There were a few things you could always count on during the first five years of the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons. The course would be challenging, the fall foliage would be spectacular, and both Dane LeBlanc and Joe Loureiro would be on the starting line for the 100-miler.

Most of those certainties were there once again for the sixth annual event when the 100-milers gathered at the Windblown Cross Country Ski Area on Saturday, Oct. 12, in New Ipswich, N.H., preparing to make their journey south, all the way across Massachusetts to the finish line at Douglas State Forest. Though mostly dry this year due to the ongoing drought, the course was daunting once again, and the fall colors were popping as expected. LeBlanc was there, too, though his excitement to run was weighed down by the knowledge that this year’s experience would be much different. Loureiro wasn’t there with him this time. Loureiro passed away unexpectedly in his sleep in April at age 56. 

Loureiro’s death shocked the New England running community, where Loureiro had a strong presence on both the trail and road. He was heavily involved as both a runner and volunteer with the Trail Animals Running Club, in addition to other running groups. He was a beloved member of the community, known for his calm, zen-like demeanor, warm smile and friendliness, in addition to his running accomplishments.

“I think the thing that everyone loved about Joe was his authentic, unassuming, and friendly nature,” LeBlanc said. “He was so approachable. He and I were both Electrical Engineers who shared a love of the outdoors, so I think our personalities were very similar.”

Though Loureiro wasn’t at this year’s race in person, his presence was felt heavily thanks to friends and race organizers who deeply admired him and the impact he had on the New England ultrarunning community.

When Cody Cutler – the 2020 Midstate Massive 100-mile runner-up – reached out to race directors Andy Marx and Rich Mazzola in April to let them know of Loureiro’s passing, plans to honor him quickly went in motion. Cutler had been friends with Loureiro since meeting at the Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra 50K in March 2020. In the years since, the men had grown close.

“Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear the news of (Joe’s) passing back in April,” Cutler said. “Within days, I had some inclination to check his UltraSignup page to see what else he had planned for the year. Of course he was signed up for Midstate Massive as usual and that’s when I came up with the idea of asking to run with his bib. I emailed Rich and Andy from New England Race Events on April 13th to let them know about Joe and also to ask for their thoughts on carrying his bib to the finish.”

Marx and Mazzola supported Cutler’s idea, and they began planning additional steps to commemorate Loureiro. They printed “Running with Joe in 2024” on the race shirts. They held a moment of silence in remembrance before each wave start, and also welcomed Loureiro’s family at a ceremony at the finish line.

When the first of the eight starting waves gathered at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, LeBlanc was there. Both he and Loureiro finished the race during each of its first four years. When both men DNF’d after 87 miles during the cold, rain-soaked 2023 edition, they met up at the finish line anyway and promptly made plans to return for redemption in 2024.

LeBlanc arrived this year ready to run, but he planned to run for more than himself. He hung a flag for Loureiro’s native Portugal on the back of his pack, and also carried a photo of the two men together after the 2023 race.

A few hours later, Cutler arrived to start in the seventh wave. He, too, was running to honor Loureiro. He sported a headband with the U.S. and Portugal flags, kept a photo of Loureiro in his pack, and carried Loureiro’s race bib for the duration of the race to try to get his friend a symbolic fifth finish.

One of LeBlanc’s favorite traditions at Midstate Massive related to its wave starts that spanned a 5 1/2-hour timeframe to minimize congestion on the trail. Loureiro typically started in Wave 3 or 4, so 90 minutes to 2 hours later. He would eventually catch LeBlanc, and the men would share a few miles and conversation before parting ways, only to reconnect many hours later at the finish line.

“It was very emotional not seeing him at Midstate,” LeBlanc said. “Especially when I was running through the section where Joe would always catch up to me, around mile 18 or 19, and spend some time on the trail with me. This year, there were no other runners around me through this section, so it felt particularly lonely, in spite of the exceptional weather.”

Though LeBlanc didn’t get to share the trail with Loureiro in their typical spot, he ultimately enjoyed some Loureiro-inspired company.

“A friend of mine, Vin Framularo, had mentioned that I needed to be on the lookout for Dane LeBlanc,” Cutler said. “He said he told Dane that I was running with Joe’s bib and Dane let him know that he would be running with a Portuguese flag pinned to the back of his vest. I told him I had found a headband that was half Portuguese flag and half American flag. 

