The May 16-18 weekend was busy in Massachusetts with a pair of ultras on the calendar: the Free Spirit 50K in Leyden and the inaugural BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run in Pittsfield. We’ll have both covered in separate recaps, but there was plenty more action in the northeast and nationwide for New England ultrarunners. In New England, that included the Run Ragged Last Person Standing race in Connecticut, which was won by Andreas Mucchietto of Cambridge, Mass. Additionally, Jack Mantell of Newton, Mass., earned a podium finish in the 50-miler at Mayapple in New Jersey. We also catch up on tough 100-milers in Virginia and Georgia, before closing out in Arizona. There’s plenty of action to read about in this edition of the roundup.

Run Ragged Last Person Standing

Andreas Mucchietto was victorious in his first attempt at a Last Person Standing Event when the 31-year-old from Cambridge, Mass., took part in the sixth edition of the CT Trailmixers’ Run Ragged Last Person Standing event on May 17-18 in Berlin, Conn.

Mucchietto was one of 24 runners who began the day wondering how many hours they could go trying to complete the approximately 3.1-mile loop course on the technical trails of Ragged Mountain. Runners had one hour to finish the loop and return to the starting line to begin again at the top of the hour. The field trimmed to 20 runners after six hours. Just 11 runners remained after 10 hours and 31 miles of running. Five runners eclipsed the 50-mile mark, but after 17 hours and 52.7 miles, John Wilhelm, 29, of Glastonbury, Conn., Rick Horton, 52, of Winchester, N.H., and Daniel Wilson, 45, of Dorchester Center, Mass., all stopped, reducing the field to just Mucchietto and Dillon Bell, 26, of New Milford, Conn. The duo lasted for a few more hours, but Bell was ultimately done after 58.9 miles, earning the assist while Mucchietto completed one final loop and won with 62.0 miles.

SMR Mayapple

Jack Mantell earned a podium finish in his ultramarathon debut at the sixth edition of the SMR Mayapple Trail Runs on Saturday, May 17, in Millburn, N.J. Mantell, 20, of Newton, Mass., took on the 50-mile distance at the event, which offered a multi-loop course on the trails of South Mountain Reservation. Ten runners finished the race within 13 1/2 hours, led by Shawn Russo, 32, of Keyport, N.J., in 11:29:52. Mantell was in the hunt all day, and he ultimately placed second overall in 11:39:17. Top female Jackie Murdoch, 20, of Lawrence Township, N.J., finished in 12:44:40.

Another 65 runners finished the 50K race within 11 hours, led by David Gardiner, 43, of Lambertville, N.J., in 5:35:08 to lead the men and Karoliina Lohiniva, 36, of New York, N.Y., to lead the women in 6:49:33. No New Englanders were among the finishers of the 50K.

Massanutten Mountain Trails 100

Jared Dybas earned his latest 100-mile finish at one of the sport’s classics, the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100, when he completed the 29th edition of the event on May 17-18 in Fort Valley, Va., The race challenged runners with more than 18,000 feet of climbing on the rugged trails of the Massanutten Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley.

Dybas, 25, of Groton, Conn., finished among the top third of the field, placing 27th overall in 28:21:20. Ninety-four runners completed the race within the 36-hour time limit. Nicholas Wirz, 37, of Leonardtown, Md., led all runners in 20:11:23. Kristen Kelman, 37, of Germantown, Md., led the female field and finished 10th overall in 24:47:00.

Massanutten was the fourth 100-mile finish for Dybas. Previously, he completed the Umstead 100 in April 2023, the Grindstone 100 in September 2023, and the Cruel Jewel 100 in May 2024. In September, Dybas will toe the starting line of his fifth 100-miler, the Mogollon Monster 100 in Arizona.

Cruel Jewel 100

Big climbs and a brutal course tempted several New Englanders to head south and take on the 13th edition of the Cruel Jewel 100 on May 16-18 in Blue Ridge, Ga. The 103.5-mile course through the North Georgia Mountains and the Chattahoochee National Forest punished runners with 33,000 feet of climbing, most of it on singletrack trails.

