It was cold and quiet on the trails of New England during the January 24-26 weekend, but the racing was hot for runners from the region who headed to the South or out West. New Englanders raced ultras in Florida and North Carolina, as well as Arizona and Utah, but nobody had a better weekend than New Hampshire’s Peter Christopher who won the 50K race at the Monroe Cross Trail Ultra in Florida. His victory leads off this week’s edition of the roundup.

Monroe Cross Trail Ultra

It was just last year that Peter Christopher made his ultrarunning debut at the Ragged 50K in New Hampshire where he placed 24th overall. On Saturday, Jan. 25, Christopher ran his second ultra and earned his first victory when he won the 50K race at the fourth annual Monroe Cross Trail 50-Mile Ultra in Debary, Fla.

The race offered both 50-mile and 50K distances and used a point-to-point course on the paved, multi-use East Regional Trail and Spring-to-Spring Trail, starting in Edgewater at Rotary Clark and finishing at the Central 28 Beer Company in DeBary. Twenty-six runners completed the 50K race within 10 hours, but none did so faster than the lone New Englander in the field. Christopher, 49, of Windham, N.H., ran fast from the beginning, built a comfortable lead and cruised to victory in 3:52:36. He outdistanced runner-up Scott Hoover, 46, of Babson Park, Fla., by 16 minutes. Hoover finished in 4:08:24.

No New England residents took part in the 50-mile race, which had 25 finishers led by 39-year-old Arron Ocheltree of Oviedo, Fla., in 8:18:44.

Hanging Rock Challenge

Grant Ritter is building up to a big Pacific Northwest race later this year when he will run the Tillamook Burn 50-miler in Oregon, but his first test of the year came at the inaugural Hanging Rock Challenge – or HAROC – on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury, N.C. Ritter, 41, of South Deerfield, Mass., was the lone New Englander at the event, which challenged runners with technical trails and 5,500 feet of climbing and rewarded them along the way with panoramic views and waterfalls.

Of the 61 runners who started the race, 46 finished within 9 ½ hours. Ritter placed 22nd in 7:14:19. David Zell, 42, of Raleigh, N.C., led all runners in 5:17:16. Top female Marisa Romeo, 30, of Asheville, N.C., was a distant second in 5:38:00, followed by third overall finisher and female runner-up Shannon Howell, 46, of Simpsonville, S.C., in 5:41:01.

AZT Oracle Rumble

Annie Seekins got to know the trails of Arizona quite well during the 2024 ultrarunning season. Seekins, 33, of Searsport, Maine, traveled there for a pair of 50-mile ultras, earning a sixth-place finish at Old Pueblo and a fourth-place finish at Colossal-Vail. Seekins kicked off her 2025 ultra season with another trip west, this time for the eighth running of the AZT Oracle Rumble 50-mile and 50K ultras on Saturday, Jan. 25, in Oracle, Ariz. Seekins once again tackled the 50-mile distance.

The event used sections of the Arizona National Scenic Trail in Oracle State Park, with plenty of ups and downs on the rolling singletrack trails. Seekins had another strong performance, placing 13th overall out of 48 finishers and fourth-place female in 10:52:00. Meghan Macardy, 42, of Marana, Ariz., was third overall and the first-place female in 9:10:57. Peter Davidson, 39, of Tucson, Ariz., won the race with a new men’s course-record time of 7:30:35.

Another 60 runners completed the 50K race within 10 1/2 hours, including 39-year-old Marc Gendron of Somerville, Mass., who earned his first ultramarathon finish. Gendron placed 32nd in 7:49:39. James McNabb, 36, and Rebecca Lewandowski, 39, both of Tucson, Ariz., were the top male and female finishers in 4:12:27 and 5:27:40, respectively.

Arches Ultra

Adam Pinyoun is no stranger to trails in the West. The former Portland, Ore., resident got his start running trails in the Pacific Northwest, participated in trail races while there, and even traveled to Utah a few times to take part in the Antelope Island Buffalo Run.

Pinyoun, 54, now lives in Stratham, N.H., and tackles challenging New England trails, but he headed back West to take part in the eighth annual Arches Ultra 50-mile and 50K races on Saturday, Jan. 25, in Moab, Utah. The event took place just outside of Arches National Park and offered spectacular views of the park, as well as the La Sal Mountains and Moab cliffs along the way.

Although no New Englanders were among the 73 finishers of the 50-mile race, Pinyoun was one of four runners from the region who were among the 199 runners who finished the 50K within 11 1/2 hours. Pinyoun led the way, placing 44th in 5:59:33. Sydney Howland, 36, of Boston, Mass., placed 52nd overall in her ultra debut in 6:07:19. Janica Lane, 45, of Boston, Mass., was 71st in 6:27:23 in her first ultra since 2023. Additionally, 28-year-old Riley Barter of Saint Johnsbury, Vt., finished her ultramarathon debut in 102nd place overall in 6:55:25. Tyler Green, 40, of Salt Lake City, Utah, topped the men’s field in 3:39:45 while Anna Fisher, 32, of Midway, Utah, placed sixth overall and was the first-place female in 4:23:48.

*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.