The TARC Winter Classic was the place to be for ultrarunners in Massachusetts during the Dec. 6-8 weekend, but there was plenty of ultra action throughout New England with tough ultras and lots of climbing. The inaugural Tower Tag Challenge in Connecticut and the Krampuslauf 9-hour in New Hampshire take the spotlight in Part I of this week’s roundup.

Tower Tag Challenge

The 2024 ultrarunning season isn’t quite done, and neither is Lila Gaudrault. The 22-year-old from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, has crafted one of the most dominant years of ultrarunning in New England history with at least 15 women’s victories and at least six overall wins. The latest of those wins came at Steep Endurance’s inaugural Tower Tag Challenge 8-hour and 4-hour races on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Hamden, Conn.

The race took place at Sleeping Giant State Park, and it was essentially a hill repeat race. Runners took on an approximately 600-foot climb up the Tower Trail to the observation tower at the top, and then raced back down the carriage road to the start/finish. They completed the routine on the 3.3-mile round-trip course as many times as possible within the time limit.

Of the 45 participants, 20 completed 33 miles or more. Gaudrault completed 14 laps and amassed around 9,000 feet of climbing on her way to a victory and overall course record with 46.20 miles.

Gaudrault’s closest competitors were the top two men as Aaron Heath, 50, of Chappaqua, N.Y., and John Derosa, 24, of Shelton, Conn., both were one lap behind her with 42.90 miles apiece. Matthew Barnett, 38, of East Hampton, Conn.; Michael Lo Presti, 53, of Norfolk, Conn.; and Jameson Liro, 40; of Enfield, Conn., followed with 39.60 miles apiece.

Joining Gaudrault among the top female performers were 31-year-old Luna Hsieh of Hamden, Conn., with 36.30 miles, and Claire Gadrow, 55, of South Kingstown, R.I., and Mary Halasinski, 21, of Cheshire, Conn., with 33.00 miles apiece.

In addition to the 8-hour race, another 66 runners took part in the 4-hour race; the top four completed 23.10 miles apiece. Those runners were Sean Richard, 27, of West Haven, Conn.; Brian Stiewing, 51, of Shelton, Conn.; Coakley Jopling, 45, of Madison, Conn.; and Kyle Lorenzana, 27, of Wallingford, Conn.

Krampuslauf

The Krampus was at its most fearsome at the second annual Krampuslauf 9-hour ultra on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Lyme, N.H. Warm temperatures made the 2023 event a bit more comfortable, but this year saw the horned demon unleash cold temperatures and a course covered in snow as runners attempted to take on 10K loops on the Dartmouth Skiway.

Of the 45 runners who took on the time-based event, just four completed five full loops of the course for 31.06 miles apiece. Keith Nadeau, 35, of Fairhaven, Mass., earned the win in 8:02:00. Matt Ouellette, 36, of Newton, Mass., was second in 8:30:00. Top female Cara Baskin, 34, of East Thetford, Vt., was third overall in 8:37:00, and Matthew Walsh, 25, of Great Barrington, Mass., was fourth in 8:38:00.

Joining Baskin on the female podium were 24.85-mile finishers Amber Constant, 33, of White River Junction (8:25:00) and Madeline Hoey, 27, of Hartford, Vt. (8:34:00).

*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.