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.

Black Canyon Ultras

The eighth try was the charm for Joe McConaughy in his pursuit of a spot in the Western States Endurance Run 100-miler. McConaughy, a former Massachusetts resident and Boston College track and cross country athlete who now lives in Seattle, Wash., secured a Western States Golden Ticket with a third-place finish in the 100K race at the Black Canyon Ultras during the Feb. 8-9 weekend in Mayer, Ariz. It was McConaughy’s eighth attempt to earn a Golden Ticket, which was awarded to the top three male and female finishers at Black Canyon. McConaughy steadily climbed through the field on the point-to-point course through the Sonoran Desert, eventually picked his way through the top 10, and then fended off Eli Hemming in a push for the final Golden Ticket. Seth Ruhling, 30, of Boulder, Colo., and Will Murray, 30, of Blairstown, N.J., went 1-2 in 7:24:55 and 7:26:53, followed by McConaughy in 7:31:37. Hemming, 29, of Kremmling, Colo., followed a minute later in fourth in 7:32:41.

In the female field, 29-year-old Riley Brady of Boulder, Colo., won in 8:16:18, followed by overall Appalachian Trail FKT record-holder Tara Dower, 31, of Virginia Beach, Va., in 8:25:08. Emkay Sullivan, 30, of Reno, Nev., was third in 8:48:58, followed closely by Lin Chen, 33, of Shuozhou, China, in fourth in 8:50:40. Because Brady previously earned a Golden Ticket at the Javelina Jundred in late 2024, the three Black Canyon female Golden Tickets went to Dower, Sullivan and Chen.

For McConaughy and his fellow Golden Ticket winners, the gold that must be forked over to travel to – and participate in – Western States must be paid by themselves, unless they happen to have a professional contract that covers the expenses. Though the Golden Tickets are presented by Western States’ corporate sponsor, the shoe company HOKA – which made $1.4 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023 and $1.8 billion in 2024 – the brand and the event push all costs onto the individual runner.

McConaughy was the top performer of those with New England ties. Scott Traer, 43, formerly of Woburn, Mass., also was among the fastest of the 777 finishers, placing 24th overall in 8:39:49. Additionally, Robin Hewson, 35, of Lincoln, R.I., placed 58th in 9:55:21. Another 16 New England residents finished the race, including: Christopher Parker, 43, of Cambridge, Mass. (220th, 13:04:13); Arnold Twitchell, 60, of South Paris, Maine (355th, 14:33:42); Saul Sicard, 43, of Lunenburg, Mass. (423rd, 15:22:05); Pamela Hall, 37, of Bangor, Maine (454th, 15:39:56); Juan Santos, 37, of Arlington, Mass. (465th, 15:45:04); Jamie Miller, 42, of North Haven, Conn. (501st, 16:07:27); Michael McLaughlin, 63, of Needham, Mass. (564th, 16:35:27); Dan Balestrieri, 45, of Billerica, Mass. (584th, 16:42:23); Stephen McCaffrey, 66, of Charlestown, Mass. (594th, 16:46:36); Joseph Solemene, 31, of Norwalk, Conn. (667th, 17:52:56); Ian McLachlan, 38, of Watertown, Mass. (676th, 18:01:50); Tari Tan, 38, of Watertown, Mass. (706th, 18:30:01); Melissa Arnold, 43, of Framingham, Mass. (714th, 18:36:23); Michael Lawrence, 49, of Natick, Mass. (744th, 19:16:37); Emilio Navarro, 57, of Cranston, R.I. (746th, 19:19:18); and Mindy Randall, 65, of Goffstown, N.H (774th, 19:48:16).

Another 16 New England residents were among the 527 finishers of the event’s 50K race, including two who finished in the overall top 25. Adam Merry, 34, of Belfast, Maine, was among the front-runners throughout and placed 13th overall in 3:45:31. It was Merry’s first ultra since placing 30th overall at the Western States Endurance Run 100-miler in 2023 while living in Boulder, Colo. Nathan Lalonde, 28, of Richmond, Vt., followed in 24th place overall in 4:08:46. Jershurun Small, 26, and Allison Baca, 34, both of Golden, Colo., were the top male and female finishers in the 50K in 3:22:52 and 3:45:09, respectively.

