The first weekend of May saw a trio of ultras play out in New England, with several record-breaking performances in New Hampshire at the White Lake Ultras, and big performances at the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra and the Blue 2 Blue Challenge 50K in Connecticut. We have them all covered here in Part II of this week’s roundup.

White Lake Ultras

It was a record-smashing weekend at the eighth annual White Lake Ultras on May 3-4 at White Lake State Park in Tamworth, N.H. Runners once again took on an approximately 2-mile singletrack and doubletrack trail loop around the lake for 24-, 12- and 6-hour durations, and several course records fell.

The biggest marks that were upended came in the 24-hour race, where 33 of the 54 participants completed at least 62.0 miles and both the male and female records were toppled. In the male field, 29-year-old Corin Kwasnik of Waterbury, Vt., pushed hard and logged 126.0 miles, barely topping Dwight Waugh’s course standard of 125.4 miles from 2024. Runner-up Michael Conley, 41, of Gorham, Maine, followed with 112.0 miles, good for fourth-best all-time. Brendan Morrison, 35, of Marlborough, Mass., rounded out the podium as the final triple-digit mileage finisher with 100.0 miles.

In the female field, 47-year-old Elsa Cipriani of Deery, N.Y., completed 94.0 miles and finished fourth overall. In doing so, she broke Kristen Michaud’s female course record of 93.0 miles from 2022. Cipriani was joined on the podium by Sarah Zarnowski, 38, of Concord, N.H., whose 86.0-mile performance was the fourth best all-time by a female, and third-place finisher Olivia Sharp, 27, of Bartlett, N.H., who logged 78.0 miles.

The 12-hour race saw runners turn in some of the top performances in event history as 17 of the 61 participants surpassed the 50-mile mark and the top five achieved 60 miles or more. Jonathon Western, 40, of Topsfield, Mass., led all runners with 66.971 miles, good for the fourth-best performance all-time by a male. Top female Taylor Miller, 35, of Gilford, N.H., finished second overall and smashed the female course record with her 65.002-mile effort, surpassing Jasmine Fowler’s previous record of 60.0 miles from 2023. Female runner-up Ashley Youland, 29, of Raymond, Maine, also broke the previous record with 61.062 miles. Second- and third-place men Nicholas Moore, 26, of Georgetown, Mass., and Ethan Leef, 25, of Somerville, Mass., also matched Youland’s mileage tally. Third-place female Allison Sullivan, 39, of Bartlett, N.H., followed a lap behind with 59.092 miles.

Another 66 runners took part in the 6-hour race, and the top 12 runners completed at least a 50K within the time limit. Carter Tracy, 23, of Lebanon, N.H., led all runners with 41.365 miles, followed a lap behind by Cole Houser, 34, of Laconia, N.H., and Nicky Dupkin, 21, of Copiague, N.Y., who were the second- and third-place male finishers with 39.395 miles apiece. Top female Sarah Aponte, 34, of North Andover, Mass., logged 35,455 miles, followed by 25-year-old Alice Najimy of Brookline, Mass., and 42-year-old Sarah Canney of Farmington, N.H., with 31.516 miles apiece.

Forgotten Forest

A year after setting the course record at the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra, David Stawski returned to defend his crown at the 10th annual event on Saturday, May 3, in Stratford, Conn. Stawski and his fellow runners once again took on a 2.2-mile loop course on singletrack and doubletrack trails through the Roosevelt Forest. Last time, Stawski set a course standard with 57.2 miles. This year, the 43-year-old from Manchester, Conn., defended his title with 48.3 miles. Michael Nagelberg, 42, of Short Hills, N.J., and David Catarius, 56, of Shrewsbury, Mass., were the second- and third-place men with 46.2 miles apiece. 

In the female field, 41-year-old Faye Benoit of Worcester, Mass., tallied 42.0 miles and earned the victory while finishing fourth overall. Abby Watson, 33, of Stratford, Conn., and RAchel Tesler, 28, of East Greenwich, R.I., joined Benoit on the female podium with 39.9 miles and 35.7 miles, respectively.

A total of 44 runners logged mileage at the event, with 34 eclipsing the marathon distance and 26 completing at least a 50K. In addition to the podium finishers, both Kyle Bell, 33, of Guilford, Conn., and Chase Arsenault, 28, of Westerly, R.I., surpassed the 40-mile mark with 42.0 miles apiece.

Blue 2 Blue Challenge

Lee Davis has been a mainstay on the podium of the Blue 2 Blue Challenge 50K for several years, and he stayed there with his second title at the seventh annual event 50K on Sunday, May 4, in New Haven, Conn. Davis was one of 24 starters and 18 finishers of the challenging 33-mile race on an out-and-back course with 6,300+ feet of climbing on some of the most technical trails of Connecticut’s Blue Blaze network.

Davis finished third in his Blue 2 Blue debut in 2021 and then returned and won the race in 2023 in 6:11:29. In 2024, his title defense ran into Justin Kousky who set a course record of 5:29:34, but Davis still mustered a second-place finish. With Kousky out of the field this year, Davis returned to the top of the podium. The 43-year-old from Hamden, Conn., won the race in 6:06:43.

After back-to-back third-place finishes, 40-year-old Fred Willis of Cheshire, Conn., climbed to second this year in 6:29:12. Stephen Krohley, 35, of Beacon Falls, Conn., rounded out the male podium in 6:35:23, followed shortly after by 20-year-old Tobias Tello of Cheshire, Conn., in 6:47:15. It was Tello’s fastest performance in six appearances at the race.

In the female field, 48-year-old Kehr Davis of Pittsfield, Mass., pushed hard for the victory in 6:51:32 while finishing fifth overall. Davis tallied the second-fastest time by a female in course history, just eight minutes shy of Marie Arnesson Galler’s record-setting run in 2024 (6:43:16). Jessica Crandall, 46, of Berlin, Conn., was second in 8:00:14, followed by 37-year-old Melissa De Fabrizio of Stratford, Conn., in 8:40:06.

*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.