The Nov. 1-3 weekend was another busy one for New England ultrarunners, well beyond the massive TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival here in Massachusetts. In Part I of this week’s roundup we caught up on the results of New Englanders who raced outside of the Northeast. Here in Part II, we catch up on events from the region, beginning in Vermont at the largest RutFest ever, and then head to New Hampshire for the Hamsterwheel, before dropping into Connecticut for 8 Hours at the Farm. We then finish up in New York at the Fall Back into the Trails Series.

RutFest

A year ago, Catie Markesich threw down a strong 105-mile performance at the Richmond Ultra Trail Festival – RutFest – that netted her the women’s course record and a second place overall finish. She returned this year and outdid herself in a major way.

Markesich had a massive weekend at the fourth annual RutFest on Nov. 2-3 in Williston, Vt. Not only did the 39-year-old from Milton, Vt., break her own women’s course record, but she also earned the overall victory. Her 129-mile performance also established a new overall course record for most miles completed during the 36-hour event, surpassing the men’s record of 119 miles that Benjamin Lane set in 2023.

Markesich’s dominant performance was even more notable given the considerable growth RutFest has experienced. It has more than doubled in size in just four short years, expanding from 84 runners in 2021 to 179 this year.

Eleven more runners joined Markesich in completing triple-digit mileage; they all finished 101 miles apiece. The 101-mile finishers were Owen Rachampbell, 32, of East Montpelier, Vt.; Kenny Komala, 46, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Kaitlin Rhodes, 34, of Middle Grove, N.Y.; Benjamin Feinson, 32, of Williston, Vt.; Peter Lawson, 61, of Burlington, Vt.; Xavier Perreault, 34, of St Hippolyte, Quebec; Fernando Salcido, 52, of Winchester, Mass.; Patrick Kistner, 32, of Lisbon, Maine; Brennen Thompson, 27, of Tampa, Fla.; Jack Finn, 23, of Columbus, Ohio; and Amber Constant, 33, of White River Junction, Vt.

Another 33 runners completed at least 50 miles on the course that consisted of two 3- to 4-mile long trail loops at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center.

The Hamsterwheel

The Hamsterwheel celebrated a decade of dumbness with its 10th edition on Nov. 2-3 at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in New Boston, N.H. The self-proclaimed “Dumbest Race in New Hampshire” once again invited runners to take on 4-mile round-trip out-and-backs on the New Boston Rail Trail for 30-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour durations.

In the 30-hour race, defending champion Michael Lo Presti returned and delivered another dynamite performance. Lo Presti, of Norfolk, Conn., followed up his 124-mile effort in 2023 by winning this year’s race with 32 laps and 128 miles in 29:20:44. Andy Daggett of Holden, Mass., followed a lap behind with 124 miles in 29:59:06, and Timothy Scott of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was third with 30 laps and 120 miles in 28:09:08.

Jessica Racusin of Middlebury, Vt., was first in the women’s field with 28 laps and 112 miles in 29:01:54, followed by Jennifer Whynot of Windham, Maine, with 26 laps and 104 miles in 28:23:19, and Kimberly Lord of South Hero, Vt., with 25 laps and 100 miles in 23:35:44.

Of the 116 runners in the 30-hour race, 60 completed at least 16 laps for 64 miles, and the top 35 completed at least 25 laps and 100 miles. Ten of those runners achieved 100 miles in less than 24 hours. In addition to the podium finishers, other runners who went beyond 100 miles or had sub-24-hour 100-mile performances were Cade Remsburg of Philadelphia, Pa. (104 miles, 21:47:44); Justin Fitzgerald of Groveland, Mass. (104 miles, 27:55:14), and Ryan Mckeever of South Hero, Vt. (100 miles, 23:35:44).

Thirty-five runners took part in the 24-Hour race. Of that group, 24 completed at least 13 laps for 52 miles while the top 12 completed at least 16 laps for 64 miles and the top five ran 100 miles or more. Alexander Burke of Newton, Mass., led all runners with 28 laps for 112 miles in 23:43:06. Keith Nadeau of Fairhaven, Mass. was second with 27 laps for 108 miles in 22:52:04. Nick Long of Westbrook, Maine, rounded out the men’s podium and placed sixth overall with 21 laps and 84 miles in 23:30:09. The women’s podium finishers all completed 100 miles, led by Elsa Cipriani of Deery, N.H., who finished her 25 laps in 22:08:18. Emily Lowrey and Lesley Rossi, both New Boston locals, finished together in 23:34:34 for second and third.

