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.

FarmDaze 24

Benjamin Delikat is something of a regular at the FarmDaze 24 Ultra. The event was first held in 2017, and the resident of Cambridge, Mass., ran it for the first time in 2018. Since then, he has missed it just once – in 2021. Delikat, 33, returned once again for the ninth edition on Feb. 15-16 in Brooklet, Ga., and he turned in his best performance in seven tries.

Delikat’s previous best effort at FarmDaze came in 2019 when he completed 69.84 miles. This time he was one of 48 runners to compete in the 24-hour race and one of six who completed at least 100 miles. Delikat earned his first 100-mile finish, completing 100.04 miles and placing fourth overall. Matt Collins, 34, of New York, N.Y., led all runners with 119.72 miles, followed by 34-year-old Nicholas Synan of New York, N.Y., with 106.6 miles. Andrew Roddin, 35, also of New York, N.Y., was third with 100.04 miles, completing the distance before Delikat. Top female Christi Ballagh, 49, of Statesboro, Ga., also logged 100.04 miles.

The event also included 12-hour and 6-hour races; no New England residents took part in them.

Jackpot Ultras

A flat, smooth loop course offered the opportunity for big mileage at the 12th annual Jackpot Ultras, and a handful of New Englanders took advantage on Feb. 14-16 in Henderson, Nev. The event once again offered 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour events in addition to 50-mile, 100K and multiple 100-mile options including the USATF Road 100-Mile Championship. No New Englanders took part in the championship race, though one raced the regular 100-miler on the standard 2.3094-mile loop course and another raced the 100-mile option on the 1.17078-mile short course. Another took part in the 48-hour event.

In the standard 100-miler, 29-year-old Sarah Brenner of Cambridge, Mass., earned her first 100-mile finish and secured a podium finish. In the field of 26 starters, 16 ultimately finished with Brenner placing ninth overall and third in the female field in 25:33:30. She was just two minutes behind female runner-up Sheryl Lambert, 56, of Carlsbad, Calif. (25:31:19). Lisa Cabiles, 42, of Richland, Wash., placed second overall and first female in 18:01:49 while top male Avinoam Maier, 33, of Scottsdale, Ariz., led all runners in 16:40:23.

In the short course 100-mile option, 73-year-old Ed Peters placed 26th out of 32 finishers in 46:26:53. Rajpaul Pannu, 33, and Ilene Bloom, 53, both of Denver, Colo., were the top male and female finishers in 11:52:46 and 27:50:49, respectively.

Sixty-nine runners took part in the 48-hour event, and 45 of those participants completed more than 100 miles. Chris Bellows was among them. Bellows, 52, of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, tied for 17th with 101.613 miles. It was Bellows’ second 100-mile finish; he completed the Run Rabbit Run 100-miler in Colorado in 2024. Marc Sanderson, 53, of Pleasant Grove, Utah, led all runners with 184.751 miles while top female Heather Gothard, 37, of Denver, Colo., finished fifth overall with 154.729 miles.

Sylamore 50K

Erik Martin knows the trails of Arkansas quite well. Though he now lives in Boston, Mass., Martin previously lived in Tennessee and raced frequently in the region, including multiple trips to the Sylamore 50K. He returned for his third crack at the race and had his best performance yet on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Angler’s White River Resort in Allison, Ark.

Racing on the out-and-back course that consisted of mostly singletrack trails and included multiple water crossings, Martin placed 12th out of 87 runners in 5:40:46. He previously finished the 2021 race in 6:14:29 and the 2022 race in 6:33:01.

Adam Thompson of Memphis, Tenn., dominated the race and won with a 20-minute cushion in 4:44:36. A tight race for the win in the female field came down to the wire. Just 58 seconds separated Isabel Van Camp and Laura Keaton. Van Camp, of Bentonville, Ark., won in 5:07:30 while finishing fourth overall. Keaton, of Fulshear, Texas, finished fifth overall and the female runner-up in 5:08:28.

While the vast majority of runners hailed from the local region, Martin wasn’t the lone runner from the Northeast who had a notable finish. Stuart Johnson of Queensbury, N.Y., finished the race for the 33rd time, completing the course in 9:35:15.

*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.