Spring is here, leaves are emerging, and racing season is ramping up. That much was clear during the April 11-13 weekend as New England ultrarunners took to the trails from coast to coast, some earning their first ultramarathon finishes and others securing spots on the podium. While a few dozen runners raced locally at the Spring Fever 8-Hour in Hingham, Mass. (separate recap to follow), many others scattered across the country, racing from New York to Alabama, to Kansas and Oregon. We make seven stops in this edition of the roundup, but we lead off with Boston resident Philip Royer’s dynamite performance at the Gorge Waterfalls 100K.

Gorge Waterfalls

Philip Royer had a breakout performance on a day when several runners did the same at the 12th edition of the Gorge Waterfalls Ultras on April 11-13 in Cascade Locks, Ore. Royer, 34, of Boston, Mass., was one of several runners in both the male and female 100K fields who toppled course records on the singletrack trails of the Columbia River Gorge.

The course records were rewritten as the top four men and top three women all eclipsed the previous course standards on a day of spirited racing. Among the men, 29-year-old Adam Peterman of Missoula, Mont., led the way in 7:59:30, followed by 26-year-old Tracen Knopp of Anchorage, Alaska, in 8:05:16. Royer rounded out the podium in 9:19:30, followed closely by 34-year-old Jeffrey Colt of Carbondale, Colo., in 8:20:12. All four men broke the longstanding course record of 8:20:28 set by Jim Walmsley in 2017.

For Royer, it was his biggest performance in a still young ultrarunning career. He made his ultra debut at the 2021 Ragged 75 50K in New Hampshire and placed fourth before returning to the race and winning it in 2023. Also in 2023, Royer traveled to California and placed third at the Kodiak 50K.

Meanwhile, the women also rewrote the record board as Shea Aquilano, Jade Belzberg and Klaire Rhodes all broke Hannah Allgood’s course record of 9:34:44 from 2022. Aquilano, 23, of Boulder, Colo., won in 9:14:49, followed by Belzberg, 32, of Fort Langley, B.C., in 9:27:39, and Rhodes, 26, of Anchorage, Alaska, in 9:34:25.

OF the 388 runners who started the race, 310 finished within 18 hours including the top 25 who went sub-10 hours. A dozen other New England residents joined Royer among the finishers. Three of them finished in less than half a day. Andrew MacGibbon, 29, of Lebanon, N.H., placed 30th overall in 10:12:54; Hannah Rowe, 33, of Boston, Mass., was 73rd overall and 16th in the female field in 11:45:56; and Stephen Kerr, 33, of Portland, Maine, was 81st in 11:57:22. Other finishers were Colleen Sands, 28, of Rindge, N.H. (88th, 12:18:35); Joshua Robinson, 34, of Hudson, N.H. (102nd, 12:48:52); Andrew Epstein, 29, of Somerville, Mass. (104th, 12:50:57); Bess Ritter, 37, of Sharon, Vt. (115th, 13:08:37); David Lane, 37, of Haverhill, Mass. (129th, 13:26:05); Brian Haley, 61, of South Deerfield, Mass. (169th, 14:27:02); Robert Struck, 46, of Taunton, Mass. (182nd, 14:43:05); Emily Rose, 37, of Portland, Maine (201st, 15:21:47); and Amy Rusiecki, 45, of South Deerfield, Mass. (211th, 15:30:46).

Another 315 runners completed the event’s 50K race within 9 1/2 hours, including a half-dozen New Englanders. Leah Nicholson, 37, of Lebanon, N.H., led the way with a 46th-place finish in 5:18:13. Additionally, 41-year-old Joe Macey of Boston, Mass., finished 120th in 6:45:49; Mike Hutwagner, 33, of Guilford, Conn., was 155th in 6:59:22; Matthew Hoadley, 46, of Scituate, Mass., was 246th in 8:08:15; Colin Reed, 36, of Hingham, Mass, finished 261st in 8:15:49; and 43-year-old Jennifer Kubrynski, 43, of East Haddam, Conn., was 297th in 8:46:24. Joshua Potvin, 35, of North Vancouver, B.C., and Sarah Allaben, 26, of Trout Lake, Wash., were the top male and female finishers in 3:49:30 and 4:38:44, respectively.

Chief Ladiga

Caitlin Rossi kicked off her 2025 ultramarathon racing season with a strong showing at the fourth annual Chief Ladiga 100-miler on April 12-13 in Jacksonville, Ala. Of the 50 runners who started the 100-mile race on the out-and-back paved course, 45 finished within the 32-hour time limit. Rossi was among the fastest finishers. The 41-year-old from Torrington, Conn., placed 12th overall and fourth in the female field in 22:55:15.

