New England ultrarunners did plenty of pre- and post-Thanksgiving feasting on trails in the region and across the country. Some did so at the historic JFK 50, while Conor Brown and Bill Tidd turned in historic performances at the Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard Ultra in Vermont. We have those races and more included in this holiday edition of the roundup.

Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard Ultra

Two increasingly popular endurance formats – Everesting and Last Person Standing – combined to produce some truly bonkers performances at the inaugural Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard Ultra on Nov. 22-26 in Brownsville, Vt. Runners had one hour to complete a 2.25-mile trip up and down the mountain, amassing 1,209 feet of climbing per lap. A new lap began on the hour, every hour, until one person remained.

Seventy-five runners gathered for the 9 a.m. start on Saturday, Nov. 22. The first two runners stopped after two hours and two trips up and down the mountain, but quickly joined on the sidelines in the hours that followed. Sixty-eight runners completed five laps plus a little bit extra to reach 6,444 feet of climbing – just beyond the elevation of 6,288-foot Mt. Washington – before the field dipped to 59 runners. A few hours later, 46 runners completed their ninth lap, surpassing the 10,000-foot mark. A few hours later, 35 runners completed the 12th lap to reach 14,508 feet of climbing, matching the elevation of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, after 27 miles of running and hiking.

The next major elevation milestone followed 12 hours later when – at the 24-hour mark – participants reached 54 miles and 29,032 feet of climbing, matching the elevation of the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. Twenty competitors achieved that feat, which became the stopping point for seven of them. Third-place female Lila Gaudrault, 23, of Williston, Vt., was among that group, as were Rob Rives, 36, of Duxbury, Vt.; Lyle Cordes, 23, of Lehighton, Pa.; Andrew Soares, 45, of Campton, N.H.; Will Peterson, 27, of Naples, Maine; Noah Jennis, 31, of Norwich, Vt.; and Brian Scadova-Vose, 33, of Laconia, N.H.

One hour later, the trio of William Ren, 26, of Hanover, N.H., Peter Gurney, 37, of Plymouth, Mass., and Kevin Lasko, 44, of Pittsfield, Vt., stopped after 30,225 feet of climbing and 56.25 miles of running and hiking. 

An hour after that the field dwindled to eight competitors when 25-year-old Cal Hale of Montpelier, Vt., and 30-year-old Jesse Earisman of Lebanon, N.H., stopped after 26 hours, 58.5 miles, and 31,434 feet of climbing. Tom Dmukauskas, 50, of Somerville, Mass., made it two more hours before he was finished with 28 hours, 63 miles, and 33,852 feet of climbing on his legs.

The withdrawal of 40-year-old Peter Bonito of Westmoreland, N.H., following 30 hours, 67.5 miles, and 36,270 feet of climbing brought the field to six competitors. Another seven hours passed before the field shrunk again. Lance Parker, 31, and Victoria Constantine, 30, both of Waterbury, Vt., stopped after 37 hours, 83.25 miles, and 44,733 feet of climbing, which saw the field dwindle to the final four. Constantine was the second-to-last female standing.

The remaining four runners all achieved a second “Everest” and kept on going. When Seth Richardson, 27, of Wolfeboro, N.H., stopped after 50 hours, he had completed 112.5 miles and 60,450 feet on the mountain. Despite the multiple days of competing, triple-digit mileage, and massive amount of elevation gained, more than a half a day passed before the field dwindled further.

When top female Amber Constant stopped after 64 hours and 144 miles of running and 77,376 feet of climbing, only Conor Brown and Bill Tidd remained. Both men had another entire day left on their legs. They hammered away lap after lap, climb after climb. Finally, after 89 hours, 200.25 miles, and 107,601 feet of climbing, Tidd had enough. The 63-year-old from Alton Bay, N.H., stepped to the sideline, leaving Brown, 24, of Manchester, N.H., to do one last lap. An hour later, after 90 hours, 202 miles and a gobsmacking 108,810 feet of climbing – more than three trips to the summit of Mt. Everest from sea level – Brown was the last person standing during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 26, done just in time for Thanksgiving.

JFK 50

A year after winning the historic JFK 50 in a course-record time, David Sinclair raced to a runner-up finish on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the 63rd edition of the run from Williamsport to Boonsboro, Md., on the Appalachian Trail and C&O Canal Towpath.

