Around 700 runners – mostly New Englanders – gathered in southern New Hampshire during the Oct. 19-20 weekend for the 15th edition of the Ghost Train Trail Race 30-hour ultra, 30-mile night race, 15-mile race and team relay. It seems hard to believe, but there were still several New Englanders who sought out ultra adventures in other places across the United States. They raced at the Patapsco Valley 50K in Maryland, the Call of the Wilds 50K in Pennsylvania, the Tecumseh Trail Challenge in Indiana, the California Fall Classic, and the New Orleans Ultramarathon. New Englanders also toed the starting line at the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd in Oklahoma, the Palo Duro Trail Run in Texas, the Man Against Horse 50-Miler in Arizona, and BadgerPalooza in New Jersey, though results from those races were unavailable at the time of publication. We’ll highlight several of last weekend’s events in this edition of the roundup, but we lead off with a race from the previous week where Massachusetts resident Tom Flummerfelt earned a top-20 finish at the grueling Moab 240-miler in Utah.

Moab 240

Tom Flummerfelt is no stranger to big ultramarathon adventures. The 50-year-old from Winchester, Mass., has tackled tough ultras across the country and around the world, from the Cruel Jewel 100-miler in Georgia, the Bigfoot 200-miler in Washington and the Tahoe 200-miler in California, to the Tor des Geants 330K in Italy and the Racing the Planet 250K in Iceland.

After DNFing at the Moab 240 in 2021, Flummerfelt dreamed of redemption. He found it this year at the eighth annual event in Moab, Utah. The race began on Friday, Oct. 11, and runners had 117 hours to complete the single-loop, 239.1-mile course and its 25,000 feet of climbing before the finish line closed on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Flummerfelt finished with plenty of time to spare. Of the 217 runners who started the race, 130 ultimately finished. Flummerfelt placed 18th overall in 88:45:13. Max Joliffe, 32, of Costa Mesa, Calif., led all runners in 69:22:17. Sarah Ostaszewski, 33, of Durango, Colo., was fifth overall and the first-place female in 76:57:52.

Patapsco Valley 50K

Jacob Garber made his ultramarathon debut a year ago at the Patapsco Valley 50K, finishing in 6:58:08. Garber returned to the 11th annual event Saturday, Oct. 19, in Baltimore, Md., and he proved just how much of a difference a year can make.

Garber, 31, of Washington, Mass., once again took on two 16.2-mile loops through Patapsco Valley State Park, amassing around 1,850 feet of gain per loop. This time, he blazed to a top-10 finish, placing 10th overall in 5:15:42. For Garber, it was an improvement of more than 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Garber was one of two New England residents who were among the 161 finishers. Ultra veteran Hugh Tower-Pierce, 50, of Craftsbury Common, Vt., has been running ultras all over the Northeast as well as internationally for 16 years, but this was his first trip to Maryland for an ultra. Tower-Pierce placed 55th in 6:17:08. Christian Landis, 22, of Charlotte, N.C., and Britt Arnold, 37, of Baltimore, Md., were the top male and female finishers in 4:33:46 and 5:25:59, respectively. Both Landis and Arnold won by less than 2 minutes.

Call of the Wilds 50K

After a few DNFs at Seth’s Fat Ass 50K, Benny Chavez earned his first ultramarathon finish on an extremely tough course. Chavez, 33, of Palmer, Mass., took on a race with plenty of climbing at the sixth annual Call of the Wilds 50K on Sunday, Oct. 20, in Waterville, Pa.

The event challenged runners with tough Pennsylvania singletrack trails and 8,000 feet of climbing. Chavez ran strong all day and earned a spot in the top half of the field. Of the 79 finishers within 12 hours, Chavez placed 31st in 7:03:53. Reagan McCoy, 26, of Lock Haven, Pa., led all runners in 4:50:15, while 49-year-old Tammy Rachau of Mill Hall, Pa., was the first-place female (19th overall) in 6:32:03.

Tecumseh Trail Challenge

The Tecumseh Trail Challenge has been an Indiana staple for more than two decades, but it took 15 years for the event to add an ultra distance. The 22nd edition of the event – and seventh running of the 50K – took place on Saturday, Oct. 19, in Nashville, Ind.

Ninety runners completed the race, and a Boston resident was among them. Colleen Kleinschmidt, 40, finished 64th overall in 7:49:02. Justin Stewart, 37, of Springfield, Ill., won the race in a course-record 3:54:25, while 37-year-old Stephanie Woods of Indianapolis, Ind., was the first-place female (12th overall) in 5:28:45.

California Fall Classic

Two years ago, Noland Priester headed West to take on the 55K distance at the California Fall Classic Ultras. This year, he returned to the fourth annual event and opted for the 100K distance on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Healdsburg, Calif.

Priester was up to the challenge. The 39-year-old from Burlington, Mass., was one of 176 finishers within 20 hours at the event formerly known as the Lake Sonoma 100K. Priester finished in 18:49:43. Fellow New Englander Steven Ockerbloom, 49, of Granby, Conn., also handled the scenic singletrack and big climbs on the trails around Lake Sonoma, finishing in 16:26:44. Ockerbloom also raced the event in 2023, finishing in 16:16:29. Kevin Steward, 34, of Gilroy, Calif., and Charlotte Cox, 37, of Santa Barbara, Calif., topped the men’s and women’s fields in 9:59:30 and 12:22:27, respectively.

Another 105 runners completed the 55K race, including 51-year-old Kelly Horan of West Hartford, Conn., who finished in 10:13:40. Matthew Seidel, 28, of Oakland, Calif., and Pauline Loulier, 31, of San Francisco, Calif., topped the men’s and women’s fields in course-record times of 4:23:09 and 5:00:48, respectively.

New Orleans Ultramarathon

John Finnigan earned his first ultramarathon finish at the sixth annual New Orleans Ultramarathon 50-mile and 50K races on Saturday, Oct. 19, in New Orleans, La. Finnigan, 22, of New Canaan, Conn., was among the 31 finishers of the event’s 50-mile distance, which began at Jackson Square, finished at Second Line Brewing, and covered numerous roads, paved paths, and park paths along the way.

Finnigan and 21-year-old Carter Frankum of Denver, Colo., tied for eighth overall in 9:13:00. Stefan Schluter, 32, of Austin, Texas, won in a course-record time of 6:12:00. Michelle Bischof, 45, of Katy, Texas, was seventh overall and the first-place female in 8:50:00.

No New England residents were among the 77 runners who completed the 50K race, led by 31-year-old Colin McCatharn of New Orleans, La., in 3:12:00. Amelia Driscoll, 46, of Mobile, Ala., topped the women’s field in 3:53:00 and set a new women’s course record while placing seventh overall.

*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.