July is typically quiet on the ultrarunning scene in Massachusetts, with just one in-state ultra on the calendar. But the Bay State goes big during that lone weekend, as was the case July 12-15 when the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to hundreds of ultrarunners for the multi-day Notchview Ultra in Windsor (separate recap article coming). Still, Notchview wasn’t the only event that attracted New Englanders. Runners scattered from coast to coast to tackle a wide range of ultras, and we’ve caught up with as many as possible in this edition of the roundup. Around 120 runners took part in the third annual Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine, though results from Back Cove are not yet available (perhaps they’re still running?). So we’ll start in nearby New York where a handful of runners from the region tackled the Great Hill Ultra. Then we’ll work our West, stopping in Colorado to catch up on New Englanders at the iconic Hardrock 100, before making it to the coast for a pair of races in Oregon and another in California. There’s plenty to read in this edition of the roundup.

Great Hill Ultra

Four New Englanders secured hard-earned finishes at the second annual Great Hill Ultra 100K on Saturday, July 13, in Middlesex, N.Y. The 62-mile point-to-point course started at the Muller Field Station in Honeoye Valley, snaked through the hills, valleys, and swamplands of the Finger Lakes, and finished at the West River Valley in Middlesex. Runners amassed more than 9,300 feet of climbing along the way.

Twenty-seven runners finished the race within 20 hours, led by Carson Albanese, 34, of Ithaca, N.Y., who outdistanced the field by 55 minutes to win in 11:36:11. Top female Allison Jacquemont, 50, of Westmount, Quebec, finished fifth overall in 13:48:54. Nico Rottstaedt, 41, of Ripton, Vt., was the top New Englander, finishing fourth overall in 13:28:14. Christopher Lay, 44, of Somerville, Mass., had a strong performance and finished seventh overall in 14:18:18. Alejandro Velasquez, 29, of Norwalk, Conn., followed 27 minutes later in 14:55:20, good for 14th overall. Garrett Gaudette, 33, of Marshfield, Mass., was 19th in 15:29:50.

After offering just the 100K distance in 2023, the event added a 50K to the lineup for 2024. Twenty-six runners finished, led by Maria Bergh, 36, of Chicago, Ill., who earned the overall win in 5:14:49. First-place male and second overall finisher Will Kolek, 37, of Middleport, N.Y., followed six minutes later in 5:20:33. Two of the five New Englanders who finished earned places on the podium, and all five placed in the overall top 10. Jacob O’Connor, 35, of Jeffersonville, Vt., was the third overall finisher and men’s runner-up in 5:24:44, and 39-year-old David Nelson of Winooski, Vt., was the third-place male and fifth overall finisher in 5:31:18. Linda Burbank, 42, of Moultonboro, N.H., finished seventh overall and fourth in the women’s field in 6:48:09; Caitlin Burns, 35, of Oakham, Mass., finished a minute later in 6:49:32, placing fifth in the women’s field and ninth overall; and 32-year-old Meaghan Burns of West Brookfield, Mass., followed in 7:00:47 as the sixth female and 10th overall finisher.

Hardrock 100

It was a weekend of big performances at the 30th edition of the Hardrock 100 on July 12-14 in Silverton, Colo. In addition to the front-runners, two men from Vermont had impressive weekends while running 100 miles and climbing 33,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains. Andy Vermilyea, 42, of Castleton, Vt., raced to an 11th-place overall finish (8th male) in 31:02:13, while 61-year-old Peter Lawson of Burlington, Vt., followed his Western States 100 finish of two weeks earlier by completing Hardrock in 45:14:50, good for 87th place.

Both the men’s and women’s course records fell as 48-year-old Ludovic Pommeret of Prevessin, France, led all runners in 21:33:06, and 39-year-old Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colo., topped the women’s field for the third year in a row in 26:11:49. Diego Pazos, 39, of Lausanne, Switzerland, was second overall in 24:39:33, and 46-year-old Jason Schlarb of Durango, Colo., was third in 24:48:13. Dauwalter highlighted a big weekend for the women’s field as the top three all placed in the top nine overall. Runner-up Camille Bruyas, 32, of Leschaux, France, was sixth overall in 29:28:11, and third-place Katharina Hartmuth, 29, of Zurich, Switzerland, was ninth overall in 30:29:12. 

Former Maine resident Jeff Rome, 35, of Silverton, Colo., was the fourth male finisher and fifth place overall in 26:30:52.

