Rain has been seemingly inescapable in New England this spring, and in Massachusetts it has rained almost every single weekend. In doing so, the weather has wreaked havoc on almost every ultramarathon in the Commonwealth. The Chesterfield Gorge Ultra was no exception.

The Beast Coast Trail Running event has had extreme heat, unseasonably late cold, as well as some rain during its first six editions, but the seventh offering brought the nastiest conditions the event has ever experienced on June 7-8 at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation in West Chesterfield, Mass.

Ran began falling before the 30-hour event began, and it rarely let up during the first 15 hours. That meant the jeep road that serves as the majority of the 7.75-mile-long out-and-back course turned into a sloppy mess with puddles all over the place and ankle-deep mud in some sections. A venue that typically offers firm footing and an opportunity to go fast instead tested runners’ mental fortitude while forcing them to slog through the sloppy conditions.

Despite the adverse weather, race director Amy Rusiecki’s event proved to be as popular as ever. What began as a small, intimate gathering of 77 runners in 2018 has grown to a full-scale endurance festival with runners taking on 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultra distances in addition to 25K and 11K sub-ultra offerings. This year’s race drew more than 250 starters for the second straight year.

Many of the starters had 100-mile ambitions, but just 11 completed the distance. A close race unfolded at the front of the field with Eric Rice leading for the first 60 miles, but he faded with a hard final 40. Meanwhile, David Cavanaugh and Justin Martino-Harms ran together or in close contact throughout. They finished multiple laps seconds apart, and the victor was in question until the final miles. Ultimately, Cavanaugh, 44, of Bayville, N.J., pulled ahead and earned the overall victory and top spot in the male field in 22:24:07. Martino-Harms was second overall, finishing just 11 minutes later in 22:35:35 while setting a new nonbinary course record with the effort. Next to finish was top female Julie Hong. The 45-year-old from Wantagh, N.Y., steadily climbed through the field throughout the race, picking her way from 10th all the way up to third overall in 24:39:17. Rice, 41, of Worthington, Mass., finished fourth overall in 25:10:05, followed in close succession by Charlie Peng, 51, of Roslyn Heights, N.Y. (25:51:59); Gregory Ulm, 29, of Northbridge, Mass. (25:53:41); and Jared Millay, 46, of Amherst, Mass. (26:05:25). Additional 100-mile finishers were David Stawski, 43, of Manchester, Conn. (26:46:17); Aubri Drake, 38, of Southampton, Mass. (27:04:58); Kevin Koncilja, 36, of Boston, Mass. (29:41:19); and Max Taylor, 38, of Amherst, Mass. (30:25:08).

Eleven runners finished four out-and-backs through the gorge for 100K finishes, with 45-year-old Jennifer Higgins of Old Saybrook, Conn., finishing first overall in 12:55:01. She was followed by top male finisher Aaron Gott, 17, of Sharon, Mass., who was second overall in 13:43:14. Emily Wivell, 36, of Barre, Vt., (14:09:52); Thomas Burns, 29, of Attleboro, Mass. (14:55:22); and Joe Miller, 47, of Grafton, Mass. (15:06:22) rounded out the top five.

The 50-mile field saw 53 runners successfully complete three out-and-backs through the gorge, plus an additional short out-and-back, within 30 hours. The front-runners were scattered, with 31-year-old Hector Sanmiguel of Lebanon, Conn., winning comfortably in 7:41:46, followed 34 minutes later by Chris Stevenson, 30, of Concord, N.H., in 8:15:40. Zachary Bailey, 29, of Dorchester, Mass., was the next runner to finish, following 50 minutes later in 9:05:33 to round out the overall top three. Top female finisher Jackie deRuyter, 47, of Brewster, Mass., finished in 10:24:00. She was joined on the female podium by 44-year-old Shannon Dooling of Boston, Mass. (10:55:38), and Catherine Emily Homan, 47, of Cambridge, Mass. (11:27:28). Daniel Riordan, 26, of Cambridge, Mass., placed 24th overall and set a nonbinary course record in 11:30:32.

The 50K had the largest field of ultrarunners with 70 completing two out-and-backs within 11 hours. The male field saw a close race for the win, with Joel Frost-Tift and Robbie Crossman running just minutes apart for the duration. Ultimately, Frost-Tift, 37, of Burbank, Calif., earned the win in 3:51:18 while Crossman, 40, of Russell, Mass., finished second in 3:59:59. Top female Lila Gaudrault, 22, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was third overall in 4:25:07. After setting the female course record in the 100K a year ago, Gaudrault came within a minute of eclipsing Alia Rawji’s female 50K course record of 4:24:00 that was set in 2023.

Mark Howard and Robert Murphy rounded out the overall top five, with Howard, 42, of North Providence, R.I., finishing in 4:46:16, and Murphy, 24, of Somerville, Mass., close behind in 4:50:58. Joseph Franco, 22, of West Springfield, Mass., rounded out the male top five and placed seventh overall in 5:12:34.

Joining Gaudrault on the female podium were Kristin Loiko and Lexi Cafiero. Loiko, 44, of South Hadley, Mass., placed sixth overall in 5:06:09, while Cafiero, 25, of Guilford, Conn., was ninth overall in 5:20:13. Rounding out the female top five were Jacquelyn Gorski, 47, of Warwick, R.I. (5:22:29), and Sara Tannenbaum, 31, of Concord, N.H. (5:28:27).

In the nonbinary category, 45-year-old Z Porter of Roslindale, Mass., set a division course record by finishing in 7:01:15.

In the 25K race, 43-year-old Tim Parr of Gunnison, Colo., rolled to the overall victory and top spot in the male field in 1:34:32, setting a new course record along the way. He finished 10 minutes ahead of Brian Rusiecki, 46, of South Deerfield, Mass., who was the runner-up in 1:44:29. Liv Lohmeier, 23, of Turners Falls, Mass., finished fifth overall and first in the nonbinary field in 1:49:50, setting a division record. Elizabeth Atwater, 45, of Sudbury, Mass., was the first-place female and 10th overall in 1:59:17, four minutes ahead of runner-up Elena Betke-Brunswick, 40, of Hadley, Mass., who finished in 2:03:34. Ninety-four runners finished the race within 4 1/2 hours.

Fifteen runners competed in the 11K race, with 41-year-old Angela Schatz of Shelburne Falls, Mass., earning the outright victory in 1:01:09. Top male Maxwell Anderson, 25, of Springfield, Mass., placed second overall in 1:03:07.