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.

The winter event has always been unpredictable with its weather challenges, ranging from sub-zero temperatures and snow, to wet, to downright pleasant. The 2025 edition was no different as runners were tested by below-freezing temperatures for the duration, a little bit of snow, a bitter breeze off of both ponds, and slick terrain everywhere. Extra support was essential, and most runners opted for some sort of traction assistance to help chew up the ice and snow and keep them upright–several even went the old-school route of screwing their shoes.

The frozen surface paired nicely with stability support to foster an ideal environment for running fast at the sixth edition of the event, and a handful of runners took full advantage. The course was slightly modified from previous years to more closely achieve the 15-mile target for each trip through the clover leaf-style design consisting of three approximately 5-mile mini-loops, which also helped achieve more accurate mileage tallies. The prior version checked in at closer to 15.5 miles.

More than 100 runners gathered on the park road just outside of Powissett Lodge for the 8 a.m. Saturday start of the 30-hour race. It was 30 degrees, and it was the warmest weather they would experience all weekend. Ice-covered asphalt lay out before them. They let out a collective yeti howl and crunched their way down the road, up a winding hill and then down another before entering the woods on rocky singletrack. Nearly 24 consecutive hours of rain the day before, followed by plummeting temperatures, coated everything in a thin layer of ice that runners were forced to navigate for however long they opted to continue.

A somewhat sunny day was interrupted by a few hours of light snowfall on Saturday morning.

“The snow is helping,” confirmed Douglyss Giuliana, who wore a smile from ear-to-ear as he trotted downhill with snow swirling around him on his way to a 30-mile finish. Giuliana was one of 98 runners who ultimately completed at least two full trips through the course for 30 miles or more and ultramarathon finishes. Some used the event as an early-season goal race, while others as a glorified training day for a big race later in the season. A few took advantage of the early-season opportunity to try to put up a big number.

Mat Ridley of Allston, Mass., pressed hard for the first half of the day, with Dave Landry of Quebec City, Quebec, not far behind. Ridley was the first runner to reach 30 miles, with Landry two minutes behind. Jason Geroux of Orrington, Maine, followed about 10 minutes later, with a small pack hot on his heels consisting of Matthew Rogers of Pawtucket, R.I., and Jason Kaplan and Laura Ricci, both of Boston, Mass. The fast front-runners continued to push and didn’t ease up for several hours.

After setting the female course record with 105 miles a year ago, Ricci was on track to have an even bigger outing until she took a tumble and suffered a hand injury. Her day ended with 40 miles in 8:27, clearing the way for a new female champion with so many hours still on the clock. For a while it looked like either Marissa Theofanides of Nyack, N.Y., or Annie-Claude Vaillancourt of Mascouche, Quebec, would ascend as this year’s top female. Both had been about an hour behind Ricci and were within just a few minutes of each other for most of the day.

Vaillancourt was the first to reach 45 miles, doing so in 11:14. Theofanides followed two minutes later, but Vaillancourt ended her race while Theofanides continued for another lap and became the new leader. She ultimately achieved her goal of 50 miles and stopped after 13:02. That left plenty of time for others to accumulate more mileage, and both Denise Klatt and Chelsea Loy took advantage. Klatt, of Brookline, Mass., reached 60 miles in 17:12 before stopping, while Loy, also of Brookline, reached 65 miles in 24:42 and finished first in the female field, joined on the podium by Klatt and Theofanides. Katya Divari of Ashland, Mass., finished 50 miles in 29:48 and placed fourth, followed by Vaillancourt.

Liv Colombo took advantage of the conditions–as well as a year of improvement–to put up a big number in the nonbinary category. After setting the division course record in 2024 with 35 miles in 11:01, the resident of Kingston, Mass., pushed the record significantly higher with a 65-mile performance in 28:20:00. In addition to setting a new division record, Colombo’s performance also was the 13th-best overall.