In the 12-Hour race, several top performers from the 2023 6-hour race were among the standouts. In the men’s field, 2023 6-hour champion Bill Elliott of Holden, Mass., finished second with 16 laps and 64 miles in 11:22:25. Only Erik Boyko was better. Boyko, of Woodside, N.Y., completed 16 laps in 10:50:21 to earn the top spot. Carey Patrick Wertz of Waterville, Maine, also finished 16 laps, but did so in 11:27:15 and finished third. Ansel Amanna of Lawrence, Mass., was fourth with 15 laps and 60 miles in 11:39:14. Meanwhile, Hamsterwheel newcomer Elizah Markwood of South Strafford, Vt., led the women’s field with 15 laps for 56 miles in 11:06:31. She was joined on the podium by two of the top three women in the 2023 6-hour race. Margreta Doerfler of Hooksett, N.H., won the 6-hour race last year, and she was the 12-hour runner-up this time with 13 laps for 52 miles in 9:56:42. Meanwhile, 2023 6-hour third-place female Susan Kent of Tiverton, R.I., was the 12-hour runner up with 13 laps in 11:33:41.

Of the 57 runners who took part in the 12-hour race, 49 completed at least seven laps for 28 miles, while 10 runners completed at least 13 laps for 52 miles.

In the 6-hour race, Aaron Stevens made Hamsterwheel history. Stevens, of Salem, N.H., became the first runner to complete 12 laps in the 6-hour race, earning him a victory and a course record with 48 miles in 5:54:18 of running. Thomas O’Shea of Wilmington, Mass., was second with 10 laps and 40 miles in 5:55:01, while Byron Lane of Stony Brook, N.Y., was third with nine laps and 36 miles in 5:25:31. Charlotte Rutledge of East Thetford, Vt., was first in the women’s field with eight laps and 32 miles in 5:25:56, followed by Ashley Benes of North Sandwich, N.H., and Lisa Gunn of Colchester, Vt., with seven laps and 28 miles apiece, Benes in 5:27:10 and Gunn in 5:37:49. Thirty runners took part in the 6-hour race, and 13 of them completed at least seven laps and 28 miles.

8 Hours at the Farm

New champions were crowned at the fourth annual 8 Hours at the Farm Ultra on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Brookfield, Conn., where runners once again took on a 4.2-mile loop course on rolling singletrack and farm trails through the Gurski Farm and Williams Park.

Of the 43 runners in the 8-hour race, 15 surpassed the marathon distance and completed at least 29.4 miles. Kevin Lemanquais, 51, of New Hartford, Conn., led all runners with 37.8 miles in 7:50:41 of running. Samuel Breeden, 26, of Westport, Conn., was second with 33.6 miles in 6:41:53. Top female and third overall finisher Olivia Drew, 29, of Hackensack, N.J., also logged 33.6 miles, though in 7:16:41.

Twelve runners finished 29.4 miles, including men’s third-place finisher Steven Apgar, 29, of Fairfield, Conn. (4:57:15), and second- and third-place women Jennifer Shay, 40, of Trumbull, Conn. (7:04:25) and Kristina Korin, 36, of Bethel, Conn. (7:18:50).

An additional 30 runners raced a 4-hour event, with 29-year-old Joseph Edelstein of Shelton, Conn., and 37-year-old William Drew of Newtown, Conn., leading the way with 25.2 miles apiece.

Fall Back Into the Trails

A pair of New Englanders battled right down to the final strides before a winner was determined at the eighth annual Fall Back Into the Trails Series ultras on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Lagrangeville, N.Y.

Andrew Warner and Rafael Russi-Catalan were the front-runners in the event’s 50K race, which consisted of 10 laps around a 5K loop course, with around 1,000 feet of climbing per loop. Seventeen runners finished the race within 10 hours, and the victor wasn’t decided until the final seconds as Warner and Russi-Catalan dashed to the finish line. Warner, 30, of New Haven, Conn., earned the victory in 5:29:49. Russi-Catalan, 37, of Housatonic, Mass., followed eight seconds behind in 5:29:57.

Gerald Valenti, 45, of Wilton, Conn., was the final New Englander to finish, placing 12th out of 17 in 7:27:40. Jill Akus, 45, of Brewster, N.Y., was the first female finisher in 6:25:59.

The event also had a 100K race, requiring runners to complete 20 loops and around 10,000 feet of climbing. No New Englanders were among the six finishers of that race, which was won by 19-year-old Sam Van Auken of Medusa, N.Y., in 15:22:11.

*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.