The ultrarunning scene was hot across northern New England during Memorial Day weekend with events in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The Infinitus ultras wound down to close out 10 days of muddy miles on the trails of Vermont at the multi-day classic. In New Hampshire, runners journeyed on roads and trails before climbing a mountain at the Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler. Finally, Maine’s Pineland Farms Trail Festival made 100 miles more tempting with a 30-hour option this year, and several runners from the region took advantage. We have all of those events covered – plus the Flagstaff Buffaloops Ultra in Arizona – in this edition of the roundup.

Infinitus

Vermont’s mud season was in prime form for the 10th annual Infinitus ultras as runners endured up to 10 days of rain, mud and mileage from May 15-25 in Ripton, Vt. Based out of Silver Towers Camp, runners took on a course consisting of an 8.5-mile loop with nearly 2,100 feet of climbing and a 17.8-mile loop with more than 2,750 feet of climbing. Some were there to run 100-mile and 88K distances. Others were there to try to complete five marathons in five days, 10 marathons in 10 days, a 250-miler or the notorious 888K (551.7 miles).

Carnage was everywhere in one of the most difficult years in event history. None of the five runners who attempted the 888K race finished. None of the five runners in the 250-mile race finished, either.

Ten runners attempted the deca-marathon, consisting of a marathon per day for 10 days straight. Runners had to complete both loops each day, covering 26.3 miles with nearly 5,000 feet of climbing, to earn a successful result. Just four ultimately finished the task, with 40-year-old Jordan Wirfs-Brock of Walla Walla, Wash., leading the way in 61:05:00. Wirfs-Brock set a new female course record with her performance. Top male Christopher King, 49, of Cheshire, Conn., was second overall in 73:21:00. George Alexion, 65, of Waterboro, Maine, and Stuart Johnson, 65, of Queensbury, N.Y., also finished in 94:48:00 and 106:50:00, respectively.

Just five runners completed the penta-marathon, led by 45-year-old Karine Loiselle of Otterburn Park, Quebec, in 30:52:00. Keely Henderson, 53, of Bristol, Vt., followed in 34:48:00. Johanna Fawcett, 45, of Lawrence, Mass., was third in 51:13:00. Kimberly Compton, 37, of Richmond, Va., and Danielle Dukette, 52, of Moretown, Vt., also finished in 50:28:00 and 51:26:00, respectively.

Given the conditions, the 100-miler had a surprisingly high finisher rate as 19 of the 35 starters finished within the 48-hour time limit. Joshua Farrell, 30, of Fountaintown, Ind., was the lone sub-24-hour finisher, earning the victory in 23:25:00. Oliver Thibaudeau, 44, of Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, and Pascal Veilleux, 51, of La Prairie, Quebec, tied for second in 30:58:00. Top female Nicole Leach, 45, of Lebanon, Pa., finished sixth overall in 35:51:00. She was joined on the podium by Amber Mosel, 40, of Corinth, Vt. (40:51:00) and Amelia Sharp, 49, of North Clarendon, Vt. (45:36:00).

In the 100K race, 21 of the 33 runners finished within 20 hours. Josh Getega, 32, of New York, N.Y., led all runners in 11:42:57, followed by Ryan Adams, 40, of Tyngsboro, Mass. (12:24:52) and Alex Couture, 27, of Webster, Mass. (12:34:34). Female champion Crystal Ross, 44, of Carver, Mass., placed fourth overall in 12:49:36. An Infinitus veteran, it was Ross’s first run at the 88K and her second victory, pairing it with her penta-marathon win in 2023. Joining Ross on the female podium were Lauren Lande, 38, of Waterbury, Vt., and Hannah Doyle, 38, of Cambridge, Mass., who battled down to the wire with Lande finishing in 13:13:00 and Doyle in 13:16:00.

Manchester 2 Monadnock

Twenty-three runners secured hard-earned finishes at the 12th edition of the Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler in Manchester, N.H. Their adventure began in the early morning hours in downtown Manchester. From there, they journeyed on a mix of dirt roads, paved roads and trails all the way to the summit of 3,165-foot Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey before dropping back down the mountain to the finish line.

Aaron Stevens, 35, of Salem, N.H., led the way and earned the overall victory in 8:31:00. Jameson Boswell, 35, of Plymouth, N.H., followed soon after in 9:52:10 to finish second. Benjamin Niebla, 28, of Manchester, N.H., rounded out the male podium with a third-place finish in 9:03:09. Lucas Harrigan, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was the only other sub-10-hour finisher, placing fourth in 9:39:57.

Erin James Shaffer, 32, of INtervale, N.H., led the female field in 11:14:44, finishing in a tie for seventh overall. Aleida Castillo, 52, of Leominster, Mass., was second in 12:12:16, while 36-year-old Jessica Cotnoir of East Orange, Vt., rounded out the female podium in 13:56:55.

Trail Festival at Pineland Farms

The Trail Festival at Pineland Farms added a new twist for its latest edition on May 24-25 in New Gloucester, Maine: the 24-hour event was expanded to 30 hours to give more runners a chance to pursue 100-mile finishes. It was the latest edition to a popular event that also offered 100K and 50K ultras, in addition to several sub-ultra distance offerings.

Forty-eight runners took advantage of the 30-hour option, with 45 completing ultramarathon mileage and 13 eclipsing the 100-mile mark. Jason Bigona went bigger than anybody, logging a whopping 149.6 miles for the overall win. Top female Vanessa Kline followed with 108.8 miles. Her mileage was matched by male runner-up Jason Geroux and female podium finishers Jessica Sibley and Jana Kenney. Eight runners completed 102 miles; they were Patrick Kistner, James Menousek, Troy Stafford, Mark Lariviere, Nicholas Menice, Karen Deyesso, Matt Scialla and Patrick Grengs.

Fifteen runners completed the 100K race, with Mykel Henry earning the win in 9:44:30, followed by Anthony Johnson and Marc Capobianco who finished together in 10:21:43. Top female Alyssa Anderson was fourth in 10:53:29. Joining her on the female podium were Rachel O’Brien (14:04:55) and Lena Wood (18:12:06). An additional 73 runners completed the 50K race, with the top three male finishers all going sub-4. Andrew Combs led the way in 3:24:30, followed by David Herr in 3:47:53 and Sapan Bhatt in 3:53:39. Kate Salotto topped the female field and finished fifth overall in 4:07:53. Brittany Saia was the female runner-up in 4:32:12, and Nicole Negowetti rounded out the podium in 4:44:46.

Flagstaff Buffaloops Ultra

Sarah McWhirter kicked off her trail-running career in 2024 at the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra in Massachusetts, completing 21 miles within the allotted time limit. For her latest trail adventure – and second ultramarathon – McWhirter sought out another time-based event at the seventh annual Flagstaff Doggie Dash and Buffaloops Ultra on Sunday, May 25, in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The event offered short dog-friendly races, as well as 12- and 6-hour ultramarathons on the 2-mile loop course on crushed gravel through Buffalo Park. McWhirter was the lone New Englander at the event, and she opted for the 12-hour. The 35-year-old from Brookline, Mass., ran strong throughout and finished sixth overall with 46.347 miles, earning the third position on the female podium. Tara Friend, 36, of Flagstaff, Ariz., earned the overall victory and set a female course record with 62.468 miles. Top male Levi Rajnowski, 28, also of Flagstaff, finished second overall with 58.438 miles.

The result was McWhirter’s second-longest run ever. She completed the PPTC Endurance Fest 50-miler in Brookly, N.Y., in December 2024 for her first ultra. She will next race at the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine in July.

*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.