Snow and ice covered many of the trails throughout New England during the Feb. 22-23 weekend, but several ultrarunners from the region ventured to warmer climates to race. Runners scattered from Florida to California, and points in between, and collected hard-earned finishes. Nobody had a bigger weekend than John Finnigan. The newcomer from Connecticut earned his first 100-mile finish and a spot on the podium at the Space Pirate 100, and he leads off a jam-packed edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Space Pirate, Sean O’Brien, Copper Corridor, Mount Cheaha, Saint Mary’s Lake, and Moab’s Red HotMonthly Archives: February 2025
MassUltra Roundup: FarmDaze, Jackpot, and Sylamore
The Feb. 15-16 weekend was cold and snowy in New England, and the freeze kept some ultrarunners from the region from traveling to ultras throughout the country. That made for a light weekend of racing, but there were still a few runners who made it to the starting line – and ultimately the finish line. That includes the FarmDaze 24 in Georgia, the Jackpot Ultras in Nevada, and the Sylamore 50K in Arkansas. We have them all covered with some light reading in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: FarmDaze, Jackpot, and SylamoreMassUltra Roundup: Black Canyon, Algonquin, and Last Skier Standing
The eyes of the ultrarunning world were on Arizona during the Feb. 8-9 weekend where more than 1,000 runners took on the 100K or 50K options at the Black Canyon Ultras. That included more than a dozen New Englanders, as well as former Boston resident Joe McConaughy who earned one of the event’s biggest prizes. From there, we head to Maryland where four New Englanders completed the Algonquin 50K. Finally, we turn our attention to an ultra of a different kind – on skis – with a look at the multi-day Last Skier Standing race in Maine.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Black Canyon, Algonquin, and Last Skier Standing
Runners Overcome Icy Footing, Sub-Freezing Temperatures at TARCtic Frozen Yeti
WESTWOOD, Mass. – No matter each runner’s preference, be it a carefully curated playlist or an earbud-free experience with the soothing sounds of nature, the crunch, crunch, crunch of Yaktrax, microspikes and EXOspikes was the unofficial soundtrack to the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on Feb. 1-2 at Hale Reservation.
Continue reading Runners Overcome Icy Footing, Sub-Freezing Temperatures at TARCtic Frozen Yeti
Results: TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) played host to the sixth running of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra and 15-Mile Night Race on Feb. 1-2, 2025, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners took on a clover leaf-style course that was covered in ice and snow, encountered light snowfall at times, and endured below-freezing temperatures for the duration of the event.
Continue reading Results: TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour UltraMassUltra Roundup: Rocky Raccoon, Whispering Pines, Elephant Mountain, Forgotten Florida, and the 963 Beulah Challenge
The TARCtic Frozen Yeti was the place to be in New England for ultrarunning during the Feb. 1-2 weekend as runners took on a 15-mile snow- and ice-coated course at Hale Reservation in Massachusetts. A handful of runners from the region ventured elsewhere to race, however. Several headed to Texas for the Rocky Raccoon 100, a few headed to Florida, while others traveled to Arizona. One even ventured to Missouri to race. We’ll have the Frozen Yeti featured in a separate story, but we have the events from beyond the region covered in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Rocky Raccoon, Whispering Pines, Elephant Mountain, Forgotten Florida, and the 963 Beulah Challenge
Photos: 2025 TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) played host to the sixth running of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on Feb. 1-2, 2025, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners had 30 hours to complete as many loops as they wanted on a clover leaf-style course consisting of three approximately 5-mile mini-loops. The course was covered in ice and a thin layer of snow, and the temperature was below freezing for the duration of the event. The following are a small sample of photos from the event taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery from the event can be viewed here on the MassUltra Flickr page.
Continue reading Photos: 2025 TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra
200 is the New 100: Gonzalez-Kreisberg Redefines Ultra Endurance By Volunteering
Two hundred wasn’t the number Rebecca Gonzalez-Kreisberg had in mind for the 2024 ultrarunning season. Her heart was set on 152 – the precise number of miles she planned to run at the Notchview Ultra.
It was an ambitious milestone, but after earning her first 100-mile finish at the 72-hour event in 2023 she dared to dream even bigger. Unfortunately for her, the combination of a toe injury and upheaval at work halted her running ambitions before the season even began.
“Things were kind of falling apart,” Gonzalez-Kreisberg admitted. “That’s where the goal of 152 had to be put aside, because suddenly I was in no capacity between what was going on at work and what was going on with my physical body to be training. I spent a lot of that winter barely surviving in a lot of ways.”
“Luckily,” she added, “I’m totally on the other side now.”
How she dealt with the disappointment and weathered storm involved an extraordinary feat of a different type of endurance, one that called to mind the popular ultrarunning phrase “200 is the new 100” while also redefining it.
Continue reading 200 is the New 100: Gonzalez-Kreisberg Redefines Ultra Endurance By Volunteering
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