Other New Englanders who finished the 50K included 30-year-old Maddy Pfeifter of Williston, Vt., who was 37th overall and ninth in the female field in 4:22:00; Krystyna Oszkinis, 32, of Norwich, Vt. (81st, 5:05:28); Rochelle Bilow, 37, of Stowe, Vt. (121st, 5:43:10); David McGrath, 29, of Boston, Mass. (133rd, 5:51:08); Brian Hamill, 53, of Charlestown, Mass. (255th, 6:55:20); Matt Wood, 41, of East Bridgewater, Mass. (265th, 6:58:05); Lindsay Rosenthal, 30, of Providence, R.I. (270th, 7:01:36); Brianne Macdermott, 37, of Portland, Maine (293rd, 7:14:52); Courtney Stacey, 31, of Salem, Mass. (295th, 7:15:14); Maddie Kaplan, 28, of Quincy, Mass. (304th, 7:21:28); Farrah Douglas, 48, of Waterville, Maine (330th, 7:32:26); Jessica Segal, 33, of Gorham, Maine (421st, 8:31:24); Robert Hanna, 54, of Ledyard, Conn. (496th, 9:33:33); and Maria Hanna, 54, of Ledyard, Conn. (524th, 10:44:38).

The Algonquin 50K

Nina Young earned her first ultramarathon finish and was the top New Englander in the field at the ninth annual Algonquin 50K on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Pocomoke City, Md. Young, 18, of Berlin, Vt., ran strong on the out-and-back course that consisted mostly of flat to rolling singletrack at Pocomoke River State Park. She ultimately placed sixth in the female field and 36th overall out of 228 finishers in 5:47:01.

Darrel Dorsey, 40, of Frederick, Md., and Maria Miller, 43, of Tyaskin, Md., were the top male and female finishers in 4:15:34 and 4:39:51, respectively.

Young was one of four New Englanders who took part in the event, and all finished in the top half of the field. A trio of Rhode Island residents ran and finished together. Maru Ackman, 14, of Middletown, placed 92nd in 6:36:26, followed by Kelsey Miller, 40, of Portsmouth, and Dirk Johnson, 64, of Middletown, in a tie for 93rd in 6:36:33.

Last Skier Standing

Lukas Janulaitis’ journey to becoming the Last Skier Standing began at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at the sixth annual event in Rumford, Maine. Janulaitis, 23, of Manchester, N.H., wouldn’t finish until Monday morning, Feb. 10, when 27-year-old Jacob Walsh of Somerville, Mass., finally retired, leaving Janulaitis to complete one final lap of the course solo.

Janulaitis made the 1.5-mile ascent up the Allagash Trail, amassing around 1,200 feet of climbing, and then skied back down Black Mountain – an up-down routine he had done once per hour, every hour, since the event began – for the 71st and final time and secured his victory.

Janulaitis covered around 213 miles and amassed more than 80,000 feet of vertical gain on skis during the course of the event. Walsh earned the assist and was the runner-up with 70 laps and around 210 miles of skiing. Forest Ledger, 26, of Bozeman, Mont., was third with 67 laps and 201 miles. Ryan Nicols, 29, of Mexico, Maine, and Ian Connell, 29, of Guilford, Conn., were the only other skiers to surpass 50 laps. Nicols went 61 laps and 183 miles, and Connell completed 60 laps and 180 miles. Natalie Nicols, 30, of Rumford, Maine, was the top female skier, placing 10th overall with 38 laps and 114 miles, followed by Meri Harrington, 28, of Cambridge, Mass., with 35 laps and 105 miles. Of the 138 skiers who took part in the event, 22 completed 30 or more hours/laps of competition.

*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.