The opening weekend of May was quiet on the Massachusetts ultrarunning scene, but it was busy in the rest of New England. Ultras were held in half of the region’s states, with the Big A 50K taking place in Maine, the White Lake Ultras in New Hampshire, and the Blue 2 Blue Challenge in Connecticut. Results from Blue 2 Blue were unavailable as of the time of publication, but we catch up on the outcomes at Big A and White Lake in Part 1 of this week’s roundup. In Part 2, we will catch up on ultras beyond the region.

Big A 50K

A year after finishing second overall at the Big A 50K, Nathaniel Bourne ascended to the top of the podium–though he had to share the honors–at the 13th edition of the Big A 50K on Saturday, May 4, in York, Maine. Bourne, 35, of Durham, Maine, and Jeff Beaudoin, 41, of York, Maine, successfully handled all three 10.35-mile loops on the trails of Mt. Agamenticus, multiple trips to the summit and nearly 5,800 feet of climbing faster than anyone and tied for the overall win and top spot in the men’s field in 5:30.

George Aponte Clarke, 55, of Portland, Maine, followed a few minutes later in 5:36 to round out the men’s podium. Geoffrey Bell, 34, of Yarmouth, Maine, and Sam Locke, 28, of Allenstown, N.H., followed in 5:45 and 5:46 to round out the overall top five. Lucy Hoch, 26, of Lake Placid, N.Y., was the first-place female and sixth overall finisher in 5:53. She was joined on the podium by Rachel Poppe, 28, of Orono, Maine, and Patty Higgins, 60, of York, Maine, who finished in 6:47 and 7:24, respectively.

Of the 68 runners who started the race, 41 finished the 50K distance within 10 hours. Others recorded sub-ultra mileage for completing fewer loops.

White Lake Ultras

It was a record-setting weekend at the sixth edition of the White Lake Ultras on May 4-5 in Tamworth, N.H., as runners took on an approximately 3-mile trail loop around White Lake for 24, 12 or 6 hours.

The top three men’s performances and second-best women’s performance in course history were turned in during the 24-hour race, leading a field of 43 runners. The top eight overall runners all completed more than 100 miles, with 33-year-old Dwight Waugh of Taunton, Mass., hammering his way to a new men’s course record mark of 125.4 miles. Sebastien Roulier, 50, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Keith Nadeau, 34, of Fairhaven, Mass., followed with 121.0 miles apiece. All three eclipsed the previous course record of 120 miles. Brian Barrett, 24, of Boxford, Mass. was fourth with 110.0 miles. Eric Matta, 42, of Maynard, Mass., and Benjamin Aiken, 32, of Boston, Mass., each completed 107.8 miles, and 38-year-old Miko Devedzic of Methuen, Mass., and 46-year-old Christopher Burnell of Biddeford, Maine, finished with 101.2 miles.

Sarah Davidson, 43, of Conway, N.H., led the women’s 24-hour field with 88.0 miles, followed by 37-year-old Melissa Andersen of Steep Falls, Maine, with 83.6 miles. Elsa Cipriani, 46, of Deery, N.H., and Olivia Sharp, 26, of Bartlett, N.H., were the next runners in with 81.4 miles apiece. Erin Donovan, 31, of Salem, Mass., rounded out the top five with 77.0 miles.

Fifty-eight runners competed in the 12-hour race, and the top four men all broke the previous course record of 63 miles. Michael Conley, 40, of Gorham, Maine, and Ryan Koeppe, 20, of Brentwood, Tenn., smashed the mark with 81.4-mile performances, while 30-year-old Clark Plummer of Londondeery, N.H., cranked out 72.6 miles. John Harn, 27, of Boston, Mass., logged 3.8 miles. Shane Thompson, 42, of Pembroke, Mass., and Rob Fowler, 46, of Morrill, Maine, followed with 57.2 miles apiece. In the female field, 29-year-old Anna Pajak of Ropczyce, Poland, ran the second-best women’s tally ever with 57.2 miles. Corrie Hempel, 39, of Meredith, N.H., Colleen Thurston, 34, of Sanbornton, N.H.,  and Elsa Konieczynski, 24, of Somerville, Mass., followed with 55.0 miles apiece. Ashley Benes, 43, of Moultonborough, N.H., and Elizabeth Streeter, 35, of Royalston, Mass., tied for fifth with 50.6 miles.

Another 49 runners took part in the 6-hour race, with 13 surpassing the 30-mile mark. Sara Tannenbaum, 30, of Nashua, N.H., and Donte Diponio, 23, of Trenton, Mich., were the women’s and men’s winners with 39.6 miles apiece. Tannenbaum’s tally was a new women’s course record. Tannenbaum and Diponio were followed by Ashley Youland, 28, of Raymond, Maine, Dante Moretti, 23, of Powell, Ala., and David Herr, 559, of Canaan, Vt., with 37.5 miles apiece.

*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.