A jam-packed July of ultrarunning came to a close during the July 26-28 weekend as New Englanders took on tough ultras from coast to coast and experienced a bit of everything – smooth singletrack, mud, technical rocks and roots, big climbs, heat, humidity, and high altitude. We begin in Vermont, where Samantha Stimac delivered her latest dominant performance at the Moosalamoo Ultra. Then we head to Ohio, where John Sherback earned 100-mile redemption at the Burning River 100. From there, we head to Colorado, where Patrick Boyle earned a podium finish at Grand Mesa, Tom Flummerfelt and Jeff Miner had big days at the Pikes Peak Ultra, and a handful of New Englanders raced at the Never Summer Ultras. Then we finish up further West where New Englanders finished the Crazy Mountain 100 in Montana and the Lost Sierra Ultras in California. Additionally, New Englanders took on the Magnificent Bastards Challenge in Vermont and the Wakely Dam Ultra in New York; results from those events were not available at the time of publication, but there’s still plenty to read in this edition of the roundup.

Moosalamoo Ultra

Samantha Stimac has only lived in Vermont for the past year, but since moving from Wisconsin she has made herself right at home on the trail ultrarunning scene in New England with a series of strong performances. Stimac set the course record at the Mt. Toby 50K in 2023 and followed it up with a win at the Catamount 50K. She kicked off 2024 with a runner-up finish at Catamount and followed it up with her first win of the season at the Moosalamoo Ultra on Saturday, July 27, in Goshen, Vt.

Stimac, 30, of Wells River, Vt., placed second overall and first place in the women’s field at the 13th annual 36-mile race that started and finished at the Blueberry Hill Inn and tested runners with big climbs, more than 5,000 feet of elevation gain, stinging nettles, and plenty of mud. Stimac’s time of 6:19:30 was the third-best by a female in event history. She easily outdistanced her competitors. Maxine Ratte, 24, of Gatineau, Quebec, and Kate Ripley, 30, of Leicester, Vt., were the second and third female finishers in 7:41:01 and 7:41:16, respectively.

In the men’s field, 28-year-old Ben Judson of Winooski, Vt., cruised to the win in 5:46:52. Wilson McGrail, 34, of East Falmouth, Ala., was second in 6:23:06, followed by Donnie Surdoval, 36, of Woodstock, Vt., in 6:37:49. David Herr – the 2014 and 2015 champion and 2023 runner-up, was the next runner in. The 59-year-old from Canaan, Vt., finished fourth among the men and fifth overall in 6:50:19.

Fifty-six runners completed the race within 12 hours.

Burning River 100

John Sherback was hungry for a 100-mile finish. He’d planned to earn it at the Western States Endurance Run in June, but the day didn’t go as he’d hoped and ended with a DNF 52.9 miles into the race. He was disappointed in the outcome, but he had the desire to bounce back and earn redemption at the 100-mile distance.

Sherback knew what it took, because he’s done it before – six times, in fact. He completed the Ghost Train 100 in New Hampshire 2018, the Vermont 100 and Ghost Train again in 2019, the Yeti 100 in Virginia in 2020 and 2022, followed by the No Business 100 in Tennessee in 2023. His fitness was primed from a big start to the year that included a 35-mile effort at the TARCtic Frozen Yeti, followed by the TARC Spring Classic 50K and a 50-mile run at the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra as a final tune-up before Western States.

Following Western States, Sherback quickly eyed the Burning River 100 and drove to the 18th annual event on July 27-28 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Typically a point-to-point race, this year’s Burning River 100 was an out-and-back race from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and then back to Cuyahoga Falls, passing through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Summit Metro Parks along the way.

Sherback’s decision to travel to Ohio for a redemption run paid off as the 44-year-old from North Easton, Mass., finished 98th overall in 28:17:08. Sherback was one of two New England residents among the 163 finishers within the 32-hour time limit. Timothy Furtado, 41, of Glastonbury, Conn., also finished in 31:17:54. Heath Goshorn, 27, of Canton, Ohio, led the men’s field in 15:23:12. Brenda Johnson, 43, of Lancaster, S.C., was seventh overall and first in the women’s field in 19:19:13.

Grand Mesa Ultras

Patrick Boyle was the lone New Englander competing at the Grand Mesa Ultras, but the 31-year-old from Medford, Mass., represented the region by earning a place on the podium. The 14th edition of the event took place Saturday, July 27, in Grand Mesa, Colo., with 50-mile and 55K ultras. Boyle raced the 55K on a technical, mountain course and placed third out of 66 finishers in 5:38:45. Michael Ambrose, 36, of Leadville, Colo., earned the win in 5:21:23, and 42-year-old Charlie Navillus of Waynesville, Ohio, held off Boyle in the battle for second, finishing in 5:37:52.

Another 45 runners finished the 50-miler; none were New England residents.

