May kicked off with a jam-packed slate of ultramarathons in New England, including two in Connecticut – the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour and the Blue 2 Blue Challenge, as well as the White Lake Ultras in New Hampshire. We’ll have those ultras covered in Part II of this week’s roundup, but here in Part I we look beyond New England and catch up on how runners from the region performed at other ultras throughout the country, from New Jersey to Oregon and points in between.

Trails to the Sky 50K

A few weeks removed from completing the Chief Ladiga 100-miler, Caitlin Rossi shook out her legs with another ultramarathon at the inaugural Trails to the Sky 50K on Saturday, May 3, in Glen Gardner, N.J.

Twenty-five runners took on five 10K loops of the course through Voorhees State Park, amassing 900 feet of climbing per loop. Of those who started, 14 finished within the 9-hour time limit. Rossi, 41, of Torrington, Conn., was among them. She placed ninth overall and third in the female field in 7:26:21, just six minutes behind female runner-up Maria Naccarato, 46, of Glenn Gardner, N.J. (7:20:30). Cameron Gardner-Lewis, 38, of Queensbury, N.Y., became the event’s first champion, winning by 29 minutes in 5:03:34. Top female Michele Zandona, 46, of White Plains, N.Y., placed fifth overall in 6:06:57.

McDonald Forest 50K

A year ago, Gabriel Miller made his first attempt at the McDonald Forest 50K and ended up with a DNF. On Saturday, May 3, Miller returned to the 29th edition of the event in Corvallis, Ore., and raced to a top-10 finish. Miller, 30, of Brighton, Mass., ran among the frontrunners throughout the day and held his own against a fast field on the smooth singletrack trails of Oregon State University’s McDonald Forest. Of the 175 runners who finished the race, the top 15 finished in less than 5 hours. Miller placed sixth overall in 4:42:15. James Holk, 39, of Portland, Ore., led all runners in 4:25:06, while Corvallis local Theresa Fritz-Endres, 33, topped the female field and placed 12th overall in 4:49:54.

Salt Flats Endurance Runs

Kate Cook has been running ultras since 2009 and finished at least four 100-milers, but Cook accomplished something she’s never done before at the 14th edition of the Salt Flats Endurance Runs 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K ultras on May 2-3 at the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway in Wendover, Utah. Cook finished atop the podium.

Cook, 49, of Marblehead, Mass., was the top female finisher and fifth place overall in the 50K race with her 6:04:00 performance. She topped her closest competitor by 20 minutes. Jared Rohatinsky, 36, of Pleasant Grove, Utah, topped the male field in 4:27:00.

Cook was the lone New England resident among the finishers of the various distances. No New Englanders were among the 24 runners who finished the 100-mile race within 36 hours or the 24 who finished the 50-miler within 14 hours.

Grayson Highlands

Four New Englanders were among the finishers of the 50-mile and 50K ultras at the 11th annual Grayson Highlands Trail Races on May 3-4 at Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

Kathleen Oram and Christopher Biase were among the 132 runners who completed the 50-miler and its 9,500 feet of climbing within 17 hours. Oram, 32, of Billerica, Mass., placed 56th overall, while Biase, 36, of East Haddam, Conn., finished 119th in 16:12:30. Patrick Wachter, 27, of Roanoke, Va., led all runners in 7:27:55, winning by 85 minutes. Lindsay Deacon, 33, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., finished fourth overall and topped the female field in 9:14:03.

Gerard Michel and Heidi Mendoza were among the 189 runners who finished the 50K and its 5,000 feet of climbing within 10 1/2 hours. Michel, 62, of Cambridge, Mass., placed 135th in 8:48:08 for his first ultramarathon finish. Mendoza, 50, of Watertown, Mass., was 152nd in 9:04:18. Nobie Clark, 20, of Charleston, S.C., earned the overall win and notched the second-fastest time by a female in course history with her victory in 5:13:39. Top male Joshua Lasky, 40, of Washington, D.C., followed two minutes behind in second overall in 5:15:28.

Strolling Jim 40

As Jonathan Crowe builds up to his first 50-miler at Tunnel Hill in November, the 37-year-old from Northborough, Mass., earned a new personal-best distance with his successful finish of the Strolling Jim 40-miler on Saturday, May 3, in Wartrace, Tenn. It was the 47th edition of the event, which is the second-oldest continuously held ultramarathon in the United States.

Crowe placed 99th out of 125 finishers in 8:58:50. John Kruckeberg, 38, of Clarks Hill, S.C., led all runners in 4:44:30 while 28-year-old Martha Clemmer of Chattanooga, Tenn., finished fourth overall and topped the female field in 4:58:34.

*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.