Pisgah was the place to be for New England ultrarunners during the Sept. 12-14 weekend. What was otherwise a quiet weekend in the region saw some serious racing and close finishes on the trails of New Hampshire, with New England legends Brian Rusiecki and David Herr turning in another classic. Beyond the region, several runners tackled ultras in nearby New York and Pennsylvania, while others headed west to Oregon and Colorado. Additionally, New Englanders raced the Brookfield Classic and Pawling 24-Hour in New York and Run Rabbit Run in Colorado, but results were unavailable at the time of publication. Still, there is plenty of action to catch up on in this edition of the roundup.

Pisgah Mountain Trail Races

A couple of Pisgah Mountain Trail Race legends returned for another battle at the New England classic on Sunday, Sept. 14, in Chesterfield, N.H. David Herr and Brian Rusiecki have been regulars for many of the event’s 23 editions, with Herr amassing 17 finishes and Rusiecki 13, with 10 wins between them. The latest of those victories came this year as the duo ran tight throughout and were separated by just 27 seconds at the finish line.

Herr and Rusiecki were joined by 36 other runners at the starting line, and they led the pack out quickly on the trails of Pisgah State Park. They tackled what was almost entirely the event’s original course, with one slight modification that added a bit more distance, stretching it to 29.5 miles with 4,600 feet of climbing.

Of the 30 runners who finished, the five fastest all dipped below the 5-hour mark. Herr and Rusiecki were always at the front, along with Ryan Hunter. Ultimately, it was the 46-year-old Rusiecki, of South Deerfield, Mass., who squeaked out the win in 4:37:12. It was Rusiecki’s fourth victory at Pisgah, following wins in 2009, 2014 and 2023. Herr, 60, of Canaan, Vt., followed closely in 4:37:39. It was the third straight runner-up finish for the six-time champion (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016). Hunter, 41, of Concord, N.H., was third in 4:39:16. Clark Plummer, 32, of Londonderry, N.H., and Kevin Ellis, 41, of Richmond, N.H., also went sub-5, finishing in 4:50:30 and 4:57:06, respectively.

The female front-runners included a trio of Pisgah newcomers, but they also delivered a race that came down to the wire. Alexandria Leveille, Elizabeth Atwater, and Candice Lanzoni raced close for much of the day, and Leveille and Atwater were separated by mere minutes as they entered the final miles. Ultimately, Leveille, 31, of Londonderry, N.H., earned the victory in 5:28:33, with Atwater, 46, of Sudbury, Mass., less than three minutes behind in 5:31:23 for second place. Lanzoni, 31, of Hopkinton, Mass., was third in 5:44:34, following her victory the month prior at the TARC Summer Classic 40-miler.

Virgil Crest Ultras

Big climbs and big views are signatures of the Virgil Crest Ultras. For New Englanders, the 13th edition of the event on Sept. 13-14 in Cortland, N.Y., also included big results. Three runners from the region–one from Maine, one from Massachusetts and one from Vermont–earned victories among the event’s 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K distance offerings.

In the 100-miler, just nine runners successfully completed the distance, but 22-year-old Grant Allard did so the fastest. After coming up short at the Riverlands 100 earlier this year, the resident of Cumberland, Maine, earned his first 100-mile finish in impressive fashion by winning in 26:35:00. New Englanders David Stawski, Jeffrey Deady and Robert Miller joined him among the finishers. Stawski, 44, of Manchester, Conn., placed fifth in 31:04:00; Deady, 49, of Hingham, Mass., was sixth in 31:41:00; and Miller, 30, of Somerville, Mass., tied for eighth in 33:50:00. Claire Davenport, 45, of New York, N.Y., was the only female finisher, placing seventh in 32:10:00.

In the 50-miler, 28-year-old Leah Williams of Lowell, Mass., was the first-place female and second overall finisher in 10:25:00. She was the lone New Englander among the eight finishers. Harshil Shah, 22, of Livermore, Calif., was the male champion in 9:15:00. An additional 14 runners finished the event’s 50K race, and 19-year-old Lily Weinstein Terry of Norwich, Vt., was the first-place female in 7:22:00. Her time was also good for sixth overall. Campbell Coorssen, 24, of Jackson, Wyo., led all runners in 6:17:00. Weinstein Terry ran her first ultra at age 17. Virgil Crest was her fifth ultramarathon finish and her first ultra victory.

Shawangunk Ridge Trail Run

It’s not unusual to see Justin Kousky racing along a technical trail, as he did at the 10th edition of the Shawangunk Ridge Trail Run on Saturday, Sept. 13, in Rosendale, N.Y. What is unusual is to see him have company around him. Kousky is used to running solo, typically well ahead of the field on his way to a victory–and maybe even a course record.

