The Aug. 23-25 weekend wasn’t just jam-packed in the Northeast, it was also busy in the Midwest and West as New Englanders traveled great lengths to run great lengths at a variety of challenging races. We begin in Kansas, where John Sherback conquered the hot Heartland heat for a strong finish at the Hell Creek 50K. Then we swing through Ohio where Maine’s Beth Beaulieu earned her first 100-mile finish. From there, we head to Colorado for the Telluride Mountain Run 40-miler, and on to Oregon for the Oregon Cascades 100-miler. Additionally, a few New Englanders raced the Continental Divide 50K in Colorado and the Ute 100 in Utah; results from those races were unavailable at the time of publication.

Hell Creek 50K

John Sherback capitalized on a trip to Kansas to visit his in-laws by finding a nearby trail ultra to explore, and the second annual Hell Creek 50K proved to be a doozy on Saturday, Aug. 24, in Sylvan Grove, Kan.

Furnace-like conditions tested runners for much of the day as they raced on the singletrack dirt and sandy mountain bike trails of Wilson State Park, winding up and over bluffs and passing through prairie land while amassing around 3,200 feet of climbing. Every step of the race was exposed to the scorching summer sun, and a hot wind offered no reprieve.

The heat took a major toll. It was an uncomfortable 80 degrees at the start, and the temperature soared above 100 degrees by the afternoon. Of the 32 runners who started the race, more than half the field did not finish. Just 15 runners completed the course, 14 of them within the official 9-hour time limit.

Though he had no similar conditions to train in, Sherback successfully navigated the challenging day and ran strong. He passed three runners in the final three miles and placed sixth overall in 7:32:31. Nathan Reynolds, 34, of Salina, Kan., and Stefanie Bieberle, 38, of Rose Hill, Kan., went 1-2 overall and were the men’s and women’s champions in 6:29:16 and 7:01:20, respectively.

East Fork Ultras

Beth Beaulieu has only been running trail ultramarathons since 2021, and she only ran ultras in her home state of Maine prior to making her first 100-mile attempt. Her ultra resume included 50K finishes at Megunticook in 2021 and the Big Brad Ultras in 2023.

Beaulieu, 54, of Frankfort, Maine, was the lone New England resident to take on the 100-mile distance at the second annual East Fork Ultras on Aug. 24-25 in Bethel, Ohio. The event offered 100-mile, 100K and 50K ultras with a 40-hour cutoff for all three distances. All three distances used a 33-mile loop course on the trails of East Fork State Park.

Thirty-nine runners finished the 100-miler. Andrew Bishop, 38, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Deanna Hourigan, 43, of La Grange, Ky., were the top male and female finishers in 21:50:59 and 26:55:52, respectively. Beaulieu finished 35th in 39:20:57. 

Seventy-seven runners finished the 50K race, led by Spencer Olds, 23, of Platteville, Wisc., in 5:17:48. Jeremy Bombard, 50, of Framingham, Mass., was the lone New Englander who raced that distance; he placed 24th overall in 7:49:05.

No New Englanders were among the 25 finishers of the 100K.

Telluride Mountain Run

Matthew Marden has a passion for challenging mountain races. His resume is proof, with successful results at events like the Pisgah Mountain Trail race 50K in New Hampshire in 2019, the Big A 50K in Maine in 2021, the Cedro Peak 50K in New Mexico in 2022, and the Squamish 50 in British Columbia in 2023.

For 2024, Marden headed West to Colorado for the 10th edition of the Telluride Mountain Run 40-miler on Saturday, Aug. 24, in Telluride, Colo. The rugged, remote race took runners on technical singletrack, alpine mountain passes, ridgelines and summits, and mining roads, all of it at altitude with high points above 13,000 feet.

Marden, 46, of Framingham, Mass., had a strong day of running and finished in the top half of the field, placing 42nd overall in 10:51:53. Of the 104 finishers within 15 1/2 hours, 34-year-old Ethan Kirk of Leadville, Colo., led the men’s field in a course-record 7:33:39, and 28-year-old Becca Bramley of Durango, Colo., set a new women’s course record of 9:14:11 for the win, holding off Aleksandra Wronka, 39, of Littleton, Colo., by just 36 seconds.

Oregon Cascades 100

A pair of New England men earned finishes at the fourth annual Oregon Cascades 100 on Aug. 24-25 in Sisters, Ore. The race challenged runners with a point-to-point course starting in Bend and finishing in Sisters with oodles of singletrack mountain trails and around 11,000 feet of climbing along the way.

Of the 203 finishers within the 32-hour time limit, two New England men were among the finishers. Bill Tidd, 61, of Alton Bay, N.H., placed 43rd overall in 23:15:17, and 57-year-old Tom Page of York, Maine, was 112th in 28:11:26. For Page, it was the latest positive result in a big year of racing that includes finishes of the Riverlands 100, Vermont 100, and Manitou’s Revenge 53-miler. Colton Gale, 33, of Bend, Ore., won the race in a course-record time of 14:36:05.

The event also offered a point-to-point 50-mile race with 4,000 feet of climbing on the back half of the 100-mile course. Eighty-one runners completed the 50-miler within the 16-hour time limit. Todd Simpson, 39, of Bend, Ore., led the way in 6:58:25. Elise Langerstrom, 32, of Wood Village, Ore., was the first-place female in 8:34:35. Sam Rode, 26, of Colrain, Mass., was the lone New Englander in the field, finishing 27th overall in 10:16:26. It was Rode’s first ultramarathon.

*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.