In the men’s field, the early leader Ridley slowed and later stopped after 75 miles in 23:24, ultimately finishing seventh overall. Meanwhile, the pack of Rogers, Kaplan, Landry and Geroux raced through the low single-digit temperatures of the overnight hours and well past sunrise on Sunday.

Rogers led the overall field from the 35-mile mark onward. Landry was close, trailing by just 20 minutes after 60 miles, but he slowly drifted further back. Rogers was the first runner to reach the 100-mile mark in 24:48, followed by Landry in 25:57. Kaplan got there third in 26:35. Landry stopped once he hit the triple-digit milestone, but Rogers and Kaplan continued.

Rogers banged out remarkably consistent splits throughout the race and had Brian Burke’s 2023 course record of 110 miles (28:46) in his sights. Rogers hit the 105-mile mark in 26:07 and reached 110 miles in 27:27 before beginning his record-breaking final lap. Meanwhile, Kaplan also pushed ahead, achieving 105 miles in 28:05 before starting one last loop. Rogers closed out his final lap and finished with a new Frozen Yeti record 115 miles in 29:06. Joining him at the finish line while closing out a 100-mile performance–also in 29:06–was Geroux, the fourth and final triple-digit mileage finisher. Kaplan later joined them at the finish as he closed out a 110-mile effort in 29:39, finishing second overall.

Two more runners, Chris Manwaring of Wells, Maine, and Ross Minkov of Whitinsville, Mass., each closed out big weekends in the cold with 90-mile performances and finished fifth and sixth overall. Manwaring covered the distance in 28:27 while Minkov did so in 29:06.

Thirty-four runners completed at least 50 miles, 23 finished 60 miles or more, and eight ran at least 75 miles. Joining Ridley with 75 miles was Max Taylor of Amherst, Mass., in 28:10. Jacob Carroll of Plymouth, Mass., Todd Abbott of Newton, Mass., and Eric Van Laarhoven of Brighton, Mass., joined Loy and Colombo in earning 65-mile finishes. Carroll did so in 16:59, while Abbott finished in 24:42 and Van Laarhoven completed his mileage in 26:35.

Masi-Phelps, Nordhoff Conquer the Cold, Win Night Race

The temperature plunged into the teens with a feels-like in the low single-digits as runners gathered at the starting line for the Frozen Yeti’s 15-mile night race, consisting of one trip through the clover-leaf course. Runners wearing traction enjoyed fast conditions on the frozen course, and event veterans Matthew Masi-Phelps and Ruth Nordhoff capitalized with winning performances.

Masi-Phelps, 30, of New York, N.Y., knew the course well. He was third in 2023 (2:16:57) and fourth in 2024 (2:26:29). This year, he ascended to the top with a first-place overall finish in 2:28:24. Chris Stevenson, 29, of Concord, N.H., was a very close second in 2:33:17, followed shortly after by 46-year-old Jeff Suarez of Concord, Mass., in 2:36:58. Chris Oriel, 50, of Lunenburg, Mass., missed the men’s podium by four seconds, placing fourth in 2:27:02. Christopher Parker, 40, of North Andover, Mass., rounded out a fast top five in 2:39:08.

In the female field, it was Nordhoff’s night to shine. The last time she raced at the Frozen Yeti was 2023, and she delivered a course record-setting performance of 2:41:14. She wasn’t quite as quick in her return, but she still was the fastest female and sixth overall finisher in 2:45:30. Another event veteran – 31-year-old Sara Tannenbaum of Concord, N.H. – was the female runner-up in 3:00:31. Tannenbaum was the runner-up to Nordhoff in 2023 (3:07:54) and the top female in 2024 (2:53:16). Elin Anderson, 43, of North Andover, Mass., rounded out the female podium in 3:01:51, followed closely by Jade Bihua Zhang, 45, of Belmont, Mass. in 3:02:03.

Fifty-nine runners started the night race and 53 finished.