WINCHESTER, Mass. – Months of drought have ravaged Massachusetts from the Berkshires to the bay. Hundreds of wildfires have scorched fields and forests, and many bodies of water have shrunk or disappeared in the dry conditions. If there is a positive to be found in the dearth of rain, it may be that runners at the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra benefitted from near-perfect trail conditions.

Just before 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, a crowd of 108 runners gathered outside the historic barn at Wright-Locke Farm and listened to the final pre-race instructions from Race Director Laura Ricci. A long day of running awaited – up to six hours if they wanted. Ricci had marked a 3.5-mile loop course that began and ended on the grassy and gravel trails of Wright-Locke Farm, with the meat of it coming on the singletrack trails of neighboring Whipple Hill. That’s where the fun stuff awaited: oodles of rocks and roots; countless twists and turns; plenty of punchy climbs adding up to 728 feet of climbing per loop.

Usually, much of the TARCkey Trot course is buried under leaves, with patches of mud and places with ankle-deep pooled, murky water. Thanks to the drought, the course was bone-dry – so much so that the water was completely gone from the pond that runners typically cross on foot bridges. In fact, it has been so dry that the leaves mostly crumbled into dust, leaving the trails clear and the rocks and roots visible.

It seemed the drought dialed up one of the best days for running in TARCkey Trot history. Several runners capitalized on the conditions by ripping through the loop numerous times, piling up the miles.

Nobody put on a bigger show than Wes Traub and Mat Ridley. The duo went toe-to-toe for several hours, rarely separated by more than 2 minutes, and often just seconds apart. Ridley, 34, of Allston, Mass., entered as the defending champion. He was the lone runner to complete 10 loops and 35.0 miles in 2023, doing so in 5:39:54. He went out hard in his title defense, and two runners – Traub and James Ehrets – dared to go with him. Ridley was the first runner through the first loop in 31:57. Traub followed one second behind with Ehrets a few strides behind. Ridley and Traub closed out the second loop side by side in 1:06:17; Ehrets was 52 seconds back and would continue to fade. For the next few hours, Ridley raced through the loop and Traub followed close behind, never quite able to reel him in. Ridley’s largest lead came at the end of the seventh loop when he held a 6-minute lead after 24.5 miles. A loop later, Traub had closed to within 4 1/2 minutes. During the ninth loop, Ridley hit the wall while Traub surged into the lead.

Ridley’s ninth loop took 53:30, and he reached his stopping point with 31.5 miles in 5:26:58. It was good enough for second place. Traub’s ninth loop had taken 41:04, putting him through 31.5 miles in 5:18:59. There was time to try to complete one more loop, so Traub went for it. The 32-year-old from Brookline, Mass., dropped a 37:58 final loop and raced across the finish line with barely 3 minutes to spare. His winning tally was 35.0 miles in 5:56:57.

For Traub, the performance earned him a first ultramarathon win. He finished 21st in his ultra debut in 2022 at the TARC Fells Winter Ultra 32-miler. His next ultras came recently, with a 20th-place finish at the Twisted Branch 100K in August, followed by a 68th-place finish at the Grindstone 100-miler in September.

A little ways back of Traub and Ridley, 33-year-old Josh Robison of Hudson, N.H., and 28-year-old Brandon Dorr-Swendig spent most of the day running either together or within just a few minutes of one another. They were in the top 10 for the entire day, and gradually climbed to third- and fourth-place in the male field (fourth and fifth overall). Both completed nine laps and 31.5 miles, Robison in 5:53:10 and Dorr-Swendig in 5:54:39. Jason Linker, 29, of Arlington, Mass., was the final nine-lap finisher, doing so in 5:58:06.

Another seven men completed eight laps and 28.0 miles, surpassing the marathon distance. They were Billy Martin, 29, of West Islip, N.Y. (5:16:14); Dan Whitmoyre, 39, of Sunapee, N.H. (5:36:20); Anthony Tieuli, 51, of Northbridge, Mass. (5:41:10); Cameron Douglas, 28, of Cambridge, Mass. (5:42:00); Ehrets, 28, of Cambridge, Mass. (5:49:24);  Dave Dilorenzo, 52, of Arlington, Mass. (5:52:53); and Joshua Grayum, 44, of Merrimack, N.H. (5:53:12).

