The summertime ultramarathon calendar was hot during the Aug. 16-18 weekend as New Englanders took on trails from coast to coast. The main event in New England was the TARC Summer Classic where more than 100 runners took on 40-mile and 50K ultras or a 10-mile race on the trails of Noon Hill Reservation in Medfield, Mass. The Summer Classic has its own separate story, but so many runners scattered the country to race that we have all the rest captured in a two-part roundup. Part II will take us out West, but here in Part I we stay in the East, where runners took on the Fabulous Fahnestock 50K in New York and the MD Heat Trail Race 50K in Maryland.

Fabulous Fahnestock

A pair of New Englanders made a big impact at the second annual Fabulous Fahnestock 50K on Saturday, Aug. 17, in Cold Spring, N.Y. Benjamin Niebla and David Stawski raced at the front of the field throughout, easily handling the course’s mix of dirt roads and technical singletrack trails that wound through Fahnestock State Park before ultimately finishing on the men’s podium.

Niebla, 27, of Manchester, N.H., hung onto Zandy Mangold down to the wire, but Mangold, 50, of Brooklyn, N.Y., prevailed for the overall win in 5:55:15. Niebla followed 13 seconds behind as the runner-up in 5:55:28. Stawski, 42, of Manchester, Conn., rounded out the men’s podium in third overall in 6:08:38. Carter Moore, 40, of Ridgefield, Conn., joined them in the overall top 10, placing eighth in 6:50:54.

A close race in the women’s field saw Avie Carroll, Kari Smith and Claire Davenport all finish within a 15-minute window. Carroll, 21, of Seattle, Wash., earned the win in 7:38:48, followed by Smith, 43, of Highland Falls, N.Y., in 7:43:03, and Davenport, 44, of New York, N.Y., in 7:53:58.

Forty-eight runners finished the race within 12 hours. Joining Niebla, Stawski and Moore in representing New England at the finish line were Paul Viscontini, 41, of Stamford, Conn. (25th, 8:33:11); Kimberly Hadermayer, 44, of Ridgefield, Conn. (33rd, 9:13:48); Patricia Mennitt, 58, of Westport, Conn. (35th, 9:32:28); and Helen Steinberg, 37, of Norwalk, Conn. (47th, 11:40:24).

MD Heat Trail Race

Ed Novak has had a busy year of ultramarathon racing with a pair of finishes under his belt at the Laurel Highlands 50K and Ghost Town Trail Challenge 50K, both in Pennsylvania. For his third ultra of the year, Novak headed south for the 11th edition of the MD Heat Trail Race 50K on Saturday, Aug. 17, in Elkridge, Md.

Novak, 54, of Rutland, Mass., took on a course consisting of two 25K loops of rolling singletrack trails, amassing around 4,000 feet of climbing by the time he was done. Thirty-six runners finished the race within 11 hours, led by 32-year-old Spencer Imbach of Baltimore, Md., who topped the men’s field and earned the overall win in 4:45:52. Amber Ketchum, 35, of Pasadena, Md., topped the women’s field and finished eighth overall in 6:48:44. Novak placed 23rd in 8:18:17.

*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.