Katie Schide lives in France and spends most of her time racing in Europe, but the 32-year-old native of Gardiner, Maine, returned to the U.S. for her debut performance at the 2023 Western States Endurance Run and made a major splash, breaking the long-standing course record and finishing second in the women’s race to world-class mountain runner Courtney Dauwalter.
This year, Schide returned to Western States as the women’s favorite at the 51st edition of the race on June 29-30, in Olympic Valley, Calif., and she made more history.
The storm was a comin’, that much was certain as runners arrived at Pittsfield State Forest for the 11th running of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Vegan Power 50K, as well as its 25K and 5-mile trail races, on Saturday, June 22, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass.
Our recap of New Englanders’ ultrarunning adventures during the June 21-23 weekend continues with outcomes from out West here in Part 2 of the roundup. We start in Washington, where Lynnsey Martin earned her first 100-mile finish. Then we head to California and scenic Lake Tahoe where several New Englanders took on the grueling 46K at the Broken Arrow Sky Race, which was won by former Vermont resident David Sinclair. Then we close out in Utah with the rugged White Pine Solstice.
While dozens of trail- and ultrarunners took on the Vegan Power 50K in Massachusetts, several New Englanders sought out ultra opportunities beyond the Bay State during the June 21-23 weekend. Part 2 of this week’s roundup will catch up on how runners from the region did at ultras in the West, but here in Part 1 we stay on the East Coast with ultras in Maine, New York and Virginia. Big performances abounded, with New Englanders smashing course records at the burly and brutal Manitou’s Revenge in New York, and Lila Gaudrault delivering a sizzling effort at the inaugural 6 at the Springs in Maine. There are highlights galore in this edition of the roundup.
A series of multi-day events didn’t conclude in time for the June 14-16 weekend wrap-up – one lasted for two additional days and two more went for an entire additional week. But we haven’t forgotten them. Instead, we have them in this bonus edition of the roundup. We start with the Last Annual Heart of the South Road Race where Greg Wolodkin of Sutton, Mass., successfully completed the 384-mile adventure within the 10 1/2-day limit. We then head to Wisconsin where a few New Englanders raced at Six Days in the Dome, including Cambridge, Mass., resident Jenny Hoffman who was victorious while improving her position for the Team USA 24-Hour National Team. We then close out with the Tahoe 200, where Belmont, Mass., resident Scot DeDeo earned his finish at the distance, as did Aurora Leon of Keene, N.H.
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 11th running of the Vegan Power 50K ultramarathon, along with 25K and 5-mile trail races on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. All three distances took place on a 5-mile loop course, and proceeds from the event benefited local animal sanctuaries.
A big day of ultramarathon racing in Connecticut was the top regional highlight during the June 14-16 weekend as Mike Davis hammered out 58.8 miles at the inaugural Brooksvale 12-Hour Ultra. That event, as well as the Highlands Sky 40-miler in West Virginia and the Groundhog Ultra in Florida, are our featured East Coast races in the second half of this week’s roundup.
The June 14-16 weekend included another jam-packed slate of ultramarathons, and New Englanders took to the trails from coast to coast. Runners from the region did so much racing that the weekend merits two roundups. We’ll finish in the East, where results are still coming in from the Brooksvale 12-hour in Connecticut, and runners also raced in West Virginia and Florida, but we start in the West where veterans and first-time ultrarunners alike took on races in Wyoming, Oregon, Arizona and Utah. Additionally, a handful of New Englanders took on the Tahoe 200, but final results were not posted at the time of publication.
New England made its mark on the West Coast during the June 7-9 weekend. Rachel Bainbridge of Concord, Mass., earned a spot on the podium at the McKenzie River Trail Run 50K in Oregon; Scott Traer of Woburn, Mass., was victorious at the Malibu Canyon 50-miler in California; and Cordon Louco of Wenham, Mass., took top honors in his ultramarathon debut in Oregon. Those big performances highlight this edition of the roundup.
A jam-packed June 7-9 weekend saw ultrarunners from New England take on at least eight events nationwide, from the low-key, high-fun Drummer Hill 50K in New Hampshire, to a slew of ultras around the country. We’ll catch up on results from events in the West in a second roundup, but here in Part I we focus on ultras in the East, ranging from the Kettle Moraine 100 in Wisconsin, to the OSS/CIA 50 in Virginia, to the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie in North Carolina, as well as Merrill’s Mile in Georgia and Laurel Highlands in Pennsylvania. But we start off close to home with Drummer Hill to kick off a lengthy edition of the roundup.
MassUltra 