Although there was plenty of ultramarathon action in the New England region during the May 3-5 weekend, several runners also found success on the trails across the country. In Part 2 of this week’s roundup, we look outside of New England and catch up on ultras in Virginia, Tennessee, and California. But we start in Oregon, where Jonathan McInerney battled to victory at a West Coast classic.

McDonald Forest 50K

A classic West Coast ultra was won by a New Englander. Jonathan McInerney of New Ipswich, N.H., was the top runner on a tough day of racing at the 28th edition of the McDonald Forest 50K on Saturday, May 4, in Corvalis, Ore.

McInerney dueled all day with Corvalis local Colin Welk on an extremely muddy course with plenty of big climbs and nearly 6,800 feet of gain. Ultimately, McInerney squeaked out the win in the back-and-forth battle with a time of 4:41:17. Welk followed seconds later in 4:41:41. Yassine Diboun of Portland, Ore., was third in 4:45:48, and former Massachusetts resident Jason Smith, now living in Eugene, Ore., was fourth in 4:49:50. The top seven runners finished in less than five hours, and 183 runners finished within 12 hours. Corvallis local Sierra Tucker led the women’s field in 5:10:04.

Grayson Highlands

As Taylor Verville prepares to attempt a three-peat at the Notchview Ultra 72-hour race in July, she kicked her racing season into gear at the 10th annual Grayson Highlands Ultras on Saturday, May 4, in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

The event offered 50-mile and 50K ultras on the trails of Grayson Highlands State Park. Verville was one of four New England residents in the 50K, which had around 5,000 feet of climbing. The 33-year-old resident of Kingston, Mass., finished 69th overall in 6:54:16, just a few minutes behind 36-year-old Gregory Wool of Boston, Mass., who was the top New England finisher, placing 65th in 6:51:04 in his ultramarathon debut. Danielle Mackowiak, 38, of Dudley, Mass., and Rachel Cook, 43, of Rochester, N.H., also finished in 7:49:31 and 9:23:21, respectively.

Cameron Holman, 37, of Wilmington, N.C., and Katie Roche, 28, of Charlottesville, Va., were the men’s and women’s winners in 4:48:20 and 5:10:53. There were 216 finishers within 10 1/2 hours.

No New England residents took part in the 50-mile race, which challenged runners with 9,500 feet of climbing and had 127 finishers within 16 1/2 hours. Isaiah Norton, 24, of Charlottesville, Va., and Rebecca Johnson, 43, of Fries, Va., were the men’s and women’s winners in 8:31:09 and 10:49:45, respectively.

Strolling Jim 40M

Four New England residents were among the 151 finishers of the 46th annual Strolling Jim 40-Mile Race on Saturday, May 4, in Wartrace, Tenn. Greg Wolodkin, 57, of Sutton, Mass., returned to the long-running road ultra for the third straight year and finished in 9:27:29. Fellow Massachusetts residents Jason Haley, 50, of South Hamilton, and Hal Mackins, 42, of Gloucester, also finished in 9:16:30 and 10:33:35, respectively. Nicole Weitzman, 54, of Bath, Maine., was the top New Englander to finish, placing 95th overall and 21st in the women’s field in 8:52:28.

Miller Groome, 33, of Asheville, N.C., and John Kruckeberg, 37, of Clarks Hill, S.C., were the top two men and lone sub-5-hour finishers in 4:45:08 and 4:46:48, respectively. Caitlin Jones, 40, of Hesperus, Colo., was the first-place female in 5:31:19.

O’Neill Park 50K

Aiden Vantol ran his first ultra in 2023 on a trip to California for the Sean O’Brien 50K. Vantol returned to the West Coast for his third ultra and first of 2024 when he took on the 50K at the second annual O’Neill Park Trail Races on Saturday, May 4, in Trabuco Canyon, Calif.

The race took place on the singletrack trails of O’Neill Regional Park, and runners amassed around 3,000 feet of climbing. Vantol, 25, of Whitinsville, Mass, was one of 69 runners to complete the race within 9 hours, doing so in 7:31:05. Rene Dorante, 48, of Pasadena, Calif., and Kiana Ramli, 27, of Malibu, Calif., were the men’s and women’s winners in 4:11:35 and 4:48:23, 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.