The Aug. 15-17 weekend was a big one in New England. In addition to the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Summer Classic in Massachusetts (separate recap to follow), three additional ultras took place throughout the region. The gnarly Jigger Johnson Ultras once again pounded runners in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, while runners gathered for some more laid-back fun at the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K in Vermont and the Shenipsit Striders’ 50th anniversary fatass 8-hour run in Connecticut. We have all of those covered – as well as Fabulous Fahnestock in New York and the Tamalpa Headlands 50K in California – in this week’s roundup.

Jigger Johnson Ultras

The big, burly Jigger Johnson Ultras welcomed ultrarunners back to the White Mountains for another punishing run at the fourth annual event on Aug. 15-17 in Waterville Valley, N.H. With two ultra distances – a “heavy” 100-miler that actually measured 108 with 29,000 feet of climbing, and a “50-miler” that checked in with 58 miles and 16,000+ feet of ascent – and a tantalizing 20-miler that packed plenty of punch, a few hundred runners accepted the challenge on some of the toughest terrain in the United States.

The signature 100-miler tested runners on an out-and-back journey from Waterville Valley to the South Moat trailhead and back, with repeat trips over multiple 4,000-foot peaks. Forty-eight runners started the race, and 27 finished within 52 hours. Peter Bonito, 40, of Westmoreland, N.H., went out hard, held it together and earned the overall victory in 31:26:05. Bonito’s effort was the third-fastest time by a male in course history. Ben Chisholm, 20, of Salem, N.H., followed in second place in 33:18:06, followed by Benjamin Niebla, 28, of Manchester, N.H., in 39:12:44. The top two female runners were the next to finish. Erica Notini was the runner-up at the technical Traprock 50K in Connecticut in April. She followed it up with a winning effort at Jigger Johnson, finishing fourth overall and first in the female field in 39:13:27. Her performance was the second-fastest by a female in event history. She was pushed throughout by 34-year-old Allison Powell of Bozeman, Mont., who finished less than an hour later in 40:10:09. Meg Miller rounded out the female podium. After finishing the Jigger Johnson 50-miler in 2024, Miller set her sights on the longest distance in 2025. She prepared well, finishing as the female 50-mile runner-up at Wapack and Back in May. The 28-year-old from Glen, N.H., carried that effort forward to the Jigger Johnson 100, finishing 13th overall and third in the female field in 43:27:51.

Other top performers included Robert Galinski, 41, of Waterville, N.Y., who finished sixth overall in 40:29:07; Matt Twitchell, 36, of Windsor Locks, Conn., who was seventh in 40:37:57; Timothy Winnes, 31, of St. Paul, Minn., who was eighth in 40:52:21; Ed Clifford, 60, of Raymond, N.H., who was ninth in 41:23:31; and Benjamin Quist, 23, of Bozeman, Mont., who was 10th in 42:22:46.

An additional 72 runners attempted the event’s 50-mile race and its point-to-point course over three 4,000-foot peaks; 47 runners finished within 30 hours. Ben Quatromoni, 37, of Newport, R.I., ran away from the field and won the race outright in 13:14:59, missing the male course record by less than five minutes. Top female Brianna Russell, 29, of Tucson, Ariz., was second overall in 16:51:16. Lyle Cordes, 22, of Lehighton, Pa., and Julien Yamba-Guimbi, 38, of Stoneham-Et-Tewkesbury, Quebec, joined Quatromoni on the male podium, finishing third and fourth overall in 17:16:30 and 17:21:13, respectively. Female runner-up Taylor Miller, 35, of Guilford, N.H., followed in fifth overall in 17:45:40. Ashley Youland, 29, of Raymond, Maine, rounded out the female podium in 19:37:32 while finishing 10th overall.

The event’s shortest distance, the 20-miler, saw 123 runners successfully finish after climbing 5,900 feet and topping both Mt. Osceola and Mt. Tecumseh. Eli Nixon, 28, of Portland, Maine, and Haley Heinrich, 32, of Newbury, N.H., topped the male and female fields in 3:34:50 and 4:18:05.

Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K

The Richmond Trail Running Club played host to the fourth annual Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K and 26K on Saturday, Aug. 16, in Richmond, Vt.

