New England was slammed with ultramarathons during the Sept. 6-8 weekend – six to be exact. Still, all those options didn’t prevent runners from the region from venturing to ultras across the country. We’ll catch up on the local events in Part II of this week’s roundup, but here in Part I we catch up on seven other ultras, beginning in Michigan where Boston’s Laura Ricci had a podium finish – as did her older sister – at the Hallucination 100.

Hallucination 100

A few weeks after running the Ragged 75 Stage Race together in New Hampshire, the Ricci sisters reunited for an ultramarathon adventure at the Hallucination 100 on Sept. 6-7 in Gregory, Mich.

The event offered 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultras. Older sister Allison Ricci of Issaquah, Wash., raced the 100K, while Boston resident Laura Ricci ran the 100-miler. Both races took place on a 16.6-mile singletrack loop course with about 1,500 feet of climbing per loop. Allison had to complete the loop four times and Laura had to finish six loops. Despite the differences in their distances, both sisters had similar performances.

Allison Ricci secured a spot on the women’s 100K podium with a third-place finish (13th overall) in 15:37:45. Meanwhile, Laura Ricci also podiumed in the 100-miler, placing third in the women’s field and 10th overall in 20:47:44. Brenda Johnson placed first in 19:57:17 and Beverly Anderson-Abbs was second in 20:29:38. Christopher Veska was the overall winner in 15:53:02.

Four more New Englanders were also among the finishers at Hallucination. In the 100-miler, Kai Hoeffner placed 34th overall in 25:14:35; Roy Van Buren was 86th in 29:07:18; and Ian McLachlan finished 100th in 29:27:15. Additionally, Matthew Hoadley earned a 100K finish in 18:32:05.

Wasatch Front 100

Fast times and hard-earned finishes were on the agenda at the 44th annual Wasatch Front 100 on Sept. 6-7 in Kaysville, Utah.

The race took runners on a point-to-point journey from East Mountain Wilderness Park in Kaysville to Soldier Hollow in Midway, traveling through the Wasatch Mountains while challenging runners with more than 23,000 feet of climbing. A half-dozen New Englanders completed the rugged course and were among the 164 who reached the finish line within the 36-hour time limit.

At the front of the field, 36-year-old Jimmy Elam of Midway, Utah, was on course-record pace for much of the day before slowing and finishing with the second-fastest time in course history. He ultimately won in 19:08:35. Elizabeth Butler, 42, of Salt Lake City, Utah, placed 15th overall and first in the women’s field in 26:22:10.

Not far back from the front-runners, 39-year-old Joffrey Peters of Lebanon, N.H., had a solid outing in his 100-mile debut and placed 21st overall in 27:16:52. In 51st place, 44-year-old Peter Smith of Portsmouth, N.H., finished in 30:49:20. It was Smith’s fourth 100-mile finish of the year, joining his efforts at Old Dominion in June, Vermont in July, and Leadville in August. Up next, Smith will run the Pony Express 100 in Utah in October.

Additional New Englanders among the finishers were 29-year-old Elizabeth McGurk of Lebanon, N.H., who placed 100th overall in her 100-mile debut. She previously won the Manitou’s Revenge 53-miler in New York in June. Peter Troast, 65, of Freeport, Maine, placed 109th in 33:44:23. Troast previously finished the Scout Mountain 100 and Wyoming Range 100 this year; he will run the Bear 100 on Sept. 27 in an attempt to close out the Rocky Mountain Slam. Fresh off a finish at the Western States 100 in June, 46-year-old Eli Burakian of Brownsville, Vt., finished 144th at Wasatch in 35:23:51. Shortly after, 44-year-old Christopher Lay of Somerville, Mass., finished 150th in 35:29:02. It was at least the sixth 100-mile finish for Lay.

Superior Fall Trail Race

A pair of New Englanders had a successful weekend of racing on a tough course at the 33rd edition of the Superior Fall Trail Race 100-miler on Sept. 6-7 in. Lusten, Minn. The event is the 10th-oldest 100-miler in the country, and its point-to-point course measures 103.3 miles with plenty of punishing climbs that add up to more than 21,000 feet of elevation gain.

Jonathan Western, 40, of Topsfield, Mass., ran well all weekend and placed 15th out of 163 finishers within the 38-hour time limit. Western’s time was 26:46:51. Lisa Goulding of Winchester, Mass., also finished in 36:49:54, placing 142nd. Scott Wopata, 40, of Dundas, Minn., led all runners in 20:54:03 and was one of just seven who finished in less than 24 hours. Cheryl Matson, 41, of Eden Prairie, Minn., topped the women’s field in 27:41:54.