More than 1,200 runners took part, and 1,111 completed the race within the 13-hour time limit. Hans Troyer, 25, of Newnan, Ga., led the male field in 5:10:24, narrowly missing Sinclair’s course record time of 5:07:27 from 2024. Sinclair, 33, of Montpelier, Vt., was second in 5:18:06, the fourth-fastest time in course history. Stephen Kersh, 34, of Seattle, Wash., was a close third in 5:18:31. The female field also saw a tight battle at the front with 33-year-old Jade Belzberg of Fort Langley, B.C., securing the win in 6:07:53 while placing 15th overall. Belzberg’s time was the fourth-fastest by a female in event history. Shea Aquilano, 24, of Carmel, Ind., was second in 6:09:31, and 34-year-old Hannah Allgood of Colorado Springs, Colo., was third in 6:15:09.

Sinclair was the fastest of 52 New England residents who finished the race. Other top performers from the region included Thomas Hanlon, 27, of Marlborough, Mass. (19th, 6:13:30); Evan Titus, 26, of Norwalk, Conn. (45th, 6:56:12); Xander Keiter, 26, of South Portland, Maine (60th, 7:10:07); Jake Kuypers, 26, of South Hero, Vt. (103rd, 7:49:26); Tom White, 33, of Boston, Mass. (111th, 7:53:59); Brad Reed, 42, of Pelham, Mass. (124th, 8:07:21); Shane Arlington, 32, of Cambridge, Mass. (130th, 8:10:03); Blake Benke, 49, of Westport, Conn. (136th, 8:13:07); Paul Flannery, 51, of Bedford, Mass. (147th, 8:21:43); Peter Kuypers, 21, of South Hero, Vt., (148th, 8:21:44); John Tumavicus, 33, of Attleboro, Mass., (149th, 8:21:59); and Keith Bourassa, 42, of Keene, N.H (161st, 8:26:47). Laura Ricci, 42, of Boston, Mass., was the top female finisher from New England, placing 24th in the female field and 164th overall in 8:27:15.

Other sub-10-hour finishers from the region included Anthony Parillo, 41, of Williamsburg, Mass. (173rd, 8:32:23); Max Petra, 21, of Guilford, Conn. (205th, 8:46:32); Samuel Long, 26, of Somerville, Mass. (212th, 8:49:49); Marckenzie Boutin, 42, of Johnston, R.I. (260th, 9:05:46); Andrew Neil, 40, of Saunderstown, R.I. (261st, 9:05:46); Jack Hernon, 23, of Canton, Mass. (262nd, 9:06:00); Doug Suhr, 53, of Middletown, R.I. (264th, 9:10:01); Paul McCullough, 43, of Scituate, Mass. (272nd, 9:13:41); Sophia Ahearn, 21, of Hyde Park, Mass. (293rd, 9:20:15); Michael McDuffie, 41, of Shrewsbury, Mass. (302nd, 9:22:41); Todd Markson, 50, of Milton, Mass. (342nd, 9:36:06); and Miles Kaps, 26, of Fairfield, Conn. (386th, 9:48:27).

Additional finishers from the region were Michael Medeiros, 40, of West Hartford, Conn. (451st, 10:02:45); Thomas Finnerty, 39, of Stamford, Conn. (487th, 10:12:17); Caleb Stevens, 28, of Newport, R.I. (491st, 10:12:54); Ed Novak, 55, of Rutland, Mass. (503rd, 10:16:35); Jack Stanton, 27, of Morrisville, Vt. (525th, 10:22:26); Brian Patrick Mulligan, 65, of Providence, R.I. (536th, 10:25:45); Douglas Rosenberg, 54, of Newton Center, Mass. (565th, 10:32:32); Shirin Kaboli, 39, of Malden, Mass. (572nd, 10:33:43); Heather Stevenson, 41, of Needham, Mass. (588th, 10:35:59); Jodie Davis, 33, of Dorchester Center, Mass. (619th, 10:44:12); Zachary McAdams, 38, of Marshfield, Mass. (644th, 10:50:14); Nikolas Badinelli, 21, of Danbury, Conn. (665th, 10:54:43); Ryan Bell, 54, of Westport, Conn. (673rd, 10:56:10); Randy Watkins, 62, of New Milford, Conn. (699th, 11:05:30); Frank Wang, 63, of Lexiington, Mass. (708th, 11:07:22); Simon George, 50, of Deerfield, N.H. (774th, 11:24:08); Brice Long, 38, of Duxbury, Mass. (832nd, 11:36:38); Bryna Hebert, 63, of Seekonk, Mass. (879th, 11:47:34); Alex Hermanson, 28, of Cambridge, Mass. (881st, 11:48:10); Cindy Sullivan, 44, of Guilford, Conn. (944th, 12:06:23); Karyn Rimas, 54, of Somersworth, N.H. (975th, 12:17:55); Jeffrey Ahern, 44, of Greenville, R.I. (1,012th, 12:26:38); Christopher Roche, 47, of Needham, Mass. (1,019th, 12:28:11); Venkatram Mahalingam, 50, of Hopkinton, Mass (1,067th, 12:40:22); Candace Dube, 48, of Coventry, Conn. (1,080th, 12:43:49); and Joseph Miller, 44, of Old Town, Maine (1,089th, 12:51:02).

