While the Watuppa Trail Races and Wapack and Back brought many ultrarunners to the starting lines in Massachusetts during the May 10-12 weekend, there were also large gatherings in Maine and Vermont as runners took on 100 miles at Maine’s Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, or 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K distances in the Green Mountain foothills. We catch up on both of those events in this edition of the roundup.

Riverlands 100

Andrew Tidd has been on an upward trajectory with his racing during the past few years. In 2021, he earned a top-10 finish in the 12-hour race with 52 miles at the Hamsterwheel. In 2022, he finished third at the Womp Romp 50K and won the Hamsterwheel 12-hour with 72 miles. In 2023, he placed 14th at the Twisted Branch 100K in New York and then returned to Womp Romp where he secured the victory. In his first race of 2024, Tidd made his 100-mile debut at the seventh edition of the Riverlands 100 on May 11-12 in Turner, Maine, and he delivered another impressive performance.

Racing four out-and-backs on challenging singletrack and ATV trails at Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, Tidd gradually pulled away from the field as the race progressed. Ultimately, the 38-year-old from Plymouth, Mass., amassed a sizable lead and earned the victory by nearly 2 hours in 19:25:39. His time was the fifth-fastest in course history.

Tidd was joined on the men’s podium by Brian Pitreau, 43, of Falmouth, Maine, in 21:23:14, and Owen Rachampbell, 32, of East Montpelier, Vt., in 22:18:03. Of the 78 runners who started the race, 34 finished within the 32-hour time limit. Tidd, Pitreau and Rachampbell were the lone sub-24-hour finishers. Other top men’s finishers included Johnny Maillet, 29, of Halifax, NS (fourth; 24:12:12); Jonathan Bolduc, 43, of Sept-Iles, Quebec (fifth, 25:28:34); Israel Agront, 29, of Medford, Mass. (sixth, 25:33:43); Craig Ela, 52, of Harpswell, Maine (seventh, 26:02:13); Matt York, 35, of Brewer, Maine (eighth, 26:17:24); Doug Jones, 47, of Baltimore, Md. (ninth, 26:19:30); and Jason Kaplan, 42, of Boton, Mass. (10th, 27:53:48).

In the women’s field, 29-year-old Gillian Kramer of Gorham, Maine, led the way. Kramer made her ultramarathon debut just six months ago, in November 2023, at the Bold Coast Bash 50K in Cutler, Maine, where she earned the victory. She followed it up with a runner-up finish at the Bel Monte 50-miler in Virginia in March 2024. Kramer had a strong showing in her 100-mile debut, outdistancing the field by nearly 3 hours to win in 27:34:25 while also placing 10th overall. Alyssa Lamontagne, 38, of Lebanon, Maine, was the runner-up in 30:31:35 for her first 100-mile finish. The third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers all crossed the line within a 12-minute window with Kristen Michaud, 31, of South Portland, Maine, placing third in 30:52:19; Krystle Parrott, 39, of Fall River, NS, placing fourth in 31:01:12; and Jennifer Whynot, 41, of Windham, Maine, placing fifth in 31:04:24. It was the first 100-mile finish for Michaud and Parrott, and the second for Whynot. Whynot finished third in the women’s field at the Ghost Train 100 in October 2023. Jacqueline Fucile, 39, of Stark, N.H. (31:14:30); Ann Spagnuolo, 39, of Wakefield, Mass. (31:23:44); and Barb Daggett, 54, of Thomaston, Maine (31:34:58) also finished the race.

Peak Blood Root Ultra

Around 200 runners gathered to take on 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K ultra distances at the Peak Blood Root Ultra May 8-11 in Pittsfield, Vt. The Green Mountain foothills once again presented a mighty obstacle for the runners, regardless of distance.

The 100-mile race challenged runners with around 18,000 feet of climbing. Of the 22 runners who started the race, just five finished within the 38-hour time limit, and only one did so in less than 30 hours. Sylvain Gelinas, 51, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, won the race in 26:28:35. Matt Twitchell, 35, of Windsor Locks, Conn., was the runner-up in 33:56:25, followed by Mitchell Aube, 27, of Jefferson, Vt., in 35:06:49. Other finishers were Patrick Guerette, 42, of Sidney, Maine (26:16:11) and Paula Yanes-Lukin, 42, of River Vale, N.J., in 37:27:35.

Forty-seven runners took on the 50-mile course and its nearly 9,000 feet of climbing. Ultimately, 33 of those runners finished within 15 hours, Jacob Baril-Arnason, 27, of Lile-Perrot, Quebec, outdueled 39-year-old Matt Pacheco of South Hadley, Mass., for the win as the pair went 1-2 in 8:22:31 and 8:50:02. Cristhian Lagos, 27, of Bogota, Colombia, was third in 9:10:14, followed by 22-year-old Aidan Connolly of Emmaus, Pa., as the only other sub-10-hour finisher in 9:49:51. Erica Notini, 30, of Hillsborough, N.H., was the top female and fifth overall finisher in 11:21:09. She was joined on the women’s podium by Marilyn Dube, 45, of Sherbrooke, Quebec (12:07:25) and Megan Dolan, 38, of Stowe, Vt. (12:42:31). Rounding out the women’s top five were Katja Fink, 49, of Cambridge, Mass. (13:02:09) and Elizabeth Faye, 41, of Randolph, Mass. (13:11:49).

The 50K race had the biggest field of the event, and 128 runners conquered the course and its 6,000 feet of climbing within 12 1/2 hours. Joshua Fiore, 42, of Enfield, N.H., took home the win in the men’s field in 4:58:11, followed by Thomas Skipper, 26, of Hanover, N.H., in 5:08:44. Brian Rusiecki, 45, of South Deerfield, Mass., was third in 5:09:40, and Carter Tracy, 22, of Lebanon, N.H., followed closely by women’s champion Corinne Lemay Gaudet, 35, of Rimouski, Quebec, in 5:10:00. Carter Tracy, 22, of Lebanon, N.H., was the fifth overall finisher and final sub-5:30 finisher in 5:13:22. It was a Quebec sweep of the women’s podium as Lemay Gaudet was joined by Juliane Fisette, 22, of Val-David in 6:04:03, and Lecia Mancini, 44, of Montreal in 6:20:28. Myriam Paquet Gauthier, 47, of Rimouski, Quebec, was fourth in 6:23:48, and Stacia Broderick, 46, of Vineyard Haven, Mass., was fifth in 6:34:24.

*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.