Matt Pacheco and Lila Gaudrault will be among the favorites to win the Riverlands 100-miler when they toe the starting line in Maine next month, and both ultrarunners appeared to be in prime form with just five weeks to go when they threw down in a tune-up race in Massachusetts.

Both Pacheco and Gaudrault earned victories at the fifth edition of Beast Coast Trail Running’s Mt. Toby Ultra 50K on Saturday, April 5, in Sunderland, Mass., on a cool and drizzly day that saw Pacheco defend his title and Gaudrault smash the female course record. Those results came after a day of strong running on a tough course.

Though the event also offered two sub-ultra distances – a 24K and a 13K, the 50K course consisted of a figure-eight-style loop that included three trips to the top of Mt. Toby, a scramble through a cave, and 6,100 feet of climbing.

Pacheco pushed hard from the start, but the 40-year-old from South Hadley, Mass., had company with 19-year-old Abel Murphy of Memphis, Tenn., who rolled with him. The speedy pair pulled away early, but veered off-course at one point, tacking on about 2 extra miles and 150 additional feet of climbing for the mishap. Meanwhile, Gaudrault, 22, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, ran in close contact with two of the other top men, 20-year-old Tobias Tello of Cheshire, Conn., and Kevin Ellis, 40, of Richmond, N.H. The trio stayed within eyesight for most of the race.

Despite going off-course, Pacheco and Murphy rebounded well, and Murphy challenged Pacheco until the final miles. Ultimately, Pacheco closed out a successful title defense in 5:05:38, 11 minutes faster than his 2024 victory despite running nearly 34 miles this time. The bonus miles kept him from threatening Dan Grip’s course record of 4:33:41 from 2022. Murphy followed as a close second in 5:10:06, giving him his best ultra result since winning the Swamp Stomper 50K in Tennessee in January 2024. Tello finished third in 5:25:53, in what continued a steady progression at the event for the young runner. Tello finished seventh in 2023 (6:15:05) and fourth in 2024 (5:42:26).

Gaudrault closed out her race in fourth place overall and first in the female field in 5:30:03. In doing so, she toppled Samantha Stimac’s female course record of 5:48:55 from 2023. A year after winning at least 15 ultras, including seven outright, Mt. Toby was Gaudrault’s first win of 2025 and just her second race. She finished on the podium at the Bandera 100K in Texas in January.

A few moments after Gaudrault finished, Ellis rounded out the overall top five in 5:30:55. Eric Rice, 40, of Worthington, Mass., followed in 5:47:32. Austin Frank, 26, of Bolton, Conn., was next in 5:48:05. Frank finished alongside female runner-up Kara Olivito, 42, of Exeter, N.H., in a tie for seventh. Paul Leckey, 28, of Northampton, Mass., and David Breyer, 50, of Southbury, Conn., rounded out the overall top 10 in 5:48:05 and 5:58:54 and 6:00:29, respectively.

After Gaudrault and Olivito, the race for third in the female field was close between a tight trio. Ultimately, 27-year-old Tori Laverdiere of Easthampton, Mass., secured the spot in 6:37:22, followed by 29-year-old Emma Zimmerman of Falmouth, Maine, in 6:45:46, and 48-year-old Sarah Nelson of Florence, Mass., in 6:48:53.

Of the 44 runners who started the race, 37 finished within 9 hours.

Grip, Cregan, Serres Earn Victories in 24K

As a general rule, if Dan Grip is on the starting line of a trail race then the course record isn’t safe. The 24K record at Mt. Toby was supposed to be the exception since this year’s course was slightly modified from when Matt Shamey set the record of 1:49:37 in 2023. Still, Grip decided to find out for himself.

With the 7 Sisters Trail Race a month away, Grip used Mt. Toby to discover if he was dialed-in for the notoriously tough 12-miler in the Holyoke Range. He took off at a blistering pace with Jacob Barnett by his side. After three miles, Barnett fell off the pace and Grip motored away. He charged to the summit of Mt. Toby and back down, deftly handled the course’s 2,600 feet of climbing and gradually added to his advantage with each passing mile.

Though Shamey’s record survived, Grip, 45, of Belchertown, Mass., won comfortably in 1:52:08. Barnett, 39, of Whately, Mass., was the only other sub-2-hour finisher, crossing the line in 1:58:32. A pair of men from South Deerfield, Mass., 45-year-old Matthew Shamey and 46-year-old Brian Rusiecki, rounded out the top four in 2:01:12 and 2:04:58, respectively. Top nonbinary finisher Liam Cregan, 32, of Florence, Mass., followed just behind in fifth place overall in 2:05:20, with top female Nora Serres, 30, of Duxbury, Mass., a few minutes behind in 2:10:05, good for sixth overall.

Bonnie Lathrop, 34, of Amherst, Mass., and Elena Betke-Brunswick, 40, of Hadley, Mass., joined Serres on the female podium. Lathrop placed second in 2:32:39 and Betke-Brunswick was one second behind in third in 2:32:40.

Ninety-eight runners finished the 24K race within 6 hours.

Gigliotti Edges Matthias for 13K Victory

The shortest race at Mt. Toby featured the closest finish as a pair of former college runners turned in a barnburner of a race in the 13K. A newcomer to the New England trail-racing scene, Jenna Gigliotti, engaged in a close race with Lara Matthias, a stalwart known for turning in gritty performances on rugged courses like 7 Sisters and Wapack and Back. Gigliotti, 32, is a former cross country standout at Duquesne University and now lives in Amherst, Mass. Matthias, 27, is a former standout at Hampshire College now living in Sharon, N.H. Both pushed the pace and built a comfortable gap on the remainder of the field as they made their way to the top of Mt. Toby, making it clear that the top two overall places would be decided by the top two female runners. Runners in the 13K made one trip to the summit of Mt. Toby and amassed 1,500 feet of climbing.

Ultimately, Gigliotti earned the victory in 1:08:10, followed by Matthias in 1:09:15. Top male finisher John Schatz, 45, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., followed in third place overall in 1:14:15, with male runner-up Timothy Austin, 43, of South Hadley, Mass., the next runner to cross the line in 1:17:07. Lindsey Masterjohn, 43, of Peterborough, N.H., and William Breymann, 38, of Windsor, Mass., were fifth and sixth overall and the third-place female and male finishers in 1:17:44 and 1:19:12, respectively. Seventh overall finisher Sophie Tournas-Hardt, 19, of Amherst, Mass., was the top nonbinary finisher in 1:19:52. Kris LaRosa, 29, of Hadley, Mass., was the runner-up in 1:36:48.

Sixty-seven runners finished the 13K race within 4 1/2 hours.