In addition to Vermilyea, Lawson, and Rome, two other New Englanders were among the 146 runners who started the race; of those who started, 119 finished within the 48-hour time limit. Klatt, 33, of Brookline, Mass., was 115th in 47:31:36. Pamela Harght, 40, of Marshfield, Mass., started the race but did not finish after covering 71.7 miles.

Siskiyou Out Back Running Festival

Tom Dmukauskas has earned dozens of ultramarathon finishes during the past 14 years, including multiple 100-milers, so a tough 100K on the West Coast made for a good challenge for the New Englander. Dmukauskas found a good one at the 25th running of the Siskiyou Out Back trail runs on July 13-14 in Ashland, Ore. The event offered runners the choice of three different ultramarathon distances: 100K, 50-mile and 50K.

Dmukauskas, 48, of Somerville, Mass., took on a tough course with plenty of runnable singletrack, many miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, a trip to the summit of Mt. Ashland, and around 10,500 feet of total climbing. Dmukauskas had a good day of racing and earned a spot in the top quarter of the field, finishing 26th overall in 13:51:35. He was one of two New England residents among the 100K finishers. Victor Wang, 39, of Middleborough, Mass., also finished in 17:12:12.

Of the 152 runners who started the race, 101 finished within 18 hours. Ryan Neely, 35, of Mill Valley, Calif., cruised to the overall win in 10:10:29. The race for first in the women’s field came down to just three seconds as Abigail Swift, 36, of Sacramento, Calif., edged Natalie Chirgwin, 35, of Ashland, Ore., 11:53:26 to 11:53:29. They finished ninth and 10th overall.

The 50K race had the largest field with 241 finishers within the 10-hour time limit on a course that featured 4,200 feet of climbing. Nathan Trimble, 36, of Ashland, Ore., and Annie Behrend, 38, of Central Point, Ore., went 1-3 overall and led the men’s and women’s fields in 4:28:31 and 4:55:54, respectively. Two New Englanders were among the finishers, with both earning places in the top half of the field. Graham Phelps, 33, of Durham, N.H., finished 72nd in 6:38:53, and John Cody, 34, of Providence, R.I., crossed the line about 14 minutes later in 6:52:29, good for 90th place.The event’s 50-mile race was the smallest of the three ultras. It challenged runners with 8,400 feet of climbing. No New Englanders were among the 34 finishers of that distance.

Mt. Hood 50

For his first 50-miler, Adam Frontierro found a race that offered shade-soaked trails, scenic views, and big miles on a historic trail. Frontierro got all that and more at the 25th edition of the Mt. Hood 50 on July 13-14 in Clackamas Lake, Ore. The event offered both 50-mile and 50K ultras.

The event’s signature distance – the 50-miler – took runners on an out-and-back journey on the Pacific Crest Trail, with mostly smooth singletrack trails but some occasional technicality thrown in to make things interesting before runners returned to the start/finish at the Clackamas Ranger Station. The 50-miler had a 14-hour time limit, and 124 runners finished. Frontierro had a strong day and placed 47th overall in 10:22:31 for his third ultramarathon finish and first 50-miler. Michelle Buncke, 28, and Ryan Maize, 30, both of Portland, Ore., went 1-2 overall and were the women’s and men’s winners in 6:39:08 and 6:46:41, respectively.

The 50K race also offered an out-and-back run on the PCT, but with a loop around Timothy Lake thrown in. Another 122 runners finished that race within 9 hours. Mark Smith, 51, of Hanover, N.H., was the lone New Englander who raced that distance. Smith finished in 7:08:32 as part of his build-up to the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 50-miler in October. Dustin Franta, 35, of Portland, Ore., and Rachel Peters, 37, of Canby, Ore., were the top male and female finishers in 3:30:40 and 4:06:29, respectively.

The Peak 50K

The last time Samuel Couture toed the starting line of an ultramarathon, he finished second overall and first male at the 12-Hour Adventure Trail Run in Virginia. He followed it up with another strong showing at the sixth edition of the Peak 50K on Saturday, July 13, in Julian, Calif. For his fourth ultra, Couture and his fellow runners took on singletrack trails, 10,000 feet of climbing, and two trips to the summit of Cuyamaca Peak on their way to the finish line. Tim Vail, 24, of Ramona, Calif., got there first, winning in 5:18:02. Couture, 24, of Essex, Vt., placed seventh overall in 6:23:48. Of the 64 runners who started the race, 47 finished within the 10-hour time limit.

*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.