Pikes Peak Ultra

Tom Flummerfelt and Jeff Miner are no strangers to tough trails, and both Massachusetts men added another challenging trail ultramarathon to their resumes by finishing the Pikes Peak Ultra 50-miler on Saturday, July 27, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The ninth edition of the event started at Bear Creek Regional Park and took runners into Cheyenne Canyon, onto the Ring the Peak Trail and to the summit of Mt. Rosa along the way to the finish line. Forty-eight runners finished within the 15-hour time limit, with Flummerfelt, 50, of Winchester, cracking the top 10. He placed ninth overall in 10:44:33. Lewis Price, 33, of Denver, Colo., was the overall winner in 8:45:25, and 30-year-old Larissa Marcich, of Golden, Colo., topped the women’s field and finished seventh overall in 10:17:54. Miner, 53, of Andover, placed 25th overall in 12:43:51.

For Miner, it was the biggest race on the calendar so far this year, building upon a resume that includes finishes of the 2019 North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler at Wachusett Mountain, finishes of the tough Snow Peaks 50-miler in Provo, Utah, in 2020 and 2022, and the Behind the Rocks 50-miler in Moab, Utah, in 2023. Meanwhile, Flummerfelt used the race as part of his build-up to the Moab 240 in October. Flummerfelt knows what races of that magnitude require. He finished the Tahoe 200 in 2016, the Bigfoot 200 in 2018, and the Tor des Geants 330K in Italy in 2022.

Another 142 runners finished the Pikes Peak 50K race, led by Zach Eagle, 29, of Indianapolis, Ind., and Regan Sikes, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colo., as the men’s and women’s winners in 5:53:14 and 6:34:30, respectively. No New England residents were among the field at that distance.

Never Summer Ultras

Tough trails and high altitude greeted runners at the 10th annual Never Summer Ultras on July 27-28 at in Gould, Colo. The event offered both 100K and 60K ultras in the Never Summer Mountains on the trails of State Forest State Park.

New England was represented well in the 60K race. The rugged course challenged runners with technical trails and nearly 8,500 feet of climbing. Former Massachusetts resident Ben Thompson – now living in Boulder, Colo., – had a big performance and battled to third place overall in 7:06:27. Austin Gilottone, 27, of Fort Collins, Colo., won in 6:36:43. Taylor Bacon, 27, of Fort Collins, Colo., placed 10th overall and first in the women’s field in 7:41:56.

The trio of current New England residents all finished in the top half of the field. Ethan Cantlin, 27, of Manchester, N.H., placed 33rd overall in 8:42:45. Val Taylor, 47, of Mendon, Vt., was 98th in 10:27:30, and Jacob Thomas, 41, of Groton, Vt., finished 127th in 10:57:57. There were 252 finishers within 15 hours.

No New Englanders were among the finishers of the Never Summer main event: the 100K. Of the 308 runners who began that race, 191 finished within 25 hours. Justin Grunewald, 38, of Boulder, Colo., and Lindsey Anderson, 41, of Gallatin Gateway, Mont., handled the nearly 12,000 feet of climbing the fastest and were the first male and female finishers in 11:39:48 and 13:46:22, respectively.

Crazy Mountain 100

Mark Ehler picked a whopper of a first 100-miler. The 34-year-old from South Burlington prepared on rugged mountain courses the past two years, finishing the Never Summer 100K in 2022 and the San Juan Solstice 50-miler in 2023 – both in Colorado – before tackling 100 miles  on July 26-28 at the third annual Crazy Mountain 100.

The point-to-point course started and finished at cattle ranches as runners journeyed from Wilsall to Lennep, Mont. In between the ranches, runners amassed more than 23,000 feet of climbing, ascended to more than 10,000 feet above sea level, and traveled extensively on rugged, remote singletrack trails and exposed ridgelines.

Runners had 36 hours to complete the course. Of the 191 who started, 145 ultimately finished with Seth Swanson, 45, of Missoula, Mont., and Rachel Entrekin, 33, of Los Angeles, Calif., leading the men’s and women’s fields in 22:08:45 and 25:06:10, respectively. Ehler had a strong performance and placed 25th overall in 28:16:29.

Lost Sierra Ultras

In a field dominated by women, Lotte Vosters held her own in her ultramarathon debut. Vosters, 27, of Boston, Mass., headed West for her first trail ultra at the inaugural Lost Sierra 100K and 50K ultras on Saturday, July 27, in Downieville, Calif.

Vosters was the lone New Englander at the event, and she raced the 50K distance in a field stacked with strong female runners. The point-to-point course began at Plumas-Eureka State Park and crossed through the Sierra Nevada mountains before finishing in Downieville, amassing 4,200 feet of climbing along the way. Seventy-four runners finished within 16 hours, and five of the top eight finishers were women. Karli Leitz, 30, of Nevada City, Calif., was second overall and first female in 5:20:10, followed by third overall runner and women’s runner-up Aude Hofleitner, 39, of Truckee, Calif., in 5:30:04. Mylon Ollila, 36, of Kelowna, B.C., topped the men’s field in 5:19:32. Vosters placed 14th overall and was eighth in the women’s field in 6:44:54.

No New Englanders were among the 20 finishers of the 100K race.

*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.