The Lake Waramaug Ultras celebrated 50 years of history during the April 27-28 weekend as the main ultra event in New England following a busy few weeks of racing in Massachusetts. Beyond the region, several New Englanders hit the road for other ultras throughout the country with enough racing that it merits a two-roundup week. Here in part one we focus on the greater Northeast, with the results from Lake Waramaug in Connecticut, as well as the C&O Canal 100 in Maryland and a pair of races in Virginia.

Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultras

It’s rare for a runner to set a course record or even land a spot on the all-time top-10 list at the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultras. The event has seen many monumental performances during its storied history. No records fell this year, but a few runners etched their names on the all-time lists at the 50th edition of the event on Sunday, April 28, in New Preston, Conn.

The event once again used a rolling loop course with a few out-and-backs on the paved roads around Lake Waramaug that runners had to complete multiple times to achieve finishes in the 100K, 50-mile and 50K races.

Twenty-one runners completed the 100K within 13 1/2 hours, and women’s champion Jenny Hoffman earned a place on the women’s top-10 list for the second time. She followed-up her overall runner-up finish from 2023 that secured the fifth-best time ever by winning the women’s race and finishing seventh overall this year in 10:32:14, an effort that snagged the 10th position on the all-time list.

Justin Kousky, 43, of Westport, Conn., led the men’s field in 8:01:33. He was joined on the men’s podium by Peter Keyo, 41, of Canton, Conn., in 9:23:14, and Trevor Stern, 35, of Avon, Conn., in 10:04:20. Daniel Larson, 48, of Cambridge, Mass., finished fourth in 10:14:21. Hoffman was one of just two women to finish the 100K. Amy Mower, 55, of Seattle, Wash., joined her as finishers in 12:53:05.

Sixty-one runners completed the 50K race within 9 1/2 hours, with female champion and second overall finisher Briana Hanson, 42, of Fairfield, Conn., clocking the seventh-fastest women’s time in event history in 4:06:40. Joseph Edelstein, 28, of Shelton, Conn., was the top male in 3:41:24. Emmett Stottlemyer, 24, of Durango, Colo., and Julie Bengyak, 41, of Cornwall-On-Hudson, N.Y., were third and fourth overall and the men’s and women’s runners-up in 4:24:11 and 4:42:17, respectively.

Another 40 runners completed the 50-mile race within 13 hours, led by Peter Smith, 44, of Portsmouth, N.H., in 7:02:36. He was joined on the men’s podium by Adam Scianna, 39, of Shelton, Conn., and Jamal Vazquez, 26, of Johnstown, N.Y., who were the only other sub-8-hour finishers in 7:14:36 and 7:33:56. Melissa Perkins-Banas, 53, of Brooklyn, Conn., was first in the women’s field in 8:16:09, followed by Jessie Makela, 39, of Stafford Springs, Conn., and Laura Becker, 39, of Manchester, Conn., in 9:20:37 and 9:26:42, respectively.

Ultra Race of Champions (UROC)

The Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) took on a slightly new look this year as the event replaced its signature 100K race with a 50-mile option to go alongside its 50K race. Still, the course was plenty tough at the 13th edition of the event on Saturday, April 27, in Skylark, Va.

The race started and finished at 12 Ridges Vineyard and took runners on a challenging mix of singletrack dirt, gravel roads, and a bit of pavement as they made their way through the Blue Ridge Mountains, amassing around 9,500 feet of climbing along the way.

Twenty-two runners finished the 50-mler within 15 hours, led by 27-year-old Anthony Williams of Bloomington, Ind., in a speedy 7:01:43. Thomas Hanlon, 26, of Marlborough, Mass., was the runner-up in 8:52:47, and 24-year-old John Martin of Charleston, S.C., was the final sub-10-hour finisher in 9:52:45. Amanda Wilson, 40, of Alexandria, Va., was the first-place female in 10:53:25.

Another 24 runners completed the 50K race, led by Scott Shumate, 43, of Virginia Beach, Va., in 4:44:57. No New England residents were among the field at that distance.

C&O Canal 100

Five New England residents earned 100-mile finishes at the 11th edition of the C&O Canal 100 on April 27-28 in Knoxville, Md. The race started and ended at Camp Manidokan and took runners on a 40-mile loop and two 30-mile loops along the scenic canal.

Three of the New Englanders had completed the race previously, with Amado Casuga completing it for the fourth year in a row and Dima Feinhaus and Karen Ringheiser earning their second C&O Canal buckles. Casuga, 50, of Hamden, Conn., was the top New Englander with a 57th-place finish in 27:04:45. Of the 168 starters, 120 finished within the 30-hour time limit. Feinhaus, 61, and Ringheiser, 60, both of Waban, Mass., finished a few seconds apart in 29:20:26 and 29:20:31, respectively. It was at least the 33rd time Feinhaus has completed a race of 100 miles or more, and Ringheiser’s ninth 100-mile finish. Ringheiser will go for her 10th 100-mile finish in October at the Javelina Jundred in Arizona, joined by Feinhaus.

Jeffrey Ray, 40, of New London, N.H., finished in 28:55:07, and 22-year-old Chandra Fincke of New Haven, Conn., earned her first 100-mile finish in 29:24:04.

Adam Lowe, 42, of Martinsburg, W.V., and Bianca Pourmussa, 24, of Philadelphia, Pa., topped the men’s and women’s fields in 16:11:32 and 20:19:19, respectively.

Troublesome Hollow 50K

A pair from New Hampshire had a successful trip to Virginia for the second annual Troublesome Hollow 50K on Saturday, April 27, in Bristol, Va. Hudson residents Josh and Molly Chase took on the flat, fast course along the Troublesome River and its multiple swinging bridges, and ultimately earned spots among the 152 finishers within the 10-hour time limit.

Josh Chase, 44, finished in 7:54:40 for his first ultra finish of the season. He completed the Vegan Power 50K and Ghost Train 30-miler in 2023. Molly Chase, 39, followed shortly after in 8:12:06. It was her second ultra of the year. She logged 63 miles at the Dark Anchor 34-Hour Ultra in Georgia in January.

Chris Weissmann, 33, of Charlotte, N.C., and Meghan Guler, 29, of Chattanooga, Tenn., finished 1-2 overall and were the men’s and women’s champions in 4:05:56 and 4:47:44, respectively.

*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.