The April 5-7 weekend featured plenty of tough running in sloppy conditions at the Mt. Toby Trail Race in Sunderland,  Mass., but a few New Englanders opted for other environments as they scattered the country to race in Georgia and North Carolina, as well as Texas and Washington. Results have yet to be posted for the Ancient Lakes 50K in Washington and the Brazos Bend 50 in Texas, but New Englanders earned 100-mile finishes at the Bootlegger 100 in Georgia and the Umstead 100 in North Carolina, highlighting this edition of the roundup.

The Bootlegger 100

After putting up a 100-mile performance in the 30-hour race at the Hamsterwheel in November 2022, Kendra Tranquilli set her sights on another triple-digit mileage run when she signed up for the second annual Bootlegger 100 on April 6-7 in Flovilla, Ga.

The event featured a 20-mile loop course consisting of a few miles of paved and gravel roads and the rest flowing singletrack dirt with around 1,500 feet of climbing per loop. Runners had 32 hours to complete five loops for 100 miles, and 24 ultimately did so. Tranquilli was among that group. The 42-year-old resident of Amherst, N.H., finished sixth overall and first-place female in 27:01:56. Women’s runner-up Aubree Ladnier, 26, of Montavallo, Ala., followed in 29:18:35. Sid Brendel, 25, of Nashville, Tenn., topped the men’s field in 22:18:30.

Tranquilli will return to Ghost Train for the 30-mile night race in October. She also will race the Drummer Hill 50K in June.

The Bootlegger also included a 50-mile race with 44 finishers, led by 37-year-old Garrett Laethem of Canton, Ga., in 8:18:22. No New England residents took part at that distance.

Umstead 100

On a weekend where Virginia’s Tara Dower delivered a dynamite performance to earn the outright victory at the 29th annual Umstead 100 on April 6-7 at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, N.C., a pair of Connecticut residents secured 100-mile finishes.

This course for this year’s event varied from its typical 12.5-mile loop that runners would repeat eight times. A bridge closure forced the route to be modified into an out-and-back course. Still, runners faced the usual 30-hour time limit. Dower, 30, dominated the race and blazed to the overall victory in 14:58:21 while also topping the women’s field. Jim Sweeney, 42, of New York, was her closest competitor as the top male finished in 15:23:43.

Eighty-two runners finished the race in less than 24 hours. The two Connecticut residents followed a bit after that marker passed. Angela Scarinci, 41, finished 10th in the women’s field and 84th overall in 24:23:55, while 59-year-old Joseph Laskey completed the race in 25:27:36.

Two New England residents were among the 101 runners who were credited with 50-mile finishes. Robert Rives, 34, of Vermont was third for 50 miles in 9:02:22 while Fred Murolo, 67, of Connecticut finished 50 miles in 17:25:02. North Carolina resident Keith Gruchacz, 38, topped the 50-mile runners in 7:56:51.

*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.