From the moment the sun rose over Great Brook Farm State Park on Saturday, Sept. 6, runners at the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Fall Classic knew a storm was coming. The race was on–against the clock, and to beat the rain. Those in the sub-ultra distances had no need to worry, but the early starters in the event’s ultramarathons spent the day with one eye on the trail and the other eye on the sky with Carlisle, Mass., and most of the region under a severe thunderstorm watch.

The day began in the upper 60s at sunrise and climbed into the mid-80s with humidity that pushed the feels-like temperature closer to 90 under partly cloudy skies. It made for a sticky, sweaty day of running as runners battled challenging conditions and tried to outrun the gradually approaching storm that crept closer with each passing hour. Ultimately, most of the 500+ runners at the Spring Classic avoided getting soaked, but several in the 50-miler weren’t spared.

The heat took its toll on the 50-milers, knocking many of the 49 starters from the race before a heavy downpour washed out the dreams of finishing for a few others. Ultimately, just 21 runners finished the 50-miler, and the race for the overall win was in doubt for much of the day. Tommy Bennett led for much of the day, and the pack behind him shuffled between Mark Howard, Alex McQuown, Isabel Nakisher, and Brandon Dorr-Swendig. Dorr-Swendig dropped after 40 miles, leaving the lead pack to duel for the win. McQuown led at mile 40, but Nakisher soon moved to the front and held a two-minute advantage with less than three miles to go, but McQuown had one final kick. Ultimately, McQuown, 31, of Arlington, Mass., rallied for the overall win in 10:03:37. Nakisher, 27, of West Bloomington, Mich., followed 83 seconds later in 10:05:00, placing second overall and first in the female field. After leading as late as the 33.5-mile mark, Bennett, 26, of South Hamilton, Mass., finished third in 10:12:54. Howard, 42, of North Providence, R.I., spent the entire day in the top five and ultimately finished fourth in 10:19:42. Chris Loftus was a steady climber throughout the day, and the 51-year-old from Hudson, Mass., finished fifth in 10:36:22. Daniel Lyszczak spent the entire day in the top 10, and the 34-year-old from Cohasset, Mass., was the final sub-11-hour finisher, placing sixth in 10:59:51.

Lyszczak was among the first runners who didn’t escape the rain. A heavy downpour soaked the course as he covered his final miles and crossed the finish line. Lightning lit up the sky, illuminating a river of water that flowed down parts of the course. That signaled the end for a few runners who had already battled through a difficult day, but 15 more runners persevered despite being drenched. Julia Magnusson was among them. Magnusson, 53, of Maynard, Mass., pushed through the rain and earned a seventh-place overall finish and runner-up spot in the female field in 11:18:26. Dan Wilczynski, 38, of Plymouth, Mass. (11:33:12); Nathan Edison, 39, of New Ipswich, N.H. (11:33:32); and Rob Hand, 35, of Medford, Mass. (11:40:40) followed shortly after and rounded out the overall top 10.

Rollock Rolls, MacDonald Holds On In 50K

Most of the 85 runners who finished the 50K race avoided the rain, but all 95 who attempted the distance had to deal with the heat and humidity. Those at the front brought heat of their own as they pushed the pace.

Annika Rollock led the female field from wire to wire as the 29-year-old from Cambridge, Mass., cruised to the win in 4:58:59 while placing fifth overall. The victory is Rollock’s second at a TARC event; she also was the female champion at the 2024 TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra. While Rollock built an early lead, the battle for the final places on the podium was up in the air until the late miles as Brittany Saia, Emily Daly and Stacia Broderick raced within a few minutes of each other. Ultimately, Daly, 32, of Needham, Mass., placed second in 5:16:16, followed by Broderick, 47, of Tisbury, Mass., in 5:30:58. Saia, 37, of Medford, Mass., followed shortly after in fourth place in 5:38:15. Emma Lutz, 28, of South Boston, Mass., rounded out the female top five in 5:48:04.

Meanwhile, the male front-runners ran tight throughout as Sean MacDonald, Robin Hewson and Zack Beavin vied for the victory. MacDonald, 28, of Boston, Mass., led early, then fell behind before moving back to the front and holding on for the win in 3:58:58. Hewson, 35, of Cumberland, R.I., was a close second in 4:02:39, while Beavin faded to third in 4:16:24. Adam Ribeiro, 31, of Newton, Mass., was a strong fourth in 4:29:04.

Photo Finish Decides 20-Mile Race

Still a relatively new offering at the Fall Classic, the 20-mile race has grown increasingly popular with more runners seeking out the option of running two 10-mile loops. This year, 80 runners started the race and 70 finished, and the fastest two came down to a photo finish. Matthew Theodore, 55, of Mashpee, Mass., and Florent Peral, 40, of Belmont, Mass., were rarely separated by more than a minute throughout the race, and they ultimately finished side by side with a tenth of one second separating them. Theodore was credited with the win in 3:06:47.2 and Peral second in 3:06:47.3. Third-place male Corey Robinson, 36, of Concord, Mass., followed closely in 3:07:26. A competitive race also played out among the female front-runners, and 48-year-old Amanda Richmond of Newmarket, N.H., ultimately earned the victory in 3:08:02, finishing fourth overall. Emily Jordan, 30, of Acton, Mass., climbed to second in 3:16:27, followed by 45-year-old Jayne Hetherington of Weston, Mass., in 3:23:18. MJ Szulga, 39, of Northborough, Mass., led the nonbinary field in 5:44:36.

Records Fall in Half Marathon

The course record board received some revisions in the half marathon as both the male and nonbinary marks were toppled. Of the 122 runners who started the race, 120 finished and 61 did so in less than 2 1/2 hours. Kai Wiggins and Trey Cormier ran close for the early miles, but Wiggins soon opened up a gap and never eased up. Ultimately, Wiggins won the race in 1:22:26. The 31-year-old from Jamaica Plain, Mass., clipped 90 seconds off of Matthew Johnson’s previous male course record of 1:23:56 from 2022. Chris Gabrielson, 37, of Chelmsford, Mass., gradually climbed through the field and finished third overall in 1:37:31, just ahead of 33-year-old Wes Traub of Brookline, Mass., who was fourth in 1:38:03. Joining Wiggins in setting a course record was YK Kim, 48, of Boston, Mass., who took two minutes off of Scott Smith’s nonbinary record of 2:25:44 from 2023. Kim finished in 2:23:19. In the female field, 29-year-old Abby McAdams of Chelmsford, Mass., earned the victory in 1:44:19 while placing ninth overall. She was joined on the podium by 39-year-old Megan Bonney of Cambridge, Mass., and 52-year-old Huiling Li of Woburn, Mass., who followed in 1:54:46 and 2:11:16.

Cronin, Macilvain Top 10K Field

The 10K featured the largest field of participants, with 144 runners. Timothy Cronin, 40, of Wayland, Mass., pushed hard for the overall win in 41:48, while male runner-up Mark Johnson, 39, of Etna, N.H., followed in 44:30. First-place female Margaret Macilvain, 41, of Wayland, Mass., was third overall in 48:12, with 39-year-old Mallory Walker of Weston, Mass., as the runner-up in 49:22. Kurty Fuquay, 38, of Gardner, Mass., led the nonbinary field in 1:23:20.