While Traub and Ridley were dueling for the victory in the male field, close behind them Annika Rollock was busy crafting a masterpiece of a performance at the front of the female field. 

Rollock, 28, made her ultrarunning debut in 2022 with a fourth-place finish in the female field at the Pikes Peak 50K. She moved to Cambridge, Mass., from Boulder, Colo., in 2023, and began making her mark in New England with a third-place overall finish at the Jigger Johnson 50-miler before closing out 2023 with five loops and 17.5 miles in 3:01:59 of running at the TARCkey Trot. Rollock returned to Colorado to race in September and earned a fourth-place finish at the Run Rabbit Run 50-miler. Since then, she maintained her fitness and returned to the TARCkey Trot ready to run for all six hours.

Rollock led the female field from start to finish, and she led all but two of the men for most of the day, as well. She was in sixth place overall after her first trip through the course. She passed two runners during her second loop and one more during her third to move into third place overall. She continued to distance herself from the remainder of the female field with each passing loop. Though Traub and Ridley inched away from her and at one point were around 20 minutes ahead, her consistent pacing helped her reel Ridley back in during the final two loops – her eighth loop was the fastest of any runner in the field – though she didn’t quite catch him.

Rollock ultimately finished third overall and first in the female field with nine laps and 31.5 miles in 5:32:56. She also set a new female course record with her performance. Prior to 2022, the TARCkey Trot used a 3.1-mile loop course, and the previous female record was 31.0 miles which was set by Alexandra Brinkert at the inaugural event in 2016 and then matched by Bess Ritter and Bridget Ferrin-Smith in 2017, Justine Cohen in 2019 and Sophia Farnsworth in 2021.

While Rollock led the female field from wire to wire, 29-year-old Julia Fuller held down second place for the duration. Fuller, of Cambridge, Mass., spent her entire day in the overall top 12 and ultimately finished 11th overall and second in the female field with eight loops and 28.0 miles in 5:47:24. A close race for third between Emma Dixon and Gwenyth Taradash came down the final loop. Dixon, 29, of Dorchester, Mass., gradually reeled in Taradash during the final three loops and caught her during the final trop through the course as she closed out eight loops and 28.0 miles in 5:54:28. Taradash, 24, of Dartmouth, Mass., finished two minutes later with the same mileage and lap tally in 5:56:35. Xiali He, 49, of Weston, Mass., was fifth with seven loops and 24.5 miles in 5:13:19. Miki Sawada, 37, of Brighton, Mass., was sixth with 24.5 miles in 5:19:43.

In the nonbinary category, five minutes separated the top two runners who both completed six loops and 21.0 miles. Allison Fischer, 32, of Berwick, Maine, covered the distance in 5:43:37, followed by Heather Mason, 45, of Schenectady, N.Y., in 5:48:32.

The top 16 overall runners completed at least eight laps for ultramarathon mileage; the top six finished nine or more laps for at least 31.5 miles and 50K distance.

The TARCkey Trot produced a wide range of highlights, from fast times among the front-runners to the efforts of first-time trail-runners and families running together. In addition to several runners making the debut appearances at TARC events or tackling a trail race for the first time, the father-daughter team of Robert Waligory, 64, and Emma Waligory, 27, both of Boxborough, Mass., built upon the 45-mile run they shared in October at the Ghost Train Trail Race by completing five laps and 17.5 miles together at the TARCkey Trot. Another familiar family – the Houlahans of Newburyport, Mass. – teamed up for big miles at the TARCkey Trot. Mom Jenny, 41, and daughter Sophie, 10, completed four laps and 14.0 miles together while dad Nick, 45, and daughter Lucy, 8, logged three laps and 10.5 miles together. It was a reprisal of their family effort in the 10-mile race at the TARC Summer Classic in August.

Up Next in the TARC Trail Series: Only one race remains in the 2024 TARC Trail Series. The TARC Winter Classic – formerly known as the Fells Winter Ultra – will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham. Previously a 40-mile and 32-mile ultra-only event, the Winter Classic changed its format to offer both ultra and sub-ultra distances while still using the same 8-mile Skyline Trail loop course. For the second year in a row the event will offer 32-mile and 8-mile races. The entry fee for both distances was $32; both races are sold out.