A week after the largest ultrarunning Halloween party in New England was held at the Ghost Train Trail race in New Hampshire, the biggest bash in the West took place in Arizona at the Javelina Jundred during the Oct. 25-27 weekend. Several New Englanders ran 100 miles or 100K at that event, while others traveled to the Canyonlands Ultra in Utah and the Rim to River 100 in West Virginia. In addition to those ultras outside the Bay State, we also look back to the previous weekend and catch up on the results from the 16th annual Bimbler’s Bluff 50K in Connecticut in this edition of the roundup.

Javelina Jundred

On a hot weekend in the desert, the running sizzled during the 22nd annual Javelina Jundred on Oct. 19-20 at McDowell Mountain Park in McDowell, Ariz. Runners had to complete five loops of the course to earn 100-mile finishes, overcoming rolling singletrack trails in the Sonoran Desert and enduring constant heat along the way. Of the 744 runners who started the race, 420 did so within the 30-hour time limit – and the fastest runners in the male and female categories had historic performances.

In the men’s field, 36-year-old David Roche of Boulder, Colo., followed up his record-setting run at the Leadville Trail 100 in his debut at the distance by notching the second-fastest performance ever at Javelina, winning in 12:45:05 and missing the course record by less than 2 minutes. Jeff Mongavero, 30, of Missoula, Mont., was a close second in 12:54:31 which was the third-best time in course history. Nonbinary athlete and former East Coast standout Riley Brady, 29, of Boulder, Colo., raced in the female category and won in 14:19:01 while placing seventh overall. Brady now owns two of the six fastest times on the female record board, following her 14:45:43 effort and second-place finish in 2022.

The top 173 runners finished in less than 24 hours; one New England resident was among that group. Alexander Tucker, 38, of Trumbull, Conn., finished 166th in 23:39:25.

An additional seven New Englanders earned 100-mile buckles in the Arizona heat. They were Sheila Boyle, 58, of Concord, Mass. (226th, 26:52:25); Brendan Morrison, 34, of Middleborough, Mass. (288th, 27:12:00); Kristin Lundy, 54, of Charlotte, Vt. (326th, 27:51:19); Aaron Sylvain, 44, of Tilton, N.H. (336th, 27:58:42); Peter Guza, 43, of North Andover, Mass. (357th, 28:17:01); Sue Dodge, 64, of Williston, Vt. (387th, 28:59:34); and Rob Gallagher, 43, of Scituate, Mass. (402nd, 29:30:44).

In addition to the 100-mile race, another 401 runners took on three loops of the course in a 100K race. Of those who started, 295 ultimately finished with the top two women placing 1-2 overall. Anne Flower, 34, of Colorado Springs, Colo., held off 29-year-old Jane Maus of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the win with Flower finishing in 8:23:13 and Maus in 8:32:49. Jordan Brett, 32, of New Westminster, B.C., was the top male finisher and third overall in 8:39:36. Aisha McAdams, 29, of Providence, R.I., was the top New Englander in the field. She finished sixth in the female field and 13th overall in 11:42:09 in her ultramarathon debut. Michael Sage, 33, of Charlestown, Mass., and Caitlin Sheasley, 37, of Concord, Mass., also had strong performances and tied for 18th overall in 12:25:09.

Other New Englanders among the 100K finishers were Jason Kaplan, 42, of Boston, Mass. (33rd, 13:24:30); Jed Magnussen, 31, of Salem, Mass. (37th, 13:31:41); Lauren Mendoza, 42, of Feeding Hills, Mass. (96th, 16:11:21); Kristin Garcia, 32, of Shrewsbury, Mass. (133rd, 17:18:49); Derek Macdonald, 46, of South Burlington, Vt. (147th, 17:40:10); Henry Heidemann, 57, of Hampden, Maine (169th, 18:16:19); Jennifer Sorrell, 61, of Essex Junction, Vt. (194th, 18:45:43); and Amy Gaboriault, 52, of South Burlington, Vt. (195th, 18:45:44).

