The Oct. 17-19 weekend in New England meant hundreds of runners gathered in Brookline, N.H., for the popular Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. We’ll have that covered in a separate recap, but in this edition of the roundup we catch up on the handful of New Englanders who weren’t at Ghost Train. A few took on the Tesla Hertz Run in New York, which had been postponed by a week due to thunderstorms. Results from Tesla Hertz were unavailable at the time of publication. Results are in from the California Fall Classic at Lake Sonoma in California, and the New Orleans Ultramarathon, and we have those included as some light reading in this edition of the roundup.

California Fall Classic at Lake Sonoma

Two New Englanders overcame a challenging course to secure hard-earned finishes at the fifth annual California Fall Classic at Lake Sonoma on Saturday, Aug. 18, in Healdsburg, Calif. Jordan Kostiuk and Denise Klatt were among the 274 runners who gathered at the starting line of the 100K race that took them on a variety of classic West Coast singletrack trails. Both were among the 218 who finished within 20 hours. Kostiuk, 35, of Providence, R.I., placed 104th in 15:49:45. He will head west for another 100K in April 2026 at Gorge Waterfalls in Oregon. Klatt, 34, of Brookline, Mass., was 148th in 16:55:16, in what was her biggest race since finishing the 2024 Hardrock 100. Krist Brown, 36, of Missoula, Mont., and Dia Davis, 35, of Tahoe City, Calif., topped the male and female fields in 10:04:00 and 11:47:43, respectively.

No New Englanders were among the 102 finishers of the 55K race. Jacob Banta, 31, of Truckee, Calif., and Joelle Vaught, 50, of Boise, Idaho, were the top male and female finishers at that distance in 4:21:42 and 5:17:44, respectively. 

New Orleans Ultramarathon

Two New Englanders earned 50-mile ultramarathon finishes in the Big Easy at the seventh annual New Orleans Ultramarathon on Saturday, Oct. 18, in New Orleans, La. The event started in Jackson Square and finished at Second Line Brewing. In between, it took runners on roads and sidewalks throughout the city. 

No New England residents were among the 68 finishers of the event’s 50K race, but Sebastian Goldberg and Will Thayer were among the 26 who completed the 50-miler. Goldberg, 21, of Newton, Mass., finished 15th overall in 10:43:00, earning his first ultramarathon finish. Thayer, 22, of Providence, R.I., was 21st overall in 11:08:00. It was Thayer’s second ultra and first 50-miler. Hannah Michael, 31, of New Orleans, led all runners and set a new female course record with her time of 6:53:00. Top male Beaux Baker, 28, also of New Orleans, was second overall in 7:22:00.

*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.