A year ago, Samantha Stimac danced over rocks and dashed up and down the singletrack and doubletrack trails of Mt. Toby on a dry, sunny day on her way to setting the female course record at the Mt. Toby Trail Race 50K. On Saturday, April 6, it was Britta Clark’s turn to turn in a head-turning performance – this time with less than ideal conditions.

Clark, 30, of Goshen, Vt., has been a force in New England trail- and ultrarunning for nearly a decade, delivering strong performances on all types of terrain and in a wide range of conditions. Her resume includes a pair of victories at the Moosalamoo 36-miler in her backyard trails in Goshen, as well as multiple wins at the Catamount 50K, and victories at the Killington 50K and Vermont 50-miler, just to name a few. She even has a pair of wins on the West Coast, at the Castle Peak 100K in California and the Ochoco 50K in Oregon.

A tough course awaited Clark when she stepped to the starting line alongside 63 other runners for the fourth edition of the Mt. Toby Trail Race 50K in Sunderland, Mass. The usual 7,000 feet of climbing, technical singletrack and doubletrack trails, and three trips to the summit of Mt. Toby awaited her – as did the race’s usual scramble through a cave. Unlike prior years, this year’s race also featured plenty of slippery soft snow and slick mud, courtesy of a storm that rolled through a few days prior to the race.

The mud and muck were no match for Clark. The only runner close to her during the second half of the race was Matt Pacheco from the male field, and his presence helped push Clark as she tried to track him down. Ultimately, Clark finished first in the female field, second overall, and smashed the women’s course record with her time of 5:23:43. Stimac’s prior female course standard was 5:48:55. Morgan Windram-Geddes, 42, of Glendale, Mass., was third overall and the female runner-up in 5:39:42. She previously won the 2023 Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 50-miler. Elizabeth McGurk, 29, of Lebanon, N.H., rounded out the podium in 5:59:05 while also placing sixth overall. McGurk was the 2023 Pisgah Mountain Trail Race 50K winner.

In the male field, Pacheco dominated the race as the 39-year-old from South Hadley, Mass., cruised to victory in 5:16:50 despite the difficult footing caused by the mix of mud and slush. It was the latest strong showing by Pacheco, building upon a 2023 where he won the Spring On the Trails Endurance Runs 12-Hour Ultra in March, the Traprock 50K in April, the Free Spirit 50K in May, and Seth’s Fat Ass 50K in December along with a runner-up finish at the Stone Cat Trail Festival 50-Miler in November.

Joining Pacheco on the male podium were 19-year-old Tobias Tello of Cheshire, Conn., who finished fourth overall in 5:42:26, and 42-year-old Bryce Spare of Adams, Mass., who was fifth overall in 5:53:13. Five more runners finished in less than 6 1/2 hours: Travis Fafard, 36, of Westmoreland, N.H. (6:11:37); Keegan Downie, 36, of Deerfield, Mass. (6:24:06); Jeff Davis, 41, of Amherst, Mass. (6:27:50); Gregory Smith, 29, of Newington, Conn. (6:28:30); and Aaron Hines, 21, of Dracut, Mass. (6:28:56).

Fifty-five runners completed the 50K within 10 hours.

Barnett Clips Grip for 24K Win After Time Penalty

A fast field with plenty of depth produced several big performances in the 24K field as the top 17 male runners all completed the course and its 2,700 feet of climbing in less than 2 1/2 hours. Ultimately, the final outcome had to be sorted out at the finish line before clarity was provided. A close race unfolded between Jacob Barnett, 38, of Leverett, Mass., and Daniel Grip, 44, of Belchertown, Mass. Barnett led early, but Grip – who set the 50K course record in 2022 with a 4:33:41 performance – passed him on the steep ascent of Summit Trail and tried to pull away. Though Barnett stayed within eyesight at times, Grip eventually opened up a couple minute lead.

With a few miles to go, Grip missed a turn where he didn’t see a flag and proceeded to follow a different set of flagging onto a service road parallel to the course for about a mile before reconnecting into the course. Grip recognized his error and self-reported it to race director Amy Rusiecki upon reaching the finish line. Barnett arrived a few minutes later. Ultimately, Grip was assessed a 5-minute penalty for going off-course, and Barnett – a top-10 finisher at the 2023 7 Sisters Trail Race – earned the victory in 1:56:54 with Grip the runner-up in 1:59:37. Oliver Mednick, 33, of South Acworth, N.H., was third in 1:59:57, followed closely by 24-year-old Dawson Adams of North Walpole, N.H., in 2:00:43. Brian Rusiecki, 45, of South Deerfield, Mass., finished fifth in 2:05:28.

In the female field, a close race played out for the duration and came down to the wire as 23-year-old Hannah Tobias-Wallingford of North Kingstown, R.I., fended off 24-year-old Megan Webber of Boston, Mass., for the win. Tobias-Wallingford finished in 2:34:07, and Webber followed 26 seconds later in 2:34:33. Casey Howard, 28, of Northampton, Mass., rounded out the podium in 2:37:21. Megan Lane, 49, of Portland, Maine, closed out the top four female runners in 2:51:03.

Kairon Shao led the nonbinary field as the 24-year-old from Brookline, Mass., finished in 3:03:37. Dani Ramos, 20, of Amherst, Mass., was the runner-up in 3:18:01, and Micah Kennedy, 32, of Northampton, Mass., was third in 3:26:39.

There were 112 finishers of the 24K race within 6 hours.

Large Turnout for Inaugural 13K Race

The fourth year of the Mt. Toby Trail Race included a new offering – a 13K race – that made the event more accessible to runners new to the trails or simply not seeking longer miles. Sixty-five runners took part in the first-year 13K, and 63 ultimately finished within 4 hours.

Timothy Austin, 42, of South Hadley, Mass., outpaced the entire field, earning the overall win and topping the men’s category in 1:17:51, nearly four minutes ahead of his closest competitor. Josh Seamon-Ingalls, 43, of Florence, Mass., was the runner-up in 1:21:49. Seamon-Ingalls held off third overall finisher and female champion Rachel Aronow by four seconds. Aronow, 29, of South Hadley, Mass., earned her victory in 1:21:53. The fourth and fifth overall finishers rounded out the female podium with Elena Betke-Brunswick, 39, of Hadley, Mass., crossing the finish line in 1:24:13 and 24-year-old Katherine Schmitt of South Boston, Mass., following in 1:29:12. Benjamin Buteau, 23, of Durham, N.H., was sixth overall and the third-place male in 1:32:21. Nonbinary champion Arlo Zwicker, 21, of Amherst, Mass., finished 11th overall in 1:34:23.