For years, the trails of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, Mass., have been a hidden gem for New England trail-runners. Miles of wide, rolling trails wind through the forested land, past a handful of eerie, abandoned military bunkers, surrounded by a variety of wildlife that call the refuge home. It’s scenic, serene, and soothing – and it’s Judy Proteau’s favorite place to run.

“The best part about it is the wildlife and water views there,” said Proteau, the vice president of the Highland City Striders. “Many of the trails are wide and non-technical, so footing is not much of an issue and you can really enjoy what’s around you, yet still get a good workout in.”

“My husband and I are working on a project where we run in all the Massachusetts State Parks and we are always thinking if they would be good places for a race,” Proteau added. “We never realized that one of the best venues was just 10 minutes from our house. ARNWR has substantial parking, a great place for a start line with an electrical hook-up, wide trails that are easy to mark, and only one hill.”

That realization laid the foundation for what became the Race for the Refuge. Proteau decided to pursue the idea, and she enlisted fellow Highland City Striders member Beth Dougherty to co-direct the event in celebration of ARNWR’s 25th anniversary. The land had previously been part of Fort Devens in the 1900s and was used as a training ground, then referred to as the Sudbury Training Annex. The ARNWR was officially established in 2000 after the U.S. Army transferred the land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the quarter-century since, it has become a popular place to run and hike for nearby residents like Proteau and some of her HCS friends.

The Race for the Refuge was a big undertaking by the Highland City Striders, and it also required a shuffling of the club’s lineup of activities. In addition to weekly training runs and frequent social events, HSC plays host to three major races annually. The addition of a new event meant the club had to shelve one of its events to make room for the Race for the Refuge. The club’s two remaining events are the Running with the Wolves 5K/10K which took place in July, and the Fast 5 and Tough 10 Turkey Trot which will happen in November.

“We are all volunteers so we had to make the tough decision to replace our Laborious Labor Day Race and try the Race for the Refuge,” Proteau said. “However, the support and enthusiasm from HCS was incredible and really helped Beth and I have the confidence to go out within the community to talk to sponsors and runners.”

The sacrifice that the club made to launch the new event was a resounding success. The inaugural Race for the Refuge sold out two weeks before race day, and nearly 170 runners toed the starting line to run for 6 hours, 3 hours, a 30K or 10K distance on Sunday, Sept. 28, in Sudbury. They all took on a 10K loop course on a mix of pavement, gravel, and doubletrack trails. As they awaited the start, Proteau encouraged the runners to embrace the spirit of a former HSC member who loved running at the Refuge.

“In my pre-race safety talk, I spoke about a trail runner named Jeremy Eschelbacher who passed away 10 years ago,” Proteau said. “He encouraged us to go after big, audacious goals in running and life, and helped create a sense of trail community within HCS. I told everyone there that we are all trail family now and we are so glad that they were here. We wear orange shirts that say ‘got water buffalo?’ in his honor.”

The crowd of runners – including several in the orange T-shirts – surged off the starting line for a spirited run through the Refuge.

Nineteen runners took part in the 6-hour race, including a mix of first-time ultrarunners and seasoned veterans. A first-timer, 28-year-old Caleb Kussmaul of Berlin, Mass., earned the overall win with 60K completed within the time limit. He was the only runner to complete six laps of the course, doing so in 5:40:15. Runner-up Bill Warner, 31, of Hopkinton, Mass., completed five laps and 50K in 5:08:24. A Sudbury local, 37-year-old Tyler Cichowlas, was third with 50K in 5:37:15. Trevor Rank, 40, of Brookline, N.H., was the final runner to complete five loops, doing so in 5:41:26.

Lesley Rossi, Peggy Edwards and Dee Peak were the top female finishers with each completing four laps and 50K within the time limit. Rossi, 45, of New Boston, N.H., did so in 4:28:20; Edwards, 50, of Ledyard, Conn., followed in 5:06:19; and Peak, 50, of Grafton, Mass., rounded out the podium in 5:11:30.

Seven runners competed in the 3-hour race, with 61-year-old Jonathan Meltzer of Hopkinton, Mass., leading the way with 30K in 2:44:41. Second- and third-place finishers Michael Hardin and Harry Dow each completed 20K, and they finished two minutes apart. Hardin, 54, of Westborough, Mass., finished in 1:48:15, while Dow, 69, of Clinton, Mass., followed in 1:50:17. Cassandra Hua, 34, of Northborough, Mass., finished her 20K run a few minutes later to take top honors in the female field in 1:55:34.

Twenty-one runners completed the 30K race, which came down to a sprint to the finish between Bryan Dunyak and David Belanger. Dunyak, 37, of Sudbury, outkicked Belanger, 38, of Cambridge, Mass., as they finished in 2:18:35 and 2:18:43, respectively. Timothy Austin, 44, of South Hadley, Mass., was third in 2:25:05. Caroline Staudt, 43, of Winchester, Mass., was ninth overall and first in the female field in 2:39:00. Joan Clifford, 66, of Westborough, Mass., and Monyka Solis, 35, of Cambridge, Mass., joined her on the podium in 3:07:01 and 3:11:46, respectively.

The 10K race had the largest field with 120 runners. Collin Hay, 25, of Somerville, Mass., dazzled in the single-loop race as he dashed to the overall victory in a sizzling 37:17, followed by Sudbury resident Ben Cargill, 26, in 39:50. Gons Nachman, 60, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., rounded out the male podium in 42:27. Sudbury local Morgan Thomas, 24, dominated the female field in a speedy 48:06. She was followed by Christy Mae Carrara, 50, of Hudson, Mass., who was the runner-up in 52:00. In a photo finish for third place, Rachel Belanger, 35, of Northampton, Mass., and Miranda Ciejek, 25, of Shrewsbury, Mass., finished one second apart, with Belanger in 52:35 and Ciejek in 52:36. In the nonbinary division, 39-year-old MJ Szulga of Northborough, Mass., took top honors by finishing in 1:11:30.

Proteau said she and Dougherty were amazed by the turnout and enthusiasm that the event generated.

“Beth and I were blown away by the support and interest within the trail running community for this race,” she said. “We optimistically ordered 200 prizes when we had 60 registered runners, thinking we would have to give them away during the holidays, but we sold out two weeks before the event and started a waitlist. I was able to meet a runner at the end of the event who told me that the 30K event was his first race ever and that he runs all the time at Assabet. He was quite emotional on his completion, and we are thrilled that he took the chance to try a Highland City Strider event as his first.”

HCS has raised thousands of dollars for various community and land management organizations through its events. Proceeds from the Race for the Refuge will go to help the Refuge fund a volunteer coordinator position who will help build interpretive programs at the Refuge. Additionally, funds will support improvements to ARNWR, the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge.

Given the strong turnout for the event and the enthusiasm it generated, Proteau said there is a desire to bring it back in 2026, though a formal decision will come in the future. In the meantime, she and Dougherty are already kicking around ideas of what enhancements they could make if they do it again.

“We are already thinking that if this turns into an annual event what could we do to make it better and really elevate the runner’s experience even more?” she said. “Could we make it a longer event or create a relay?”