It was a head-spinning Nov. 22-24 weekend at the historic JFK 50, and a New Englander was at the heart of it all. Vermont’s David Sinclair smashed the course record by a large margin, while fellow Vermonter Britta Clark notched a top-five finish in the women’s field. Beyond and its 1,100-plus field of runners, New Englanders took to the trails at the CT Trailmixers’ Fall Fling 400 in nearby Connecticut, and a few others logged big miles in Arizona at the Fat Ox. Read on for more in this pre-Thanksgiving appetizer edition of the roundup.

JFK 50

As one of the most historic ultramarathons in the United States, the JFK 50 oozes history. Still, the 62nd annual point-to-point 50-mile race has never seen a performance like the one turned in by Vermont resident David Sinclair on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Boonsboro, Md. The 32-year-old South Burlington resident was unfazed by the course and its combination of roads, technical Appalachian Trail, and easy-running towpath and he stood out among the crowd of more than 1,100 runners in a way that nobody ever has in the history of the event.

After a close battle with 29-year-old Eli Hemming of Kremmling, Colo., for much of the day, Sinclair pulled away while Hemming faded hard. Sinclair finished up a dominant victory in a blistering 5:08:26, smashing Hayden Hawks’ previous course record by more than 10 minutes. It was just the latest eye-popping performance for Sinclair, who crushed the course record at the Speedgoat 50K in Utah this summer. It was at least the 11th ultramarathon victory for Sinclair since his course record-setting run at the 2018 TARC Fells Winter Ultra 40-miler.

Joining Sinclair on the men’s podium were 34-year-old Ryan Sullivan of Grand Junction, Colo., in 5:27:40, and Matt Seidel, 28, of Oakland, Calif., in 5:29:34. Tracen Knopp, 26, of Palmer, Alaska, was fourth in 5:31:15 and Hemming faded to fifth in 5:33:09.

Sinclair wasn’t the lone New Englander to have a massive day at the JFK 50. The women’s record board was rewritten with the top two women – Rachel Drake and Mary Denholm – both breaking the previous course record. Drake, 33, of Salt Lake City, Utah, won in 5:57:32 while placing 10th overall, and Denholm 37, of Erie, Colo., was second in 6:04:15. Valerie Arsenault, 30, of Quebec, Canada, finished third in 6:15:59, followed by 30-year-old Robyn Lesh of Durango, Colo., in 6:21:55. Rounding out the women’s top five was Vermont standout Britta Clark. Clark, 30, of Brandon, finished fifth in 6:44:25.

Sinclair and Clark led a large crowd of New Englanders who were among the 1,120 finishers (1,237 starters) within the 13-hour time limit. David Cowles, 29, of Bolton, Conn., joined them among the top performers by placing 29th overall in 6:40:49. Other top finishers from the region included Douglas Hackenyos, 37, of Canton, Conn. (103rd, 7:53:15); Jared Millay, 46, of Amherst, Mass. (105th, 7:54:30); Jason Kaplan, 42, of Boston, Mass. (115th, 7:58:37); Nicholas L’Amoreaux, 27, of Stamford, Conn. (121st, 8:02:04); Brad Reed, 41, of Pelham, Mass. (146th, 8:18:15); Marckenzie Boutin, 41, of Providence, R.I. (148th, 8:20:22); Keith Bourassa, 41, of Keene, N.H. (152nd, 8:21:59); Craig Drobek, 43, of Bedford, N.H. (160th 8:25:46); Adam Goldstein, 51, of Burlington, Vt. (165th, 8:28:36); David Foss, 55, of Providence, R.I. (175th, 8:33:28); Aidan Gebo, 21, of Vergennes, Vt. (208th, 8:43:36); Ellen Binder, 48, of North Kingstown, R.I. (268th, 9:05:57); Connie Lutkevich, 56, of Belgrade, Maine (269th, 9:06:32); Edward Wilson, 31, of West Hartford, Conn. (271st, 9:06:56); and Will Manuel, 51, of Greenwich, Conn. (273rd, 9:07:40).