A crowd of 187 runners gathered at the starting line, but just 115 ultimately completed the challenge within the 48-hour time limit. Four New Englanders were among them. Leading the way for the runners from the region was Chat Macdonald. The 38-year-old from New Boston, N.H., is a four-time finisher of the Grindstone 100, and he won the Wapack and Back 50-miler in 2023. Macdonald was well prepared for the terrain and the climbing, and finished 50th overall in 39:14:06. David Jackson was the next New Englander to finish. Jackson, 38, of Brookline, Mass., leads hill repeats on the Blue Hills Reservation’s notorious Skyline Trail for the Trail Animals Running Club, so his climbing legs were dialed in for the race. Additionally, Jackson is a two-time finisher of the 74-mile Georgia Death Race, as well as the Jigger Johnson 50-miler and the Cruel Jewel 50-miler, so he knew what he was getting himself into. Jackson finished 79th overall in 41:52:57.

Additionally, Jackqueline Fucile, 40, and Nicholas Fucile, 46, both of Stark, N.H., ran and finished together in 108th and 109th place in 46:13:52 and 46:13:53, respectively.

Top male and female finishers Matt Pruitt and Shannon Wheeler-Deboef went 1-2 overall. Pruitt, 41, of LIttle Rock, Ark., finished in 27:31:11 while Wheeler-Deboef, 48, of Hixson, Tenn., followed in 28:22:43. She previously won the race in 2023 in 27:55:26.

Ram Party

Carly Tucker completed her farthest ultramarathon ever, and she didn’t make it easy on herself. Tucker, 32, of Somerville, Mass., headed to the altitude of Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on a course with plenty of climbing at the fourth annual Ram Party on Saturday, May 17.

Prior to Ram Party, Tucker’s longest race was the 50-miler at the 2017 Vermont 50. At Ram Party, she opted for the 55-mile distance on a lolli-pop loop course with nearly 7,000 feet of climbing and a 17-hour time limit. Tucker was one of 36 finishers, completing the course in 14:16:13. Mackenzie Mau, 38, of nearby Manitou Springs, Colo., won in a male course-record time of 7:57:51, while 38-year-old Elena Ormon of Boulder, Colo., topped the female field and finished fourth overall in 9:11:20 for a new female course record.

One New Englander was among the 44 finishers of the point-to-point 60K race, covering 38 miles with more than 3,200 feet of climbing. Roy Van Buren, 63, of Woburn, Mass., finished in 11:42:52. Bradley Stroz and Lauren Puretz set new male and female course records, with Stroz, 27, of Littleton, Colo., finishing in 4:51:29, and Puretz, 42, of Colorado Springs, Colo., finishing in 5:00:28.

Another 53 runners completed the 50K race and its 4,400 feet of climbing within the 17-hour time limit. Male and female course records were set by Ryan Sullivan, 34, of Grand Junction, Colo., in 3:10:57, and Nicole Hanson, 32, of Flagstaff, Ariz., in 4:01:15. Kerri Haskins was the lone New England resident in the field. Haskins, 54, of Danville, N.H., finished in 9:36:21.

Adrenaline Night Runs

It’s been two years since Jay Gifford made his ultramarathon debut at the Salt Lake Foothills Trail Race 50K in Utah. The 21-year-old from Richmond, Vt., returned to the ultra world for another run at the 12th annual Adrenaline Night Runs 50K on Saturday, May 17, in Fountain Hills, Ariz.

Gifford and his fellow runners had to complete two 25K loops of the course on the trails of McDowell Mountain Regional Park, amassing 2,100+ feet of climbing along the way. Of the 36 runners who started, 29 finished within the 10-hour time limit. Gifford finished in the top half of the field, placing 14th overall in 6:05:59.

In a sprint to the finish line, 35-year-old Kurt Houghton of Peoria, Ariz., fended off 34-year-old Avlnoam Maier of Scottsdale, Ariz., by 6 seconds, with Houghton crossing the line in 4:20:59 and Maier in 4:21:05. Top female Emily Mauser, 31, of Phoenix, Ariz., was fourth overall in 5:12:37.

*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.