hixon, Tenn., were this year’s men’s and women’s champions in 13:25:33 and 16:50:45, respectively.

Antelope Island Buffalo Run

The 19th edition of the Antelope Island Buffalo Run once again offered 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K ultras on Antelope Island – the largest island within the Great Salt Lake –  on March 29-30 Syracuse, Utah. No New England residents took part in the 100-mile race or the 50K, but the region was represented by a pair of runners in the 50-miler.

Steven Madamba, 33, of Collinsville, Conn., made his ultra debut with a strong 13th-place showing out of 126 finishers within the 24-hour time limit, completing the course in 8:56:06. The performance followed his trail-racing debut in October 2023 when he finished fifth overall at the Tunxis Trail 30K in Connecticut. Additionally, 47-year-old Benjamin Fiandaca of Peterborough, N.H., completed the race in 12:16:46. It was the second time the 15-year ultrarunning veteran has completed the race. He finished the 2022 edition in 11:48:29. It was Fiandaca’s first ultra since completing the Rio Del Lago 100-miler in California in November 2023.

Zachary Garner, 23, of Provo, Utah, earned the victory in the men’s field in 6:30:26, topping 34-year-old Anthony Jacobs of Boise, Idaho, by 12 minutes. Maria Johnstone, 24, of Bend, Ore., topped the women’s field in 8:33:37, holding off runner-up Rhandi Orme of Kaysville, Utah, by less than two minutes.

*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.