The 50K race took runners on a course with 5,000+ feet of climbing while running on 23 miles of trails and eight miles on roads. Twenty-two runners completed the race, led by 27-year-old Garrett Pitt of Shelburne, Vt., whose winning time of 4:52:16 broke Aidan Connolly’s male course record by six seconds. Mack Pauly, 33, of Bridport, Vt., was second in 5:45:19, followed by 35-year-old David Whitman of Burlington, Vt., in 6:13:41. Event namesake Aliza Lapierre, 45, of Richmond, Vt., finished second in the female field and sixth overall in 6:23:19, trailing female champion Molly Moening, 21, of Burlington, Vt., by just over a minute. Morning won in 5:22:12. Mary Curnutte, 31, of Bridport, Vt., was third in 7:24:49.

Thirty-four runners completed the event’s 26K race, led by 19-year-old Siena Stanley of Hinesburg, Vt., whose overall winning time of 2:34:37 was the second-fastest by a female in event history. Top male John Kennedy, 37, of South Burlington, Vt., was second overall in 2:37:12.

Shenipsit Striders 50th Fatass 8-hour

The Shenipsit Striders have been bringing runners together to share the trails of Connecticut for a half-century. Founded in 1975, the club had a 50th anniversary party in fitting fashion: an 8-hour fatass-style trail run on Saturday, Aug. 16, in Tolland, Conn. Runners completed as many 5K loops on the trails at Crandall Park as they wanted within the time limit.

Eighty-six runners took part and completed at least one loop of the course, and the top five surpassed the marathon distance. Top male and female finishers Matthew Barnett, 38, of East Hampton, Conn., and Melinda Lodge, 23, of Manchester, Conn., each completed 31.08 miles, with Barnett doing so in 6:31:00 and Lodge in 7:30:00. Eric Wester, 38, of Glastonbury, Conn, matched their mileage but did so in 7:30:23, finishing third overall. Female runner-up Natalie Leppert, 17, of Glastonbury, Conn., followed with 27.97 miles in 5:34:41. Simon Bastien, 37, of Weatogue, Conn., was fifth with 27.97 miles in 7:48:00.

Fabulous Fahnestock

A half-dozen New England residents were among the 65 finishers of the third annual Fabulous Fahnestock 50K on Saturday, Aug. 16, in Cold Spring, N.Y. They overcame a mix of smooth, easy-running dirt roads and technical singletrack trails at Fahnestock State Park.

Florian Bourgey, 32, of New York, N.Y., and Deborah Young, 47, of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., led the male and female fields in 5:14:41 and 7:00:08, respectively. David Crowley, 37, of Worcester, Mass., led the New England contingent, finishing 15th in 7:16:20.

Other finishers from the region included Will Thayer, 22, of Providence, R.I. (22nd, 8:55:20); Dan Cohen, 46, of Williamstown, Mass. (36th, 9:20:02); Paul Sulzicki, 46, of Southington, Conn. (40th, 9:36:29); Benjamin Fiandaca, 48, of Peterborough, N.H. (56th, 10:41:33); and Seng-Lai Tan, 53, of Sudbury, Mass. (62nd, 11:24:54).

Tamalpa Headlands 50K

Though he lives in Boston, Mass., Phillip Royer has enjoyed plenty of success racing on the West Coast. The 34-year-old finished third at the Kodiak 50K in California in 2023 and third at the Gorge Waterfalls 100K in Oregon in 2024. He notched a top-10 finish at another big West Coast ultra when he placed eighth overall out of 251 finishers at the 24th edition of the Tamalpa Headlands 50K on Saturday, Aug. 16, in Sausalito, Calif.

The race took Royer and his fellow runners on a tour of some of the most legendary trails in Marin County, including the Coastal, Dipsea, and Miwok trails on the outskirts of San Francisco. Runners had 10 hours to finish, and Royer needed less than half the time, finishing in 3:54:26. The top nine runners finished in less than four hours, with 26-year-old Cole Campbell of Spring Creek, Nev., leading the way in 3:31:43. Top female Tayler Tuttle, 29, of Longmont, Colo., finished 12th overall in 4:03:05.

Royer was one of five New England residents among the finishers. Hannah Rowe, 33, of Boston, Mass., was 71st in 5:22:51; Zachariah Kish-Degiulio, 30, of North Adams, Mass., and Emily Kamen, 30, of Somerville, Mass., were 188th and 189th in 6:55:29 and 6:55:30, respectively; and 16-year-old Avery Gaffney of Milton, Mass., earned her first ultramarathon finish in 7:57:57.

*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.