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.

Drummer Hill

A month after breaking her own course record at the Wapack and Back 43-miler, Kara Olivito had another course record in her sights at the seventh edition of the Drummer Hill Trail Races on Saturday, June 8, in Keene, N.H. Olivito took on the 50K race, which meant completing four 12.5K loops of technical and flowing singletrack trails, jeep roads, plenty of rocks and roots, and more than 4,500 feet of climbing.

Race Director Chris Casey revises the course every few years to keep it interesting, and a redesign for 2024 didn’t prevent Olivito and several other runners from having fast days on the Drummer Hill dirt. The 41-year-old from Exeter, N.H., led the women’s field wire-to-wire and earned the victory in 5:13:40. It was the second-fastest women’s time ever at Drummer Hill, trailing only Sarah Dunham’s 5:12:15 performance from 2018. Olivito also finished sixth overall. She was joined on the women’s podium by Emma Dixon, 28, of Dorchester, Mass., and Karen Clark, 36, of Lee, N.H., whose times of 6:24:44 and 6:29:13 earned the eighth- and ninth spots on the women’s record board.

In the men’s field, some early patience paid off for Kevin Ellis and David Herr. After sitting back in fifth and sixth place during the first loop about two minutes back of a speedy lead pack. The pair steadily moved up during the second loop, with Herr taking the lead and Ellis climbing to fourth, and later second during the third loop. Herr had a 2-minute gap on Ellis entering the fourth loop, but Ellis ultimately tracked him down and the 39-year-old from Richmond, N.H., earned the victory in 4:42:43. Herr, 59, of Canaan, Vt., was a close second in 4:45:40. One of the early front-runners, Michael Patek, 47, of Keene, N.H., finished third in 4:52:00. The trio logged the third-, fifth- and eighth-fastest men’s times ever at Drummer Hill. Other early leaders, 39-year-old Payson Nichols of Bangor, Maine, and 25-year-old Jacob Movsessian of Keene, N.H., were fourth and fifth in 5:06:08 and 5:11:52.

In addition to the 36 runners who completed four loops for the 50K, another 76 completed one, two or three loops for sub-ultra-distance finishes.

Kettle Moraine

A pair of New England men added to their collection of 100-mile finishes when they took on the 28th running of the Kettle Moraine Endurance Runs on June 8-9 in La Grange, Wisc. The classic race, with its rolling hills and entirely trail course included 65 miles on the historic Ice Age Trail and around 12,000 feet of climbing. Both Bertram Johnson and Wilson Ray got it done. Johnson, 51, of Burlington, Vt., earned at least his 17th 100-mile finish since running his first ultra in 2008, placing 39th overall in 23:35:12. Ray, 27, of Cambridge, Mass., earned his third 100-mile finish, placing 68th in 25:51:53. He previously completed the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100 in 2021 and the Uwharrie 100 in 2022.

There were 151 finishers within the 30-hour time limit, with Brian Simonick, 29, of Lebanon, Ky., leading the men in 15:43:53, and Allisan Barrett, 24, of Kalamazoo, Mich., leading the women in 19:04:47.

In addition to the 100-miler, another 84 runners completed the 100K race, 90 finished the 38-mile race and 109 finished the 50K. No New England residents took part in those distances.

OSS/CIA 50-Mile Night Run

Jared Vargus tackled his first ultra last September with a 37.8-mile effort at the Last Man Standing Ultramarathon in Maine. For his second, the 26-year-old Boston, Mass., resident headed to Virginia for a tough nighttime 50-miler.

Vargus was one of 88 runners who took on the 13th annual LSS/CIA 50-Mile Night Run on Saturday, June 8, in Triangle, Va. The event challenged runners with two 25-mile loops of singletrack trails and fire roads of the Prince William Forest where spies of the Office of Strategic Services – which became the Central Intelligence Agency – trained. Ultimately, 63 runners completed the race within 15 ½ hours, including Vargus who placed 33rd in 12:57:27. Brad Billiams, 38, of Ashburn, Va., and Niki Cochran, 39, of Takoma Park, Md., went 1-2 overall and were the men’s and women’s winners in 9:05:10 and 9:09:57, respectively.

Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie

Samuel Breeden earned a top-10 finish in his ultramarathon debut at the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie on Saturday, June 8, in Ellerbe, N.C. The 30th and final running of the 50-mile race once again challenged runners to complete five repeats of a 6-mile loop and 4-mile out-and-back, all on a paved course. Forty-eight runners finished within 18 hours, including Breeden, 25, of Westport, Conn., who placed seventh overall in 9:34:26.

Kyle Baucom, 39, of Monroe, N.C., and Shannon Johnstone, 50, of Cary, N.C., went 1-4 overall and led the men’s and women’s fields in 7:04:55 and 8:47:36, respectively.

Merrill’s Mile

Michael Pereiro became a 100-mile finisher at the 13th edition of the Merrill’s Mile time-based ultras on June 7-9 in Dahlonega, Ga. Pereiro, 28, of Shelton, Conn., was one of 54 runners who took part in the event’s 48-hour race on a 12-foot-wide, asphalt USATF-certified loop course that measured just shy of 1 mile. Thirty-four of those runners completed 100 miles or more, including Pereiro who finished 11th overall with 101.5005 miles. Nikki Harvey, 49, of Birmingham, Ala., smashed her own women’s course record by nearly 8 miles and earned the overall win with 168.1719 miles. Brad Compton, 69, of Spencerville, Ind., was the overall runner-up and men’s champion with 148.2699 miles.

The 24-hour race had 35 runners, 37 took on the 12-hour race and another 66 were in the 6-hour race. No runners in those timed events were New England residents.

Laurel Highlands

Three New England residents were enticed to travel to Pennsylvania to take on a classic ultramarathon. Two of them took part in the 45th annual Laurel Highlands 70.5-mile Endurance Run and one ran the 19th edition of the 50K on Saturday, June 8, in Ohiopyle, Pa. The point-to-point races took runners along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, with 50K runners covering the first 31 miles and runners in the 70.5-miler covering the trail from end to end.

There were 132 finishers of the 70.5-miler within 22 hours, led by 25-year-old Eric Kennedy of Jeannette, Pa., in 11:36:55, who outdistanced his closest competitor by 55 minutes. Justyna Wilson, 48, of Fairless Hills, Pa., was fifth overall and topped the women’s field in 13:16:01.

Ericka Emerson, 52, of Belchertown, Mass., and Aaron Sylvain, 43, of Tilton, N.H., were the New Englanders who finished. Emerson finished in 20:44:41, and Sylvain completed the course in 21:40:22.

Another 132 runners completed the event’s 50K race, with Jesse Irwin, 37, of Morgantown, W.V., and Hannah Goranson, 26, of Toronto, Ontario, leading the men’s and women’s fields in 4:48:21 and 5:35:11, respectively. Ed Novak, 54, of Rutland, Mass., was the lone New Englander in the field and he placed 68th in 7:44:42.

*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.