The Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour was New England’s biggest ultrarunning event during the March 21-23 weekend, but it was far from the only place New Englanders threw down ultramarathon efforts. The busiest weekend of racing so far in 2025 saw runners from the region travel to at least a dozen other events across the country – with a few returning home with hard-earned victories. Here in Part I of this week’s roundup we catch up on ultra results from the West, and nobody had a bigger performance than Connecticut’s Eric Blake who took on Arizona trails and emerged victorious.

Crown King Scramble

Eric Blake has made a name for himself as a master of uphill running, earning his spot among the most dominant and consistent performers in the history of the Mount Washington Road Race in New Hampshire.

After many years of success on shorter distance races, Blake dazzled in his ultrarunning debut at the 33rd edition of the Crown King Scramble 50K on Saturday, March 22, in Phoenix, Ariz. The event offered an ideal course for Blake to thrive. It was point-to-point on dirt roads starting at Lake Pleasant Regional Park and concluding at the Crown King Saloon. The event has one major climb, a 4,000-foot ascent on jeep roads before dropping rapidly over the final miles to the Saloon. A large field of 260 runners finished within 11 hours, but Blake got it done the fastest. He won the race in 4:12:09, outdueling runner-up and female champion Courtney Dauwalter, 40, of Leadville, Colo., who set a new female course record with her 4:19:49 performance.

Patrick Morabito, 51, of New Milford, Conn., was the only other New England resident in the field. He placed 93rd in 7:24:30.

Big Alta 50K

Three New Englanders got in on the ultrarunning fun at the second annual Big Alta 50K on Saturday, March 22, at Marinwood Community Park in Marinwood, Calif. The event offered a single-loop course featuring climbs to the top of Loma Alta and Big Rock Ridge, as well as panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Andrew Warner, 30, of New Haven, Conn., finished in the top half of the field, placing 109th out of 225 finishers in 5:47:30. Additionally, Jenn Hoadley, 46, and Matthew Hoadley, 46, both of Scituate, Mass., finished in 6:56:49 and 7:14:14, respectively.

Eli Hemming, 29, and Tabor Hemming, 28, both of Kremmling, Colo., were the top male and female finishers with course-record times of 3:19:30 and 4:04:58, respectively. A familiar face on the trails of New England, Remi Leroux, 27, of Waterloo, Quebec, finished third overall in 3:28:30.

Behind the Rocks Ultra

Panoramic Moab views and technical slickrock trails attracted a large crew of New England ultrarunners to the 11th edition of the Behind the Rocks Ultra on Saturday, March 22, in Moab, Utah. Eleven runners from the region took part in the event’s 50-mile and 50K distances at the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area.

Four of the New Englanders were among the 52 finishers of the 50-mile race within 13 1/2 hours. Paul Kell, 42, of Durham, N.H., led the way with a 32nd-place finish in 12:24:17. Wiley Semrau, 44, of Portsmouth, N.H., followed in 34th place in 12:33:10. Daniel Gorelik, 28, of Cambridge, Mass., and Natalie Belongie, 36, of Hampton, N.H., also finished with Gorelik 38th in 12:50:21 and Belongie 45th in 13:05:39. Sam Vossler, 32, of Parks, Ariz., led all runners in 7:40:31, winning with a 28-minute cushion. Nicole Mancuso, 31, of Denver, Colo., placed sixth overall and first in the female field in 9:38:08.

An additional seven New Englanders were among the 161 finishers of the 50K race within 12 hours. Benjamin Johnson and Jordon Tourville were the top runners from the region. Johnson, 31, of Orono, Maine, finished 45th in 6:14:14 and Tourville, 34, of Burlington, Vt., was 47th in 6:15:59. Other finishers included Emily Vigeant, 39, of Cambridge, Mass. (87th, 7:08:14); Jason Inglis, 38, of Wolfeboro, N.H. (99th, 7:25:38); Christina Lipuma, 30, of Burlington, Vt. (113th, 7:36:46); Amy James, 33, of Epping, N.H. (118th, 7:45:22); and Kim Carloni, 52, of Portsmouth, N.H. (124th, 7:52:50). Matt Daniels, 36, of Boulder, Colo., and Mckendree Hickory, 36, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., were the male and female winners in 3:29:27 and 4:42:29, respectively.

*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.