Patrick McEnaney wasn’t the fastest finisher at the Western States Endurance Run 100-miler on June 28-29, but his feat may have been the most impressive. On a weekend where some of the world’s best ultrarunners took on a 100-mile journey from Olympic Valley to Auburn, Calif., and some of the fastest times in its 49-year history were turned in, McEnaney accomplished a massive milestone that will benefit countless other people.

McEnaney, 52, of Mendon, Mass., is a surgeon at UMass Memorial Health–Milford Regional Medical Center. He has spent the past 15 years using his endurance running to raise money for suicide prevention after losing two siblings that way. Western States was his seventh 100-mile run as part of his fundraising efforts.

It was the hottest 100-miler he has run, with temperatures in the upper 90s, and he was tested with altitude and more than 18,000 feet of climbing along the way. He ran with greater purpose than self and stayed focused on his goal throughout: to run strong and raise funds for Riverside Community Care, a community-based nonprofit that provides mental health care, suicide education, trauma response, and more.

Ultimately, McEnaney finished 149th overall in 27:04:11, but his most impressive result was neither his finishing time nor his place; rather, it was the more than $35,000 he raised for the organization through his run.

McEnaney was one of eight New England residents who were among the 369 starters of the race, seven of which were among the 285 who finished within the 30-hour time limit. One New Englander landed on the podium with a top-10 finish.

Ryan Montgomery is relatively new to the New England ultrarunning scene, having just moved from Utah to New Hampshire in 2024. In fact, Montgomery has yet to race an ultra in the Northeast since arriving in the region but the 31-year-old resident of Hanover, N.H., is already representing the region in a big way.

Montgomery kicked off the 2025 ultramarathon racing season by returning to Utah and placing third at the Salt Lake Foothills 50K in Salt Lake City. Montgomery headed back West again for Western States. It’s a journey Montgomery knows well, having finished eight overall and seventh in the male field in 2023 (15:38:35) and 31st overall and 20th in the male field in 2024 (18:34:39).

Montgomery faced a deep and talented field that included the return of 2011 champion Kilian Jornet and 2022 champion Adam Peterman, as well as several other prior top-10 finishers. Additionally, former Massachusetts resident Joe McConaughy (now living in Seattle, Wash.) was expected to be among the podium contenders after earning a Golden Ticket into Western States with a third-place finish at the Black Canyon 100K in February.

Montgomery ran a patient, disciplined race and was consistent throughout. After reaching the top of the Escarpment at mile 4 in 11th place, Montgomery drifted slightly back into 14th place but was never any lower the remainder of the way. From Duncan Canyon (mile 24.4) to Michigan Bluff (mile 55.7), Montgomery picked off a few runners before arriving at Foresthill (mile 62) in 10th place. From there, the race was on and Mongtomery battled for position, climbing into seventh place at Ford’s Bar (mile 73), slipping back to 11th at the American River crossing at Rucky Chucky (mile 78) before methodically picking off runners during the next 21 miles. Montgomery reached Robie Point at mile 98.9 in seventh place with a 9-minute cushion on the next runner, enough of a gap to be able to savor the long downhill and loop around the Placer High School track to the finish line. Montgomery finished seventh overall in 15:54:29.

In the 103 minutes before Montgomery crossed the finish line, the action was hot at the finish line. A year after placing fifth overall, 29-year-old Caleb Olson of Draper, Utah, won the race in 14:11:25. He turned in the second-fastest time in course history, less than 2 minutes shy of Jim Walmsley’s course record of 14:09:28 from 2019. Chris Myers, 29, of Nederland, Colo., and former champion Kilian Jornet, 37, of Mandalen, Norway, were close behind in 14:17:39 and 14:19:22, respectively. Their performances were the fourth- and fifth-fastest in course history. Myers placed 10th at Western States in 2024 in 15:18:25. Jornet placed third at the 2010 race in 16:04:50 and then returned in 2011 to earn a victory in 15:34:24. Joff Mogavero, 31, of Missoula, Mont., finished fourth in his Western States debut in 14:30:11, followed by Daniel Jones, 34, of Wellington, New Zealand, in 14:36:17. It was Jones’ third straight top-five finish. He placed fifth in 2023 in 15:22:15 and fourth in 2024 in 14:32:29. Seth Ruhling, 30, of Boulder, Colo., was sixth in 14:59:36 in his Western States debut.

In the female field, 34-year-old Abby Hall of Flagstaff, Ariz., completed a two-year recovery from a broken leg by winning the race in 16:37:16 and placing 11th overall with the fourth-fastest time by a female in course history. Hall previously completed Western States in 2021, placing 14th in the female field in 22:11:40. Fuzhou Xiang, 33, of Deqing, China, was 10 minutes back in second place in 16:47:09 with the seventh-fastest time by a female ever. Xiang was the 2024 runner-up in 16:20:03, which ranks third all-time. Marianne Hogan, 35, of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, was a close third in 16:50:58. Hogan was third at the 2022 race in 18:05:48.

While Montgomery headlined the field for the New Englanders, several others secured coveted finishes. McConaughy, 33, closed out his long-awaited Western States debut in 23rd place overall and 14th in the male field in 18:02:34. He was paced for part of the way by former Boston Marathon champion Des Linden.

Five more current New England residents also reached the finish line at Western States. For Yuichiro Hidaka, it was the second time. The 46-year-old from South Kingstown, R.I., finished the 2018 race in 25:16:56. This year he climbed to 89th in 23:48:09. Austin Black, 34, of Bartlett, N.H., was 118th in 25:50:55.

Kristijan Begic, 39, of Waterbury, Conn., finished 169th in 27:38:49, and 38-year-old Miki Sawada of Boston, Mass., followed nine minutes later in 27:47:37 for 173rd place. Rounding out the New England contingent, 48-year-old Benjamin Fiandaca of Peterborough, N.H., earned some satisfying redemption at Western States. After failing to finish in 2016, 2022 and 2023, Fiandaca completed this year’s race in 278th place in 29:48:25.

Of the 369 runners who started the race, 285 finished within the 30-hour time limit. Joseph D’Alessio, 48, of Cambridge, Mass., was the lone New Englander who didn’t finish this year’s race, dropping after 85.2 miles and 25:37:00 of running. It was D’Alessio’s second time running Western States. He completed the 2009 edition in 21:28:18.