Additional New Englanders who completed the race were Austin Davis, 32, of Burlington, Vt. (333rd, 9:22:03); Joe Nardozza, 22, of Chester, N.H. (339th, 9:24:21); Travis Fafard, 37, of Westmoreland, N.H. (346th, 9:27:07); Caitlin Martin, 36, of Norwalk, Conn. (397th, 9:40:32); Jeffrey Ray, 41, of New London, N.H. (398th, 9:40:45); Sophia Ahearn, 20, of Hyde Park, Mass. (404th, 9:42:15); Nicholas Velonis, 33, of Salem, Mass. (439th, 9:49:13); Thomas O’Shea, 50, of Wilmington, Mass. (472nd, 9:54:57); Jack Stanton, 26, of Stowe, Vt. (494th, 9:59:52); Kris Sortwell, 43, of Brooklyn, Conn. (512th, 10:03:51); Robert Moore, 39, of Greenwich, Conn. (517th, 10:06:40); Igor Vishnepolskiy, 39, of Warwick, R.I. (576th, 10:26:17); Jordan Kostiuk, 34, of Providence, R.I. (577th, 10:26:18); Bryce Sady, 48, of Concord, Mass. (591st, 10:29:56); Jack Farley, 23, of West Newton, Mass. (598th, 10:32:14); John Torrone, 48, of Westfield, Mass. (638th, 10:41:03); Julie Corey, 46, of Holyoke, Mass. (651st, 10:44:32); James Callaway, 62, of Shelburne Falls, Mass. (674th, 10:51:23); Alexander Keegan, 30, of Northborough, Mass. (710th, 11:00:24); Pamela Harght, 41, of Marshfield, Mass. (716th, 11:01:04); Andrew Cabral, 22, of Seekonk, Mass. (733rd, 11:05:28); Frank Wang, 62, of Lexington, Mass. (756th, 11:10:48); Robert Breckenridge, 53, of Keene, N.H. (822nd, 11:30:31); John Casten, 32, of Southbury, Conn. (835th, 11:36:30); Katie Brown, 49, of Vineyard Haven, Mass. (947th, 12:06:46); Brian Patrick Mulligan, 64, of Providence, R.I. (982nd, 12:15:18); Karyn Rimas, 53, of Somersworth, N.H. (1,038th, 12:34:15); Mary Patterson, 41, of Enfield, N.H. (1,049th, 12:35:49); Lucas Brotzman, 41, of Bedford, N.H. (1,067th, 12:41:27); and Ben Learn, 25, of Concord, N.H. (1,080th, 12:45:20).

CT Trailmixers Fall Fling 400

The CT Trailmixers closed out their trail-racing season by playing host to the eighth annual Fall Fling 400 on Saturday, Nov. 23, at YMCA Camp Sloper in Southington, Conn. A crowd of 66 runners took on the 2-mile loop course on rolling, singletrack trails and dirt roads through the forest on a mix of technical and easy-running terrain with the goal of completing as many loops as possible within the 400-minute time limit.

Of the 66 runners who took part, 13 completed at least 14 laps for 28 miles, and the top nine ran 30 miles or more. Marc Lennon, 39, of Southington, Conn., led all runners with 18 laps and 36 miles in 6:30:30, leaving just 9 1/2 minutes on the clock. Top female Kate Bonanno, 22, of Ellington, Conn., was second overall with 17 laps and 34 miles in 6:32:00. The second- and third-place men matched her mileage with Justin Curreri, 39, of Glastonbury, Conn., completing the distance in 6:37:25 and Devin Pray, 48, of West Hartford, Conn., dashing across the finish line with seconds to spare in 6:39:47. Both Robert Eikel, 48, of West Hartford, Conn., and Mike Wininger, 43, of Windsor, Conn., finished 16 laps for 32 miles apiece.

Bonanno was joined on the women’s podium by 53-year-old Angela Heidgert of Southington, Conn., and Kristen Mellitt, 52, of Cheshire, Conn. Heidgert completed 14 laps for 28 miles in 6:23:47, and Mellitt logged 13 laps and 26 miles in 6:08:00.

Fat Ox

New England made its presence felt out West at the fifth edition of the Fat Ox on Nov. 22-24 in Buckeye, Ariz. Two current residents of the region and one former put up big miles at the fixed-time event at Estrella Mountain Regional Park where runners competed on a 0.988178-mile loop course for 48 hours, 24 hours, 12 hours, 6 hours, or 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K distances.

No New Englanders were among the field for the the 6-hour, 12-hour, 48-hour, 50K, 50-mile, or 100K races, but the region was represented at 100 miles and 24 hours.

In the open 24-hour race, a former New England resident earned the victory. Former Massachusetts and Vermont resident John Fegyveresi, 48, now living in Flagstaff, Ariz., led the field of 20 runners with 108.7 miles.

In addition to the standard 24-hour race, a second 24-hour event was held that served as the USATF 24-Hour Championship. Philip Sebastiani, 31, of Canyon, Texas, was the top overall performer with 142.7 miles, followed by runner-up and top female Janelle Stark, 37, of Enumclaw, Wash., with 137.57 miles. One New Englander was among the 33 runners in that event. Scott Perrapato, 68, of South Burlington, Vt., completed 40.515 miles. It was the first ultra of the year for Perrapato, who has been running ultras for more than 15 years. He completed 62.243 miles at the 2023 Fat Ox USATF 24-Hour.

Finally, another 18 runners finished the 100-mile race within its 48-hour time limit, including 73-year-old Ed Peters of Norwalk, Conn., who completed the distance in 39:48:49. Felix Predescu, 52, of Glendale, Ariz., and Jenny Weaver, 41, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., were the top men and women in 22:36:33 and 28:47:05, respectively.

*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.