Canyonlands Ultra

After a successful inaugural year as a 50-mile race, the Canyonlands Ultra returned with a second offering that included a pair of additional ultra options on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Moab, Utah.

Runners in the second edition of the 50-miler took on a mix of smooth doubletrack trails, technical doubletrack, and sandy washes as they ran on the Behind the Rock Trail near the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study area. Sixty-two runners completed the race within 18 hours, led by 44-year-old Grant Roper of Grand Junction, Colo., who set a new men’s course record of 7:36:28. Top female Kristen Little, 39, of Los Alamos, N.M., was sixth overall in 9:44:53. Two New Englanders also got in on the action. Ed Siegal, 65, of Dartmouth, Mass., ran the inaugural event in 2023 and returned to experience the course again. He finished 58th in 16:20:50. Additionally, 2022 Notchview 12-hour champion Michael Kelleher, 31, of Burlington, Vt., ran the 50-miler. He had a strong day, finishing 14th overall in 10:48:13. It was Kelleher’s first ultra since completing the difficult Mogollon Monster 100 in Arizona in 2023.

The event offered two new distances – a 100K race and a 50K. No New Englanders were among the 76 finishers of the 50K, but one earned a spot among the 38 finishers of the 100K. Erin Egan, 44, of Moodus, Conn., finished in 15:48:41, placing 27th out of 38 finishers within the 18-hour time limit. Jonathan Kuplack, 36, of Gallup, N.M., and Charlotte Cadow, 30, of Jackson, Wyo., were the top male and female finishers in 8:58:08 and 11:49:06, respectively.

Rim to River 100

A pair of New Englanders made their 100-mile debuts at the fifth annual Rim to River 100 on Oct. 26-27 in New River Gorge, W.V. Both Nicholas Cellini and Riley McGurn completed the distance for the first time, successfully navigating the winding singletrack trails and easy-running rail trails of the out-and-back course through New River Gorge National Park.

Cellini, 31, of Essex Junction, Vt., finished 70th out of 188 finishers in 27:27:54. McGurn, 26, of Plaistow, N.H., was 169th in 31:22:32.

Dominick Borreggine, 38, of Huntsville, Ala., led all runners in 18:28:18, while 44-year-old Whitney Richman of Midlothian, Va., was third overall and the first-place female in 20:16:26. Richman won the women’s race during the inaugural year in 2020 and was second in 2021.

Bimbler’s Bluff 50K

A year ago, Daniel Rogoz and Jessica Crandall came in second at the Bimbler’s Bluff 50K. This year, they stood atop the podium at the 16th edition of the event on Sunday, Oct. 20, in Guilford, Conn.

Both runners got to know the course and its mixture of technical singletrack trails and rolling forest roads quite well previously, and that experience paid off. For Rogoz, 32, of Hamden, Conn., he had to fend off two other veterans – including a prior champion and a prior runner-up – for the win in the form of Jeff Grant and Ian Connell. Grant, 43, of Woodbridge, Conn., is a five-time finisher of the race and was the runner-up in 2021. Connell, 28, of Guilford, Conn., was third in 2018 and won in both 2019 and 2021. Rogoz pulled away from both veterans and won in 4:41:33. Grant was second in 4:47:45, and Connell rounded out the men’s podium in 4:53:20.

In the women’s field, Crandall left no doubt. She entered with momentum from her victory at the Macedonia Trail Race 50K in September, and she seized control early at Bimbler’s Bluff. Ultimately, Crandall, 45, of Berlin, Conn., won in 5:54:18 – a 22-minute improvement from 2023. First-time ultrarunners Elsa Martin and Mikayla van de Veer rounded out the podium. Martin, 22, of West Simsbury, Conn., was second in 6:55:40, and van de Veer, 26, of Watertown, Conn., was third in 7:01:51.

Eighty-six runners finished the race within 11 hours.

*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.