Fat Ox Endurance Runs

A $1,200 prize was at stake at the Fat Ox Endurance Runs, and Scott Traer didn’t let the opportunity for a payday slip away. Traer, a 44-year-old native of Woburn, Mass., now living in Arizona, competed in the USATF 24-Hour Championship race at the sixth edition of Fat Ox on Nov. 21-23 at Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Buckeye, Ariz. The event – along with its other non-championship 100-mile, 100K, 50K, 48-, 24-, 12- and 6-hour ultras – all took place on a 0.988178-mile certified loop course on a sidewalk path through the park. Traer hammered the loop repeatedly and banged out 138.345 miles, finishing first overall among the 16 competitors, to secure the prize. Polina Hodnette, 38, of Chicago, Ill., was fifth overall and first place in the female field with 117.7 miles, also earning prize money. Traer was one of two New Englanders in the field. Scott Perrapato, 69, of South Burlington, Vt., finished 14th with 62.255 miles.

Beyond the championship race, a few other New Englanders competed in other Fat Ox races.

Hayden Burdge, 32, of Hailey, Id., and Kelly Cockrell, 46, of Peoria, Ariz., finished 1-2 overall and were the top male and female finishers in 18:24:15 and 18:54:05, respectively. Dan Ottesen, 21, of Groton, Mass., and Ed Peters, 74, of Norwalk, Conn., were among the 21 finishers, with Ottesen placing ninth in 31:26:36 and Peters 20th in 37:45:13.

Justin Deflumeri, 37, of Nashua, N.H., was the lone New Englander in the 12-hour race. He placed sixth overall with 43.433 miles. Georgia Porter, 37, of Flagstaff, Ariz., led all runners with 75.102 miles, while top male Avinoam Maier, 34, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was second overall with 73.619 miles. Erin Blouin, 49, of Merrimack, N.H., was the lone New Englander among the 40 finishers of the 6-hour races. She completed 23.716 miles within the time limit. Edy Healey, 36, of York, UK, led all runners with 42.492 miles while top female Jaime Dawes, 47, of Rio, N.M., was second with 40.515 miles.

No New England residents were among the eight finishers of the 100K, the 29 finishers of the 48-hour or the 12 finishers of the 24-hour race.

Fall Creek 100

Kim Slininger will head into the Thanksgiving holiday on a high note. The 43-year-old from Wayland, Mass., was the lone New England resident to take part in the fourth annual Fall Creek 100 on Nov. 22-23 in Spencer, Tenn., and she successfully achieved her first 100K finish.

Slininger thrived on the trails of Fall Creek Falls and handled the 6,200 feet of climbing on her way to completing the race. Of the 19 runners who started the 100K, 15 finished 10th overall and was the first-place female in 17:19:24. Siyan Cao, 40, of Chesterfield, Mo., led all runners in 12:12:58.

The event also offered 100-mile and 50K ultras. No New Englanders took part in those distances.

Quad Dipsea

Jason Kaplan’s Thanksgiving weekend included a successful run at a classic West Coast ultramarathon. Kaplan, 43, of Boston, Mass., was the lone New England resident in the field of the 41st annual Quad Dipsea 28.4-miler Saturday, Nov. 29, in Mill Valley, Calif. Kaplan and his fellow runners raced on a challenging course with a mix of terrain, from singletrack trails and steep climbs, to stairs, through the Muir Woods, and other scenic trail systems, and to the finish at Stinson Beach. 

Of the 259 finishers within 9 1/2 hours, Kaplan finished 99th in 6:12:37. Nick Handel, 33, of San Francisco, Calif., led all runners in 3:39:45 and set a new male course record. Megan Roche, 35, of Boulder, Colo., finished first in the female field and 11th overall in 4:35:30 and clocked the second-fastest time by a female in event history.

The Derby 50K

Christopher Paier followed up a Thanksgiving feast with an ultramarathon recovery run at The Derby 50K on Saturday, Nov. 29, in Ellerbe, N.C. The 23rd edition of the race took place on a three-loop course on asphalt and dirt trails with plenty of rolling hills. Paier, 27, was the lone New England resident in the field, and he finished 21st out of 80 runners in 5:17:43. 

John Dallas, 43, of Fayetteville, N.C., and Caroline Hardin, 19, of Vass, N.C., were the top male and female finishers in 3:32:17 and 4:39:49, 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.