The Sept. 19-21 weekend saw several dozen ultrarunners tackle the Kilkenny Ridge in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. It was the lone ultra in New England during the weekend, and we’ll have it covered in Part II of this week’s roundup along with a few other ultras on the East Coast. But here in Part I we head West and catch up on New Englanders who raced hard and secured finishes at distances from 50K to 100 miles in Arizona, Idaho, California, and Oregon.

Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra

Padraig Mullins has more than 25 100-mile finishes to his credit during the past 13 years, but Mullins had to wait much longer than he hoped for his latest successful run at the distance. He placed third at the 2022 Old Dominion 100-miler in 19:16, but a hamstring injury that required surgery to repair was followed by a long recovery and comeback. After a DNF at the Vermont 100 in July, Mullins was running strong at the Oregon Cascades 100 in August before the race was canceled midway through due to a forest fire. Mullins pivoted and found a replacement race to put his fitness to good use, and on Sept. 20 he stepped to the starting line of the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra 100-miler in Flagstaff, Ariz. 

It took just under 26 hours, but Mullins successfully completed the run on the Arizona National Scenic Trail from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon. The 43-year-old resident of Norton, Mass., placed 19th overall in 25:59:35. Sixty-one runners finished the race within 33 hours. The top 15 finishers completed the race in less than 24 hours. Included among that group was former Massachusetts and Vermont resident John Fegyveresi, 48, who now lives in Flagstaff. Fegyveresi placed 12th in 23:36:33. Trueheart Brown, 45, also of Flagstaff, won the race in 14:40:43 and broke the male course record by more than two hours. Sarah Nougier, 32, of Ohlstadt, Germany, was the first-place female and second overall finisher in 19:12:22.

The event also offered a 55K race, but no New Englanders were among its 46 finishers.

IMTUF 100

A year ago, Joffrey Peters made his 100-mile debut at the Wasatch 100 in Utah. He picked another rugged mountain race in the West for his second 100-miler when he took on the IMTUF 100 on Sept. 20-21 in McCall, Idaho. The 14th annual event describes itself as “a post-doctoral level mountain race,” and it took runners on a challenging journey through the Salmon River Mountains where they amassed more than 22,000 feet of climbing.

Of the 190 runners who started the race, 121 finished within 36 hours. Peters, 40, of Lebanon, N.H., was among the fastest, finishing 14th in 25:48:04. Fellow New Englander David Grimm, 47, of Freeport, Maine, also completed the race, placing 99th in 33:58:02.

Mike Sidic, 42, of Vancouver, B.C., led all runners in 20:04:24 while top female Sarah Riordan, 34, of Belgrade, Mont., placed 14th in 25:09:30.

Javelina Jangover Night Runs

Dan Ottesen made a strong run at the podium but ultimately came up just a bit short at the 15th annual Javelina Jangover Night Runs 50K on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Scottsdale, Ariz. It was just the second ultra and best finish yet for the 21-year-old from Groton, Mass., who made his ultra debut in August at the Blue Hill Mountain Trail Fest 50K in Maine, placing fifth. 

Ottesen was among the frontrunners on the trails of McDowell Mountain Park, and he ultimately finished fourth out of 94 runners in 4:37:17, just 12 minutes off the podium. Logan Lutz, 23, of Mesa, Ariz., won in 3:36:53. Leigh Jackson, 38, of Flagstaff, Ariz., was the female champion and sixth overall finisher in 4:51:56.

Ottesen was one of two New Englanders among the finishers. Madeleine Ryan, 67, of Glen, N.H., placed 67th in 7:59:10.

The event also included a 75K ultra, though no New Englanders were among the 22 finishers.

Mammoth Trailfest

Lucy Hochschartner didn’t just run her first ultramarathon at the Mammoth Trailfest 50K, she ran three trail races in three days. Hochschartner, 27, of Portland, Maine, completed the Dragon’s Ascent climb on Sept. 19, the 50K on Sept. 20, and a 26K race on Sept. 21 at the fourth annual Mammoth Trailfest on Sept. 18-21 in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

The 50K packed plenty of punch with 7,000 feet of climbing and an average elevation of more than 9,000 feet above sea level. Hochschartner was one of five New Englanders who finished the race, and she was the fastest of the group, placing 111th overall in 6:34:40 out of 638 finishers. Chad Hall, 37, of Big Bear Lake, Calif., and Clara Caspard, 23, of Los Angeles, Calif., were the male and female winners in 4:07:39 and 5:03:55, respectively.

Valerie Moore, 33, of Quincy, Mass., joined Hochschartner in racing all three days, and she finished 229th in the 50K in 7:26:49. Danielle Mackowiak, 39, of Dudley, Mass., was 504th in 9:19:51 in a final tune-up before the Rim to River 100-miler in October. Additionally, Nicole Kimball, 39, and Gregory Moyerbrailean, 37, both of Burlington, Vt., ran and finished together in 10:23:37 and 10:23:38.

Three Sisters Skyline

A pair of New Englanders secured hard-earned finishes at the seventh edition of the Three Sisters Skyline 50K on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Sisters, Ore. The race started and finished at Village Greene City Park, and took runners on trails near the Three Sisters Wilderness, earning 3,700 feet of elevation gain for their effort.

Geoff Peyton and Marziah Hashimi were among the 145 finishers within 9 1/2 hours. Peyton, 39, of Arlington, Mass., finished 92nd overall in 7:31:31 for his first ultramarathon. Hashimi, 37, of Boston, Mass., was 117th in 8:13:22 for her fifth ultra finish and first of 2025. Tim Morin, 42, of Bend Ore., and Ariane Hendrix-Roach, 37, of Portland, Ore., led the male and female fields in 4:23:44 and 4:37:22, respectively.

*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.