Another 123 runners finished the event’s 50-mile race within 17 hours; none from New England.

Wy’East Wonder

Molly Fraher has gone farther, but she earned her first 50-mile finish at the sixth edition of the Wy’East Wonder 50-mile and 50K ultras on Saturday, Sept. 7, in Parkdale, Ore. Fraher was well prepared for the 50-mile distance after running the 100K at the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra in June. Still, the 36-year-old from Lee, Mass., had to be ready for a lot more climbing at Wy-East Wonder. The point-to-point net-downhill 50-mile race challenged runners with 7,000 feet of climbing and 10,000 feet of quad-pounding descent. Ultimately, she was up to the task. Of the 103 finishers, Fraher placed 66th in 13:17:34.

Kody Shriver, 30, of Enterprise, Ore., led the field and was the men’s champion in 7:52:17. Audrey Lawrence, 34, of Issaquah, Wash., was the first-place female and second overall in 9:00:05, and 35-year-old Baby Timm of Portland, Ore., placed fourth overall and first in the nonbinary field in 9:37:43.

Another 206 runners finished the 50K race, with Peter Buckley, 24, of Portland, Ore., and Meg Imhoff, 31, of Hood River, Ore., leading the men’s and women’s fields in 4:12:48 and 5:20:07, respectively. No New England residents competed at that distance.

Devil On the Divide 50K

Simon Holt secured his second ultramarathon of the year – and ever – at the 10th annual Devil on the Divide 50K on Saturday, Sept. 7, in Empire, Colo. The point-to-point course challenged runners with 6,500 feet of climbing and a trip above 13,000 feet above sea level.

Holt, 25, of Milford, N.H., dealt with altitude at his first ultra in June when he completed the Broken Arrow Skyrace 46K. He was up to the challenge again in Colorado as he finished in the top third of the field. Of the 162 runners who started the race, 140 finished within 11 hours. Holt placed 53rd in 7:23:51. Scott Schrader, 40, of Littleton, Colo., and Megan Burke, 35, of Salida, Colo., went 1-2 overall and were the men’s and women’s champions in 5:09:15 and 5:10:56, respectively. Burke’s performance established a new women’s course record.

Pine Creek Challenge

One of the most consistent presences at the Pine Creek Challenge earned yet another finish at the 14th annual event on Sept. 7-8 in Wellsboro, Pa.

The event once again offered 100-mile, 100K and 50-mile ultras, which consisted of multiple out-and-backs on a 25-mile stretch of the mostly flat, crushed stone Pine Creek Rail Trail. Michael Condella knows this course well. He came to this year’s race having finished the 100-miler nine years in a row. The 36-year-old from Revere, Mass., made it 10 straight when he was among the 43 finishers within the 30-hour time limit. It wasn’t his fastest performance, but Condella got it done in 29:23:26 and was one of two New England residents among the finishers. Jeffrey Ray, 40, of New London, N.H., placed 27th overall in 27:50:21. Nick Schroeder, 32, of Blackwood, N.J., and Jess Mullen, 49, of Seattle, Wash., were the top male and female finishers in 14:50:20 and 19:03:54, respectively.

Another 44 runners finished the 50-mile race with Zachary Tamburro, 34, of Middletown, Del., and Aubryn Cruz, 25, of Milford, Del, topping the men’s and women’s fields in 8:19:50 and 9:14:28, respectively. Shirley Sweeney, 32, of Boston, Mass., placed 13th overall and finished third in the women’s field in 10:20:52. It was Sweeney’s ultramarathon debut.

An additional 18 runners finished the 100K race; no runners at that distance were New Englanders.

Prairie On Fire Backyard Ultra

A trio of New Englanders took part in the third annual Prairie on Fire Backyard Ultra on Sept. 7-8 in Noblesville, Ind. The event used a 4.167-mile dirt and gravel loop course during the daytime hours and a paved loop at night at Koteewi Park.

There were 108 runners who took part in the event, and it was the first time any runner at the event broke the 100-mile mark. Eleven runners did so, led by winner Jeff Walker, 41, of Greencastle, Ind., who logged 125.01 miles.

Louie Ruvolo, 59, of Turners Falls, Mass., tied for 15th with 18 hours of running and 75.006 miles. It was Ruvolo’s first race since completing the Vermont 100 in July (27:08:21). Jeremy Singh, 43, of Lexington, Mass., ran for 11 hours and 45.837 miles. Victor Gorospe, 52, of Lexington, Mass., ran for six hours and 25.002 miles.

*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.