Zack Jordan, 31, of Ball Ground, Ga., led all runners in 14:57:45, while 38-year-old Kristina Tudor of Weaver, Ala., was third overall and the first-place female in 17:34:09. Both were new course records.

The event also included 50-mile and 50K distances. Eleven runners finished the 50-miler, including 62-year-old Robert Tagliaferi of New Haven, Conn., who placed third in 11:12:28. Verity Methis, 46, of Gainesville, Fla., led all runners in 9:50:01 while top male Shawn Tyska, 52, of Roswell, Ga., was second in 11:02:51. An additional 24 runners completed the 50K race; no New England residents were among the field.

English’s Ridge Rumble

A year ago Spencer Evans-Cole made his ultrarunning debut with a podium finish at the English’s Ridge Rumble 50K. Evans-Cole returned to the event for his second ultra, and the 20-year-old from Chelmsford, Mass., notched another top-10 finish at the eighth annual event on Saturday, April 12, in Fayetteville, N.Y. 

Evans-Cole and his fellow runners once again took on multiple laps of a 10-mile loop course through Green Lakes State Park, amassing around 1,300 feet of climbing per loop on the mostly doubletrack trails. Evans-Cole was the lone New England resident in the field, and he had a strong day of running, finishing seventh overall in 5:20:20. Will Gilmet, 41, of Binbrook, Ontario, led all runners in 4:23:44 while top female finisher Polina Lepniakova, 29, of Ottawa, Ontario, was sixth overall in 5:02:41.

Leona Divide

A pair of Massachusetts ultrarunners collected hard-earned 100K finishes at the 33rd edition of the Leona Divide Ultras on April 12-13 in Lake Hughes, Calif. The event offered 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K distances, but William Baker of Needham and Olivia Carrick of Westwood were among a small group of New Englanders to take part in the event and the only ones to cross the finish line.

Baker is building up to the Old Dominion 100 in Virginia in June, and the 24-year-old had a strong day of running, placing 21st overall out of 84 finishers in 14:31:51. Carrick, 49, finished 63rd in 17:29:42. 

Luke Garten, 42, of Rocklin, Calif., and Shelbie Christensen, 31, of Truckee, Calif., topped the male and female fields in 10:24:42 and 12:20:07, respectively.

Mile 0 Flint Hills Trail Race

The 30-hour Ghost Train Trail Race is still six months away, but Jeffrey Taylor kicked off his preparation with a 50K ultra on somewhat similar terrain at the fourth annual Mile 0 Flint Hills Trail Race on Saturday, April 12, in Osawatomie, Kan. The race took place on the flat, crushed-limestone Flint Hills Rail Trail, ideal for a fast performance.

Hans Van Zanten, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., took full advantage and cruised to a comfortable victory in 3:52:21, followed by 39-year-old Drew Ibarra of Olathe, Kan., nearly 40 minutes later in 4:31:46. Laura Warta, 37, of Manhattan, Kan., was third overall and the top female finisher in 4:49:30. Taylor was the lone New England resident in the field, and he also had a strong day of running. Taylor, 64, of Greenland, N.H., raced to a top-10 finish, placing eighth overall in 5:27:48.

Thirty runners finished the race within the 10-hour time limit.

Peterson Ridge Rumble

Kristen Amick logged her first ultramarathon finish of the year at the 23rd annual Peterson Ridge Rumble and 12th edition of the 40-mile ultra on Sunday, April 13, in Sisters, Ore. Amick, 42, of East Lyme, Conn., was the lone New Englander in the 40-miler, which took place on a mix of trail and dirt roads with plenty of hills. She placed 43rd overall in 9:20:31 and was one of 47 finishers within the 10-hour time limit. Evan Moreau, 33, and Ashley Nordell, 45, both Sisters locals, finished 1-3 overall and topped the male and female fields in 4:50:04 and 5:32:47, respectively.

Whiskey Basin

After a decade away from running ultras, TJ Dooling went beyond the marathon again when he completed the 91K race at the Whiskey Basin Trail Runs on Saturday, April 12, in Prescott, Ariz. Dooling – who last ran an ultra at the Bimblers Bluff 50K in Connecticut in October 2014 – was one of 90 runners who took on the event’s longest distance – and he was the only New Englander to do so. Of the group that started, 77 ultimately finished, including Dooling, 66, of Pawcatuck, Conn., who completed the course in 16:40:41. Jordan Bramblett, 28, of Paulden, Ariz., and Rachel Entrekin, 33, of Conifer, Colo., were the top male and female finishers in 8:02:51 and 9:07:16, respectively.

Another 85 runners finished the event’s 60K race, though none were from New England.

*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.