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.

McKenzie River Trail Run 50K

It has been a few years since Rachel Bainbridge last raced an ultramarathon, but it was worth the wait.

Bainbridge, 37, of Concord, Mass., had a huge year of ultra racing in 2019 with victories at the Twisted Branch 100K in New York and Traprock 50K in Connecticut, as well as runner-up finishes at the North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler at Wachusett Mountain and the TARC Fells Winter Ultra 32-miler. In 2021, Bainbridge took top honors at the Stone Cat 50K. Since then, she has raced mostly shorter distances, but she returned to an ultramarathon starting line for the McKenzie River Trail Run 50K on Saturday, June 8, in Blue River, Ore., and made her presence felt.

The 36th annual event offered a mix of flowing singletrack and technical trails, rolling hills, and plenty of scenery – waterfalls, a lake, log bridges and lush forest – that gave Bainbridge and her fellow runners a taste of Oregon every step of the way. Bainbridge was among the leaders in the women’s field from the start, and she raced near the front for the duration. Megan Myers, 41, of Bend, Ore., earned the victory in 4:20:54, but Bainbridge won a tight battle for second as she fended off Michelly Donnelly, 34, of Eugene, Ore., with Bainbridge finishing in 4:26:47 and Donnelly following 5 seconds later. Elizabeth Bates, 34, of Eugene, Ore., was fourth in 4:28:30.

In the men’s field, 48-year-old Ian Fuller of Eugene, Ore., earned the win in 3:56:33, followed by Torrey Lindbo of Stevenson, Wash., in 4:02:18. Craig Eaton, 34, of Kennebunk, Maine – a former Oregon resident – earned a top-10 finish in his return to the Pacific Northwest, placing 10th overall in 4:22:03.

There were 166 finishers of the 50K within 8 1/2 hours.

Malibu Canyon Trail Races

After a casual runner-up finish at the Black Canyon 60K in his first race of the year back in April, Scott Traer kicked his racing season into high gear with a gem of a performance at the Malibu Canyon Trail Races on Saturday, June 8, in Malibu, Calif. After launching as a 100-miler in 2022, the event offered 100-mile and 100K races in 2023 before ditching the 100-mile distance and adding 50-mile and 50K ultras alongside the 100K for this year’s endurance festival. Traer opted for the 50-miler, and the 43-year-old native of Woburn, Mass., made his mark on the inaugural offering. Traer hammered the course from the start and easily outdistanced the field of 95 finishers on the singletrack trails and fire roads through the Santa Monica Mountains, winning and establishing the course record in a sizzling 7:07:43. Matt Patijaud, 37, of Woodland Hills, Calif., was a distant second in 8:20:26.

Traer was one of two New Englanders in the field. Michael Medeiros, 38, of West Hartford, Conn., finished 27th in 11:10:51. It was the latest in a series of races out west for Medeiros. He completed the Rio Del Lago 100-miler in California in 2021; the Mesquite Canyon 50-miler and Javelina Jundred 100-miler in Arizona in 2022; the Western States 100 in California and the Javelina Jundred again in 2023; and the Sean O’Brien 50-miler in California in January 2024.

Another 44 runners completed the 100K at Malibu Canyon and 105 finished the 50K, though no New Englanders raced those distances.

Mary’s Peak Trail Run

Cordon Louco’s background is on the track and cross country course, where he was a standout at Duquesne University. Now a coach at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., the 28-year-old made the leap to ultramarathon running at the 10th annual Mary’s Peak Trail Run 50-miler and 50K on Saturday, June 8, in Blodgett, Ore.

Not only was Louco one of the 67 runners who finished the 50K race, which included plenty of technical singletrack trails and a trip to the summit of Mary’s Peak, but he also was the fastest. Louco won his ultramarathon debut in 4:22:05, logging the sixth-fastest time in course history and holding off runner-up Colin Welk, 27, of Corvallis, Ore., by 5 minutes.

No New England residents were among the 35 finisher of the 50-miler, which was led by James Holk, 38, of Portland, Ore., and Ashley Nordell, 44, of Sisters, Ore., who were the men’s and women’s winners in 8:47:39 and 9:13:58, 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.