Kousky had plenty of company with him at Shawangunk. Rather than racing, he enjoyed the event as a family affair. While some runners tackled the full 70-mile Shawangunk Ridge Trail, covering the full length of the Shawangunk Mountains, Kousky and his family were among the larger group who completed the final 30 miles of the route in a shorter distance race. Justin Kousky, 45, and Olivia Kousky, 45, ran with their children Edison, 14, Everest, 12, and Ellowyn, 9, for the duration of the event. It was the first ultra for the Kousky kids and just the latest for the parents. The residents of Westport, Conn., enjoyed the adventure together, with Edison finishing 46th overall in 8:50:02, Everest and Ellowyn crossing together a second later in 8:50:03, and Justin and Olivia following close behind in 8:50:10. The Kouskys were five of the 11 New Englanders among the 82 finishers of the 30-miler. Alexander Evans, 32, of Watertown, Conn., was the fastest runner from the region, placing 18th in 6:31:27. Matthew Maglin, 26, of Westerly, R.I., followed in 26th place in 7:27:14. Sarah Weidman, 26, of Somerville, Mass., finished 33rd overall and was the third-place female finisher in 8:06:38. Other New Englanders among the finishers were Eli Sanchez, 31, of Somerville, Mass. (35th, 8:13:57); Danielle Costa, 51, of Wendell, Mass. (38th, 8:31:12); and Elizabeth Foster, 57, of Sharon, Conn. (73rd, 11:07:01).

Chris Sina-Jessiman, 52, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Yuko Ashida, 44, of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., were the male and female winners in 5:11:42 and 7:17:42, respectively.

Twenty-seven runners attempted the full 70-mile distance, and just 14 completed it within 30 hours. That included 47-year-old Joel Port, of Carlisle, Mass., who was the lone New Englander among the finishers. He placed third overall in 22:05:20. Roland Mann, 44, of New York, N.Y., was the overall winner in 19:11:09, while female champion Kristen Rasinske, 24, of Westminster, Md., finished sixth in 24:46:36.

Boulder Field 100

After a two-year break from running ultramarathons, Sarah Hoyt picked a tough one for her return. Hoyt, 33, of Boston, Mass., was the lone New Englander at the Boulder Field 100 – an event that offered both 100K and 50K which included a massive crossing of a boulder field, on Saturday, Sept. 13, in Jim Thorpe, Pa. Hoyt opted for the single-loop 50K option, which included 4,000 feet of climbing in addition to navigating the boulders. She was one of the 111 finishers within 12 hours; she completed the race in 8:43:21. Colin Gibbons, 37, of Chester Springs, Pa., and Vicky Hautkappe, 35, of Washington, D.C., were the top male and female finishers in 4:10:40 and 6:06:47, respectively. Another 28 runners completed the 100K race.

Pine to Palm 100

Amy Rusiecki has completed more than 20 100-mile races during her ultrarunning career, and she added another to her impressive resume with a successful run at the Pine to Palm 100 on Sept. 13-14 in Williams, Ore. The event has become a staple on the West Coast, with ultrarunning legend Hal Koerner among its race directing team. In fact, Rusiecki played host to Koerner in 2017 when he participated in a race she directed – the New England classic Vermont 100. When he returned the favor at the 14th running of Pine to Palm, Koerner and his team tested Rusiecki with a rugged point-to-point course through the Siskiyou Mountains, with more than 20,000 feet of climbing, three trips above 7,000 feet, and rewarding panoramic views along the way.

Of the 158 runners who started the race, 125 finished within 34 hours. Rusiecki was among them, placing 78th overall and 15th in the female field in 29:40:35. Daniel Lingenfelter, 37, of Healdsburg, Calif., and Annie Behrend, 39, of Central Point, Ore., were the male and female winners in 21:36:13 and 29:40:35.

Snow Mountain Ranch 50K

Zoe Courville chose a challenging race for her first ultramarathon when she traveled to the seventh annual Snow Mountain Ranch 50K on Saturday, Sept. 13, in Granby, Colo. The event presented a high-altitude challenge as runners took on an out-and-back course with 4,234 feet of climbing and a high point of nearly 9,900 feet above sea level. Adding to the test was the 8 1/2-hour time limit. Twenty-three runners started the race, and 21 beat the cutoff. Courville was one of them. The 50-year-old from Norwich, Vt., finished in 7:42:00.

Jeffrey Urbanski, 40, of Broomfield, Colo., and Angelina Sweet, 35, of Lafayette, Colo., were the male and female champions in 4:04:47 and 5:08:46, respectively, and both set new course records.

*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.