Hidden by the early-morning darkness, critters could be heard rustling around the soccer fields behind the Paul F. Doyon Memorial School in the wee hours of Saturday, Nov. 2, in Ipswich, Mass. The critters – Trail Animals, actually – were making their final preparations before the start of the Trail Animals Running Club’s (TARC) Stone Cat Trail Festival.

Minutes later, the fields became aglow with the beams of headlamps as the runners spread out along the starting line, prepared to begin their 100K and 50-mile ultramarathons. Race Director Patrick Caron counted down from 10 to one, and the runners headed on their way into the woods of neighboring Willowdale State Forest.

The same process played out three more times for the event’s marathon, half marathon and 10K sub-ultra races, though with the absence of headlamps for the latter two distances.

It was the largest Stone Cat in its 23-year history, though just the second as a Trail Festival under TARC leadership. The original Stone Cat offered the 50-mile and marathon distances. TARC introduced the 100K, half marathon and 10K distances last year. In total, 464 runners took part in the various distances at this year’s event, along with another 20 or so who did battle in the inaugural Donut Mile race that required runners to chow down on cider donuts and complete loops around the soccer field.

A soggy, leaf-covered course is somewhat of a tradition at Stone Cat. There were plenty of leaves, but the extended drought meant runners were treated to a dry course on a comfortable, breezy day as they took on multiple trips through the 12.5-mile loop through Willowdale, amassing around 1,100 feet of climbing per loop before returning to the start/finish. Runners capitalized on the ideal conditions with many turning in fast times; six course records were set among the various distances.

The 100K race is where the first course record fell. Runners had to complete five loops through Willowdale. Of the 20 runners who started the 100K race, eight ultimately finished. Zack Beavin led the race from start to finish and the 30-year-old from Brighton, Mass., won in 10:16:41. His time was both a new men’s course record and an overall course record, breaking Mat Ridley’s men’s record of 12:07:45 from 2023 and Lila Gaudrault’s overall course record of 10:49:42. Adam Cook gradually climbed from fourth to second and finished as the runner-up in 12:32:29. Jake Chambers, 33, of Portland, Maine, rounded out the men’s podium in 13:02:46. Emma Dixon was the lone female finisher of the 100K. She placed fifth overall in 13:29:43, adding another big performance in a year where she has raced constantly and performed consistently well.

An additional 52 runners took part in the 50-mile race. Thirty-five of them ultimately finished four loops within the time limit. Liv Colombo was among the notable performances as the 23-year-old from Kingston, Mass., set a nonbinary division course record in 13:53:10 just a week after a strong showing at the Womp Romp 50K. In the men’s field, 41-year-old Anthony Johnson of North Reading, Mass., led the race wire-to-wire and earned the victory in 8:27:16. Stone Cat regular George Aponte Clarke, 56, of Portland, Maine, had another smart, savvy race and climbed all the way to second in 8:52:50. Luc Durand, 24, of Marblehead, Mass., rounded out the men’s podium and finished fourth overall in 9:42:33. Israel Agront, 30, of Medford, Mass., was fourth in 10:23:26, followed by Patrick Hogan, 45, of Marblehead, Mass., in 10:49:38.

In the female field, 42-year-old Kara Olivito of Exeter, N.H., led from start to finish and won in 9:11:52 while placing third overall. It was her first time running Stone Cat since 2012 when she placed eighth in the 50-miler. Olivito was followed by Gnarls Barclay, 49, of Portland, Maine, in 10:23:26. Barclay last raced Stone Cat in 2007 when she won the marathon. Rachel Peck, 31, of South Portland, Maine, completed the podium in 10:50:56. Rounding out the top five were Kat Snyder, 26, of Bar Harbor, Maine (11:40:58) and Alexandra Brunet, 31, of Colchester, Vt. (12:11:28).

Just like the ultra distances, the marathon began in darkness. Runners completed two loops around the Doyon School soccer fields before heading into Willowdale for two loops of the main course. By the time the sun rose, the runners had spread out and the front of the field settled into its final alignment. There was no shifting of places among the top five finishers. Wouter Zwart, 34, of South Pomfret, Vt., led the race for its duration and won comfortably in 3:26:46. David Desnoyers, 36, of Nantucket, Mass., held steady in second and finished there in 3:44:18. Will Swenson strode a few minutes back throughout the race and the 52-year-old from Andover, Mass., placed third in 3:50:27. First-place female Krystyna Oszkinis, 32, of Norwich, Vt., followed in fourth overall in 3:59:55, while 33-year-old Zach Sanders of Chestnut Hill, Mass., finished fifth in 4:02:22. There was slight jostling among the rest of the field, and the most drama came in the battle for second and third in the women’s field. Breanna Glasgow and Joyce Zhou were never far apart throughout the race, and they ultimately finished less than a minute apart to complete the women’s podium. Glasgow, 37, of Chelmsford, Mass., was the women’s runner-up in 4:13:41 while Zhou, 29, of Boston, Mass., was third in 4:14:22.

Of the 102 runners who started the marathon, 89 ultimately finished within 10 hours.

The final sub-ultra distances – the half marathon and 10K – saw multiple course records fall.

In the half marathon, both the male and nonbinary course records were toppled, with top three men all dipping below the previous course standard of 1:38:36 and four of the five nonbinary athletes surpassing the previous division record.

In the men’s race, Sean Macdonald, Natty Montoya and Carter Tracy all opened space on the remainder of the field quickly, but Macdonald had another gear. Macdonald, 27, of Boston, Mass., pulled away for the win in 1:32:12, while Montoya, 36, of Manchester, Mass., and Tracy, 23, of Ipswich, Mass., followed four minutes back in 1:36:16 and 1:36:26, respectively. Harrison Roberts, 24, of Waltham, Mass., was fourth in 1:39:49, and 33-year-old Kai Guenther of Boston, Mass., rounded out the top five in 1:44:40.

The nonbinary field was also strong, with the top three runners all placing in the overall top 25 among the 179 finishers. The top two were separated by less than one second as 28-year-old Nola Sundquist of Cambridge, Mass., earned the win while placing seventh overall in 1:46:34, and 27-year-old June Henry of Cambridge, Mass., followed in 1:46:34. Justin Martino-Harms, 40, of Roslindale, Mass., completed the podium in 1:57:26 while finishing 22nd overall.

In the female field, 29-year-old Jessica Finocchiaro of Arlington, Mass., earned the victory in 1:53:44. Finocchiaro was the top female 50-mile finisher in 2023. Runner-up Michelle Boland, 37, of Burlington, Mass., followed in 2:00:36. Boland was the top female at the 2023 TARC Fall Classic 50K and recently earned a top-10 finish at the Swiss Alps 100K. Sarah Hill, 27, of Watertown, Mass., was third in 2:01:05, followed closely by Ariela Schear, 28, of Cambridge, Mass., in 2:01:08, and Elin Anderson, 43, of North Andover, Mass., in 2:01:23.

Ninety-eight runners completed the 10K race, and both the men’s and women’s course records were shattered as David Melly and Mistaya Smith threw down speedy performances. Melly chopped 10 minutes off the men’s record as the 31-year-old won by more than 6 minutes in 42:07. Jason Kaplan, 42, of Boston, Mass., was second in 48:30, followed by 43-year-old Martin Bures of Medford, Mass., in 49:38. Meanwhile, Smith broke the women’s record by 5 minutes as she finished in 53:37. Hillary Cowman, 36, of Hamilton, Mass., was second in 1:00:25, and Sarah Chapin, 51, of Providence, R.I., finished third in 1:02:16.