“During the race, I was almost to Barre Falls Dam (mile 45) and as I was coming up behind a runner I could see something flapping on the back of his vest. It was Dane. I introduced myself and we reminisced about Joe for a few minutes. We chuckled when we realized we both had photos of Joe in our pockets. As I took off down the trail I realized that this was the same spot I had passed Joe during the 2020 version of the race. I feel like that was Joe’s way of bringing someone else into my life.”

Though it was a particularly good year for running at Midstate Massive and participants enjoyed sunny skies and mostly dry trails with highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s, there were inevitable moments where the race was difficult. Be it big climbs in the first half of the race, or the difficulty of navigating in the dark and overcoming pain and fatigue, it isn’t easy to run 100 miles. Moments of doubt creep in. It was during those moments that Cutler channeled Loureiro for strength.

“When things got tough I would remind myself that Joe did this every year, all while having almost 20 years on me,” said Cutler, 39, of Sterling, Mass. “Joe wasn’t just a friend to me but also an inspiration. I looked up to him. We’re both married, with two children, and still find time to get our runs and workouts in. I tell myself that if he can do it, I can do it. No excuses. There were a couple times during the race when things got really tough, and at one point I even texted my wife and complained a bit to her. She calmed me down and told me to remember why I’m doing this. I asked Joe for a little help getting my shit together and getting to the finish line. I’d like to think he carried me, but in reality he would have offered either some words of encouragement or a swift kick.”

The boost of motivation propelled Cutler to finish strong. As he covered the final miles, he received one more sign of Loureiro’s presence.

“As I was coming into Douglas State Forest, nearing the end of the race, the sun was coming up,” Cutler said. “The sunrise that morning was breathtaking. My wife sent me a picture of the finish line and she said there’s a rainbow over it. I looked at the picture and without hesitation I said ‘Thank you Joe’ out loud. It was perfect.”

As Cutler neared the finish line, he pulled the photo of Louriro from his pocket. He held the photo in front of himself as he crossed the finish line in second place overall. Cutler’s family was there to welcome him, and so was Loureiro’s family.

“The race directors had reached out to Joe’s wife Ellen prior to the race to ask if the family would be willing to attend the finish line,” Cutler said. “When she agreed, they decided to set up a ceremony where they would present them with a shadow box that they had put together which included a finishers buckle, a photo of Joe from the starting line, and a beautifully written letter. They also asked me to present them with Joe’s bib at this point. Andy and I had discussed that I would speak at that point but giving them the bib was far more emotional than I expected it to be. I told Ellen, Tomas, and Joseph about what I had written on the back of his bib, but that’s all I could manage for words.”

A few hours after Cutler finished, LeBlanc carried his photo of Loureiro across the finish line, too, capping an emotional journey in 31:22:31. The finish was a special accomplishment, but also a somber reminder that he missed his friend.

“The finish line of Midstate was also different this year, compared to other years when I would get to hang out with Joe and celebrate one more finish,” LeBlanc said.

Course record-holder Corin Kwasnik, the 2022 champion, returned and broke his own record by 28 minutes. Kwasnik, 29, of Waterbury, Vt., blazed to victory in 18:26:02. Cutler earned another runner-up finish, this time in a personal-best 19:52:11. Thomas Standish, 18, of Acton, Mass., was third in 20:20:46, a 4-hour improvement from 2023 and a one-spot improvement in the standings. Lars Sauvola, 50, of Rindge, N.H., was fourth in 21:37:55, and Chase Junell, 28, of Bayville, N.Y., rounded out the top five in 21:46:58.

In the women’s race, 44-year-old Dalton McCurdy of Bozeman, Mont., delivered a dominant performance, winning in 22:57:23 while placing sixth overall. McCurdy recorded the third-fastest time by a woman in event history and was less than 14 minutes shy of the course record of 22:43:48 set by Kate Olson in 2021. The second-, third- and fourth-place women closed out the race together with 52-year-old Aneta Zeppettella of Centerville, Ohio, securing the runner-up spot in 29:05:03, 30-year-old Jessica Yao of New York, N.Y., placing third in 29:05:48, and 55-year-old Kaori Takai of New York, N.Y., following in 29:05:57. Jodie Davis, 32, of Boston, Mass., was fifth in 29:34:02.

