Matt Pacheco began his 2025 ultrarunning season with a big victory at Beast Coast Trail Running’s Mt. Toby Trail Race in April. Following a gritty, hard-fought victory at the rain- and mud-soaked Riverlands 100 in May, Pacheco returned for some more Beast Coast fun at the second annual Edge Hill Trail Race on Saturday, June 21, in Ashfield, Mass.

It was Pacheco’s first time racing on the trails of the Edge Hill Conservation Area, a former golf course that is being transformed into a grassland and shrubland habitat. His friend and training partner, Wouter Hoogkamer, won the event’s inaugural 50K in 2024 in 5:09:47, setting a high standard for Pacheco to try to match. He was up for the challenge.

Pacheco was one of 36 runners who stepped to the starting line to take on a “heavy” 50K that measured 33+ miles with more than 5,000 feet of climbing on a variety of terrain, from dirt roads to singletrack trails, to boggy fields made soggy by so many weekends of rain.

The day was dry, sunny and warm, and Pacheco took advantage. He went out fast and had company for the first 10 miles before slipping into second place. He held steady for another 10 miles before moving back into the lead. The mid-60s temperature at the start surged into the low 80s by the time Pacheo was into the final miles. He suffered but pushed onward and opened up a sizable lead before charging across the finish line in first place in 5:09:30 – 17 seconds under Hoogkamer’s course record.

In a close battle for second place, 32-year-old Luc Harrigan of Brooklyn, N.Y., fended off Brian Rusiecki and Andrew Woodbury. Harrigan crossed the finish line in 5:39:48, followed by Rusiecki, 46, of South Deerfield, Mass., in 5:43:22 and Woodbury, 43, of Westfield, Mass., in 5:44:51. No other runners completed the race in less than 6 hours.

Pacheco wasn’t the only runner to deliver a record-breaking performance. Ashley Hensel-Browning also set a new course standard when she took 36 minutes off of Jennifer Boshco’s female course record of 7:20:26. Hensel-Browning, 39, of Weathersfield, Vt., came into the race running strong. After setting a course record at the Free Spirit 50K and earning a top-10 finish at the Vermont 100 in 2024, Hensel-Browning defended her title at the Free Spirit 50K in May. She ran under course-record pace throughout the day at Edge Hill, finished seventh overall and placed first in the female field in 6:44:06. Runner-up Kristen Reyzer, 47, of Easthampton, Mass., also went under the previous record with a 7:10:03 performance while third-place finisher Sarah Nelson, 49, of Florence, Mass., was just above it in 7:22:32.

The 50K wasn’t the only event at Edge Hill. In fact, this year included two sub-ultra distances after offering one in the inaugural year.

By popular demand, a mid-distance 30K race was added for 2025. Thirty-eight runners started the race and 36 finished within 7 1/2 hours. Keith Schmitt led all runners, and he won in dominant fashion. After finishing eighth at the Mt. Toby Trail Race 25K in April, the 56-year-old from Durham, N.H., ran at the front this time. He gradually pulled away from the field and finished first overall in 3:18:49. Nearly 10 minutes later, 53-year-old Mark Guillaume of Greenfield, Mass., followed in 3:28:22, with 39-year-old Jeffrey Uzzel of Easthampton, Mass., third in 3:36:11. It was Uzzel’s second podium finish of the year. He previously won the BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run 50K in May at Pittsfield State Forest. Eric Rice, 41, of Worthington, Mass., was a close fourth in 3:41:49.

In the female field, Bonnie Lathrop added another podium finish to her resume. The 34-year-old from Amherst, Mass., has several victories and podium finishes under her belt during the past decade at ultra and sub-ultra distances, including a win at the Northern Nipmuck Trail Race 16-miler in March and a third-place finish at the Traprock 17K in April. Lathrop finished fifth overall and first in the female field in 3:44:21. Katelyn Pepin, 22, of Manchester, N.H., was second in 3:53:31, followed by 25-year-old Emma Lesser of Northampton, Mass., in 4:01:12.

A year after winning the 8K race, Jacob Barnett seized the opportunity to add a little extra distance to defend his title in the Edge Hill’s shortest distance: the 10K. Barnett, 40, of Whately, Mass., won comfortably in the field of 71 runners in 45:57. He was joined on the male podium by Mark Rabasco, 30, of Greenfield, Mass., and Tim Van Orden, 57, of Bennington, Vt., who finished in 49:28 and 49:39, respectively. Claire Babbott-Bryan, 25, of Sebastopol, Calif., was seventh overall and the first-place female finisher in 57:56. She was joined on the female podium by Livia Cohen, 24, and Kristin Loiko, 44, of South Hadley, Mass., who finished in 1:00:58 and 1:01:17. Jo Kalucki, 29, of Northampton, Mass., was 18th overall and the nonbinary winner in 1:06:07.