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.

Space Pirate 100

John Finnigan is a relative newcomer to ultramarathon racing; he ran his first ultra in October 2024 at the New Orleans 50-miler, placing eighth overall in 9:13:00. Finnigan ran his second ultra and first 100-miler at the third annual Space Pirate 100 on Feb. 22-23 in Port Canaveral, Fla. Finnigan, 22, of New Canaan, Conn., had a strong day of racing. Of the 19 starters, 15 finished within 31 hours and Finnigan finished fifth overall, third among the male field, in 21:09:36. The top seven runners finished in less than 24 hours.

Top female and male finishers Caryn Lubetsky, 53, of Miami Shores, Fla., and Lucas Hathaway, 34, of Atlanta, Ga., tied for the overall win in 18:26:26. Hathaway earned the second-fastest finish by a male in event history, while Lubetsky posted the third-fastest time by a female. She already owns the two fastest times with her wins in 2023 (18:25:10) and 2024 (18:21:13).

Sean O’Brien Ultras

Victor Wang got his start running ultras while living in California, and he has done most of his ultramarathon racing in the West. Wang, 39, now lives in Middleborough, Mass., but he still heads back to California to race from time to time. Most recently, he did so for the 15th annual Sean O’Brien Ultras on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Calabasas, Calif. The event offers 100K, 50-mile and 50K distances, and Wang opted for the longest of the three.

Wang was one of 85 starters of the 100K race. Of that group, 70 finished within 17 hours. Wang did so in 13:08:31 and placed 20th overall. It was his third time racing the Sean O’Brien Ultras and second time running the 100K. He completed the 100K in 2023 in 23rd place overall in 12:44:53, and finished ninth in the 50-miler in 2021 (10:57:21). Wang was the lone New England resident in the field for this year’s race. Ryan Kiewiet, 33, of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Lauren Mitchell, 40, of Afton, Minn., were the top male and female 100K finishers in 10:32:57 and 11:18:34, respectively.

No New England residents were among the 39 finishers of the 50-mile race or the 79 finishers of the 50K race.

Copper Corridor 50K

Kristian Deppe has a big year of ultramarathon racing in the works, with the White Lake Ultra 12-hour coming up in May, followed by the Jigger Johnson 50-miler in August and the Ghost Train 30-hour in October, all in New Hampshire. But before he can get to those, Deppe ran his first ultra on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Superior, Ariz.

Deppe, 37, of Amherst, N.H., took part in the sixth annual Copper Corridor 50K. Deppe and his fellow runners spent some of their time running on the Arizona Trail and did a loop of Picketpost Mountain before returning to where they started. Of the 113 runners who finished within 9 hours, Deppe placed 43rd in 6:26:50. Michael Tomchaney, 35, of Scottsdale, Ariz., led all runners and set a new male course record in 3:48:08 while winning with a 17-minute cushion. Top female Lindsay Prescott, 35, of Flagstaff, Ariz., placed sixth overall and clocked the second-fastest time by a female in event history in 4:21:37.

Mount Cheaha 50K

Lucy Pless officially became an ultrarunner at the 20th annual Mount Cheaha 50K on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Delta, Ala. Pless, 26, of Cambridge, Mass., gained some early trail-racing experience in Alabama when she completed two sub-ultra distance races in December 2024, both in Pelham. She returned for the point-to-point Mount Cheaha 50K, which took Pless and her fellow runners through forests, past waterfalls, and along lots of singletrack trails before finishing at the summit of 2,407-foot Cheaha Mountain.

Of the 230 finishers within 10 1/2 hours, Pless placed 189th in 8:35:17. Kyle Kraeft, 35, of Tallahassee, Fla., and Ana Watters, 22, of Bessemer, Ala., were the male and female winners in 4:34:12 and 5:43:54, respectively.

Saint Mary’s Lake 50K

Benjamin Fiandaca’s road to redemption at Western States began at the second annual Saint Mary’s Lake Trail Series 50K on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Leonardtown, Md. Fiandaca has come up short in three tries at North America’s original 100-mile endurance run, first in 2016 and then again in 2022 and 2023. Fiandaca is returning to the historic race in California for a fourth time this summer, but Saint Mary’s Lake kicked off his season.

Fiandaca, 47, of Peterborough, N.H., and his fellow runners took on three 10.5-mile loops on singletrack trails and forest roads around St. Mary’s Lake and through Salem Forest. Twenty-six runners finished within eight hours, including Fiandaca who placed 17th in 6:09:15. Emily Kukasik, 32, of Hollywood, Md., earned the overall win in 4:27:21, followed by top male finisher and event runner-up Joel Li Thurston, 21, of Peoria, Ariz., in 4:50:45. Male runner-up Jacob Rupard, 38, of Port Republic, Md., was third overall and the final sub-5-hour finisher in 4:57:01.

Moab’s Red Hot Ultra

A pair of Mainers put up ultramarathon mileage at the 19th edition of the Moab’s Red Hot Ultra on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Moab, Utah. The event offered 50-mile and 55K distances on trails just outside of Arches National Park and featured panoramic views of the La Sal Mountains and Canyonlands National Park.

No New Englanders were among the 46 finishers of the 50-miler, which was led by male champion Tyler Veerman, 32, of Morrison, Colo., in 7:49:06, and female champion Ashlie Ferguson, 37, of Cumberland, B.C., in 10:56:10. Maine residents Kimberly Fischer and Patrick Kistner were among a large field in the 55K, however. Fischer, 37, of Portland, and Kistner, 33, of Lisbon, ran together and finished together in 9:08:48, tied for 128th in the field of 161 finishers. Jonathan Rea, 32, of Boulder, Colo., topped the male field and led all runners in 3:57:13. Emily Evans, 27, of Anchorage, Alaska, was the first-place female and 11th overall in 5:21:44.

*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.