Sixty-eight runners completed the 100-mile race within 33 hours. Kathleen Walker, 65, of Hyde Park, N.Y., was among them as she earned her fourth Midstate Massive 100-mile finish in 32:45:20.

Windram-Geddes Defends 50-Mile Title; Perry is Men’s Champ

A year ago, Morgan Windram-Geddes took the Midstate Massive 50-miler by storm, cruising through the soggy nighttime hours and finishing around sunrise as the outright winner in a women’s course-record time of 8:18:09. History nearly repeated itself in the 2024 edition. Windram-Geddes didn’t quite break her own course record, and she finished second overall this time, but she successfully defended her title in 8:28:41. Windram-Geddes now owns the two fastest women’s times in course history. In the men’s field, event newcomer Sean Perry, 28, of Shrewsbury, Mass., was victorious in 8:10:10. Perry was primed for a big performance coming off of a runner-up finish at the Wild Goose 50K in New Jersey three weeks earlier. Perry’s Midstate performance was the second-fastest men’s time in event history; only Ben Quatromoni’s 2020 performance (7:47:22) was faster.

While Windram-Geddes and Perry turned heads with their speedy performances, they weren’t the only runners with noteworthy accomplishments in the field. Women’s runner-up and fourth overall finisher Kate Olson added to her impressive Midstate resume by becoming one of the first runners to complete all three of the event’s distances. Olson, 38, of Studio City, Calif., was the women’s 100-mile winner at the inaugural edition in 2019. She returned and reclaimed her title with a course record-setting run (22:43:48) in 2021 before racing the 30-miler in 2022 and finishing second. Olson’s 50-mile time of 9:30:19 is the fourth-fastest women’s time in course history.

After completing the 100-mile race in 2022, 55-year-old Trent Koopman of Whitinsville, Mass., returned to race the 50-miler finished as the men’s runner-up and third overall in 9:06:54. Two-time 30-mile finisher Oliver Heynes, 43, of Arlington, Mass., rounded out the men’s 50-mile podium in 9:38:26. Brent Mazza, 28, of Billerica, Mass., and Kyle Saroka, 29, of Somerville, Mass., and Scott Roy, 32, of Belmont, Mass., followed in 9:42:33, 9:43:31 and 9:43:32, respectively.

Tanja Volm, 56, of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, rounded out the women’s podium in 10:46:00. Caitlin Burns, 35, of Oakham, Mass., and Shaina Perry, 27, of Shrewsbury, Mass., rounded out the top five in 11:13:17 and 11:22:22, respectively.

Seventy-two runners finished the 50-miler within 19 hours.

Drobek, Durnan Victorious in 30-Miler

Overcast skies greeted runners in the 30-mile race as they arrived at Howe State Park on Sunday morning. A mix of challenging trails, pavement, and occasional rain awaited them as they made their journey to Douglas State Forest. Sixty-two runners ultimately completed the race, and a close battle played out at the front of the field between the top two men. 

Midstate newcomers Craig Drobek, 43, of Bedford, N.H., and Steven Conte, 29, of Quincy, Mass., raced within a few minutes of each other for much of the day. Ultimately, Drobek had the edge down the stretch and earned the win in 5:14:09, followed by Conte in 5:18:55. Midstate regular David Stoffregren completed the podium in 5:36:50 for his second straight third-place finish and third consecutive 30-mile finish. Just 69 seconds separated fourth, fifth and sixth place as Stephen Bennett, 28, of New London, N.H., finished in 5:36:50, followed by 24-year-old Emmett Stottlemyer of Durango, Colo., in 5:38:41, and 29-year-old Chris Lowry of Union, Conn., in 5:39:26.

In the women’s field, Lillie Durnan raced with confidence following her fifth-place finish in 2023. This time, the 30-year-old from Somerville, Mass., surged to the top of the podium for her first ultramarathon victory in 5:44:36. Event newcomer and ultra veteran Emily Kisicki, 38, of Montpelier, Vt., was the runner-up in 5:58:25, followed by Amy Hanlon, 50, of Danbury, Conn., in 6:21:03. Less than two minutes after Hanlon finished, 30-year-old Alexandria Leveille of Londonderry, N.H., finished in 6:22:57. Marissa Petrozza, 28, of Amston, Conn., rounded out the top five in 6:27:16.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 1:23 p.m. Oct. 25, 2024, to incorporate additional details about the 100-mile race and the tribute to Joe Loureiro.