The 2025 ultrarunning season is underway, and the New Englanders are here for it! That much was certain during the January 10-12 weekend as runners from the region snagged several podium finishes even though just a handful of early-season ultras were held. The biggest show was at Bandera in Texas, which relocated to a new venue but still saw Stephen Bennett of Swampscott, Mass., and Lila Gaudrault of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, deliver third-place finishes while being joined in the men’s and women’s top 10 by a few more New Englanders. Additionally, William Clifford of Chatham, Mass., earned a podium finish in his ultra debut for 50 miles at the Frozen: H3 ultras in South Carolina. Read all about it in this edition of the roundup.

Bandera Ultras

A last-minute change of plans forced the Bandera Ultras to abandon their traditional home at the Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera, Texas, and move 100 miles away to Camp Eagle in Rocksprings, Texas, for this year’s event on Dec. 11-12. Heavy rains soaked the trails of Bandera, so runners scrambled to adjust their plans by taking on a course with a similar 31.1-mile loop but even more technical terrain for 100K and 50K ultras.

Several New Englanders took part in the event and were unfazed by the changes. Instead, they raced hard and capitalized by crashing the men’s and women’s 100K podiums while several others finished in the top 10. Of the 361 runners who started the race, 233 finished within the 25-hour cutoff. Notably, all 10 of the New Englanders who finished placed among the top 60.

In the men’s race, a duo from Swampscott, Mass. – 35-year-old Stephen Bennett and 38-year-old Colin Smith – made their presence felt all day as they ran among the frontrunners. While 33-year-old Dany Racine of Victoriaville, Quebec, pulled away early and won comfortably in 10:20:26, the race for the final spots on the podium was close with Bennett and Smith in the hunt alongside Nick Petterson, 31, of Leander, Texas, and Michael Martinez, 39, of Colorado Springs, Colo. Ultimately, less than 40 minutes separated the four men at the finish, with Petterson securing the runner-up spot in 11:21:51 and Bennett fending off Martinez in a tight race for third with Bennett finishing in 11:48:57 and Martinez less than 4 minutes later in 11:52:39. Smith rounded out the men’s top five in 11:58:01.

Bennett wasn’t the only New Englander to earn a podium finish. In the women’s race, 22-year-old Lila Gaudrault made a big impact in her first ultra outside of the Northeast following a dominant 2024 racing season. She raced among the women’s top five for the duration, gained ground when the lead runner dropped, and ultimately fought her way to a third-place finish (14th overall). Aimee Jacobs, 35, of San Antonio, Texas, finished first in the women’s race (third overall) in 11:33:10, followed by 39-year-old Shelley Walushka of Sudbury, Ontario, in 12:10:55. Gaudrault was third in 12:23:38, followed less than four minutes later by 26-year-old Maika Lamoureux of Gatineau, Quebec, in 12:27:04. Gaudrault had company from some of her fellow New Englanders in the women’s top 10. Sabrina Bohrer, 29, of Lyme, N.H., was seventh (43rd overall) in 14:44:18, and Serena Blacklow, 29, of Cambridge, Mass., was eighth (44th overall) in 14:48:22.

Five other New Englanders were among the 100K finishers. Kevin Yang, 29, of Cambridge, Mass., placed 40th in 14:31:41; Neil Feldman, 54, of Boylston, Mass., was 49th in 14:57:10; Patrick Hogan, 45, of Marblehead, Mass., and Matt Dibb, 43, of Scituate, Mass., were 52nd and 53rd in 15:09:52 and 15:10:42, respectively; and Sean Smith, 35, of Stoughton, Mass., placed 59th overall in 15:23:21.

Another 142 runners took on the 50K race on Sunday and 116 finished within 11 hours. Hans Troyer, 24, of Newman, Ga., and Kathy Garcia, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, were the men’s and women’s winners in 3:46:53 and 4:23:30, respectively. No New Englanders were among the finishers at that distance. 

Frozen: H3

William Clifford kicked off his ultrarunning career with a podium finish at the eighth edition of the Frozen: H3 ultramarathons on Jan. 10-12 in Bethera, S.C. Clifford, 23, of Chatham, Mass., took on the 50-mile distance at the event that also offered 100-mile, 100K and 50K ultras on the trails of the Hell Hole Swamp within the Francis Marion National Forest. The event used the same course as the Hell Hole Hundred ultras, but lacked the sticky summertime humidity. Runners took on 16- and 18-mile loops of the Jericho Horse Trail on a blend of singletrack and doubletrack dirt.

Clifford and his fellow 50-milers had to complete two 16-mile loops and one 18-mile loop. Of the 10 runners who started, eight finished within the 19-hour time limit. Clifford was among that group, and he secured a spot on the podium in a close race for second. Benjamin Wasco, 25, of Savannah, Ga,, was the runner-up in 9:47:21 while Clifford followed three seconds later in 9:47:24 to place third. Jon Donnelly, 25, of Raleigh, N.C., dominated the race in 7:52:31.

No New England residents were among the participants at the other ultra distances.

*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.