The April 19-21 weekend was busy for ultrarunning in the Bay State with two events – the TARC Spring Classic and the Spring Fever 8-Hour – attracting hundreds of runners to tackle ultra and sub-ultra distances on local trails. Not all racers that weekend stayed local, though. Some put up big mileage in nearby Connecticut at the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra where a course record crumbled. Others headed South to Virginia for the Promise Land 50K, and even more headed West to ultras in California, Colorado and New Mexico. And that’s just the events with results available at press time. New Englanders were also set to toe the starting line of the Wawayanda Trail Fest in New Jersey, the Hyner Trail Challenge in Pennsylvania, the Phoenix Trail Fest in Alabama, and Earth Day Bucklemania in Kansas.

Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra

It takes a big effort to have a chance at taking down a Justin Kousky course record, but that’s exactly what David Stawski did at the ninth edition of the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra on Saturday, April 20, in Stratford, Conn.

Stawski and 45 other runners took on an approximately 2.2-mile loop course with around 130 feet of climbing on the singletrack and doubletrack trails of the Roosevelt Forest. Thirty-six of those runners surpassed the marathon distance, but Stawski eclipsed the mark by a lot. He hammered out a record-setting tally of 57.2 miles, surpassing Kousky’s record of 55.98 from the 2019 race.

Stawski was one of three runners to eclipse the 50-mile mark. Both Lane Thornton, 34, of Tolland, Conn., and Cameron Laramee-Gonzalez, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were second and third in the men’s field with 52.8 miles apiece. Michael Moglia, 31, of Great Neck, N.Y., was fourth with 48.4 miles; Taelor Bohansack, 34, of Hebron, Conn., and Kyle Bell, 32, of Guilford, Conn., each had 46.2 miles; and Jack Sosik, 27, of Whitman, Mass., finished with 44.0 miles.

Alex Kaminski, 32, of Norwalk, Conn., topped the women’s field with 39.6 miles, followed by Kristina Reech, 32, of Orange, Conn., and Angel Almeida Smith, 48, of Baltic, Conn., with 37.4 miles apiece. Four women – Lauren Griffin, 55, of Marlborough, Conn.; Heidi Mendoza, 49, of Watertown, Mass.; Margaret Dyer, 36, of Bristol, Conn.; and Tonya Caisse, 48, of Milford, Mass. – each completed 35.2 miles.

Promise Land 50K

A trio of New England residents headed south to Virginia to race the Promise Land 50K, and for two of them it was a blast from the past. Both Dan Broom and Brendan Coyle took on the classic event early in their ultrarunning careers. For Broom, the event was his second ultramarathon ever – back in 2006. For Coyle, he first raced the event back in 2011.

Both runners – along with first-time ultrarunner Landon Thompson of Caribou, Maine – represented the region by crossing the finish line of the 23rd running of the Promise Land 50K on Saturday, April 20, in Bedford, Va.

There were 295 finishers within 10 1/2 hours. Broom, 49, of Branford, Conn., finished the race for the third year in a row and fifth time ever. He placed 192nd in 8:02:52 as part of his build-up to the Manitou’s Revenge 53-miler in June. Thompson, 20, capped his ultra debut by finishing in 8:36:42. Coyle, 50, of Killingworth, Conn., earned his second finish of the race and first in 13 years, crossing the finish line in 9:10:25.

Aaron Slabach, 28, of Blacksburg, Va., earned the overall win in 4:46:50. Sawyer Magnett, 22, of Lynchburg, Va., placed 12th overall and defended her title in the women’s field in 5:25:17.

Mendocino Coast 50K

Two years after making her ultramarathon debut at the Mendocino Coast 50K, Laura Chenier returned for another crack at the course on Saturday, April 20, in Mendocino, Calif. Chenier, 35, of Holyoke, Mass., once again conquered the scenic course and its 5,000 feet of climbing on the trails of Blue River State Park, placing 64th overall in 7:13:52.

Grant Hotaling, 40, of Healdsburg, Calif., led all runners in 4:25:20, and Katherine Song, 33, of Berkeley, Calif., topped the women’s field in 5:04:22. There were 111 finishers within 11 hours.

Leona Divide

It was a long trip for Jack Keffer from Vermont to California, but the 28-year-old from St. Johnsbury made the journey worth it by turning in a strong showing in his ultramarathon debut at the Leona Divide Ultras on Saturday, April 20, in Lake Hughes, Calif. The event celebrated the 31st edition of its classic 50-miler, though no New Englanders raced at that distance, nor at the fifth running of the 100K or inaugural 100-miler. Keffer was there for the 14th edition of the Leona Divide 55K, and he was up for the challenge of the out-and-back course with its 5,000 feet of climbing. Of the 142 runners who finished the race, Keffer placed 20th overall in 7:17:56. Oscar Ponteri, 19, of Portland, Ore., earned the victory in 5:03:36.

Royal Gorge Groove

Jeremy Bombard has a big year of out-of-state ultramarathon racing ahead of him, and the 49-year-old from Framingham, Mass., kicked it off at the third annual Royal Gorge Groove 50K on Saturday, April 20, in Canon City, Colo. Bombard took on a course with 4,200 feet of climbing on the trails in and around Royal Gorge Park. Seventy-nine runners finished within the 11-hour time limit, including Bombard who placed 52nd in 7:48:04. Daniel Finger, 22, of Boulder, Colo., won the race in a course-record 4:18:29.

Royal Gorge began a busy year for Bombard, a ninth-year ultrarunner. His season also includes the Ironstone 100K in Pennsylvania in July, the East Fork 50K in Ohio in August, and the Uwharrie 100K in North Carolina in October.

Capitan Mountain 34-Hour

A pair of Massachusetts residents headed West and took part in Yeti Runners’  inaugural Capitan Mountain 34-Hour Ultra on April 19-20 in Capitan, N.M. Runners took on a 4-mile loop course on the trails of Smokey Bear Historical Park, and had 34 hours to complete it as many times as they wanted.

Nicole Burnham, 53, of Hopkinton, and Bill Howard, 75, of Winchester, were among the field of 163 runners who took part in the event. Burnham finished her race with 52 miles, her longest effort since last year’s Dam Yeti 50-miler in Virginia. Howard logged 32 miles as part of his build-up to the 48-hour race at Notchview in July.

The overall leaderboard was dominated by the women as they swept the top three positions. Megan Eckert, 37, of Santa Fe, N.M., earned the overall victory with 136 miles. Michaela Trenidad, 30, of Carlsbad, N.M., and Christine Tokarz, 47, of Topaz, Colo., followed with 120 miles apiece. Men’s champion Ed Ettinghausen, 61, of Murrieta, Calif., also logged 120 miles.

*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.