The 2025 ultrarunning season is rapidly coming to a close. Here in New England, the Dec. 6-7 weekend saw a few final events play out, including in Massachusetts with the final race of the 2025 TARC Trail Series with the TARC Winter Classic at the Middlesex Fells, as well as in Connecticut at the Tower Tag Challenge 8-Hour and up north in New Hampshire at the Krampuslauf 9-Hour. We’ll have the TARC Winter Classic covered in a separate recap, but here in this week’s roundup we catch up on Krampuslauf and Tower Tag, as well as other ultras throughout the United States where New Englanders secured late-season finishes.

Krampuslauf 9-Hour

The half goat, half demon known as Krampus traditionally has haunted and punished children who misbehave during the Christmas season, but it was mostly adults who endured the punishment doled out by Krampus during the third annual Krampuslauf 9-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Lyme, N.H. In this instance, the punishment came at the expense of runners’ quads as they powered up and down a mountain for hours on end. Runners took on a 10K loop course that took them up and down the Dartmouth Ski Way, amassing nearly 2,800 feet of climbing per lap. Fifty-three runners took on the time-based challenge, and the top seven all endured long enough to amass ultramarathon mileage.

Aaron Newell, 32, of Woodstock, Vt., led all runners and set a new course record with six laps and 37.28 miles. Six more runners completed five laps and 31.06 miles. Andrew Macgibbon, 30, of Hartland, Vt., did so, as did top two female finishers Haley Heinrich, 32, of Newbury, N.H., and Liesel Robbins, 29, of Hanover, N.H., who also tied the female course record that Robbins set in 2023. Additional five lap finishers were Emerson Conk, 21, of Montclair, N.J., Chris Paquette, 33, of Waterford, Conn., and Ronan Brown, 17, of Waterford, Maine.

Tower Tag Challenge

Mitchell Jacob turned in a giant performance at the second annual Tower Tag Challenge on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Hamden, Conn. The event, which took place at Sleeping Giant State Park, tested runners with a loop course on a variety of trails, including an approximately 600-foot climb to the observation tower at the top of Tower Trail that runners had to “tag” each lap during the 8-hour race.

Jacob, 25, of Mystic Conn., led all runners and set a new course record of 49.5 miles. Kevin Ellis, 41, of Richmond, N.H., was second overall with 46.2 miles, also topping the previous male course record while matching Lila Gaudrault’s winning tally from 2024. Matthew Barnett, 39, of East Hampton, Conn., and Luke Garver, 21, of West Point, Texas, followed with 42.9 miles apiece. In the female field, Theadora Carnesi, 21, of Huntington, N.Y., and William Pustari, 29, of Middlefield, Conn., completed 36.3 miles apiece, with Carnesi doing so 12 seconds faster for the win. Lisa Wawrzynowski, 32, of Southington, Conn., and Qiuju Gu, 53, of Weston, Conn., followed with 33 miles apiece, Wawrzynowski in 7:05:42 and Gu in 7:15:05. Additionally, Caitlin Saia, 37, of Franklin, Mass., and Stephanie Sibille, 39, of Granby, Conn., each finished 33 miles.

Of the 51 runners in the field, 36 completed at least 29.7 miles.

Devil Dog Ultras

It has been a little while since Lukas Wear last ran a 100-miler, but the 35-year-old from Norwalk, Conn., returned with a bang. Two years after earning his fourth 100-mile finish when he completed the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado, Wear took on the Devil Dog Ultras 100-miler on Dec. 6-7 in Triangle, Va. The event also offered 100K and 50K distances on a loop course consisting primarily of singletrack trails in northern Virginia.

Of the 61 runners who completed 100 miles within the 32-hour time limit, Wear placed seventh overall in 22:50:48. He was one of two New England residents among the finishers. Joe Landry, 26, of North Attleboro, Mass., placed 37th in 29:14:10 in his second 100-mile finish of the year. Landry previously finished 101.25 miles at the Loopy Looper 24-hour race in August in New Jersey. Jesse Stauffer, 31, of Stevens, Pa., and Marissa Kovach, 41, of Lebanon, Pa., were the top male and female 100-mile finishers at Devil Dog in 19:02:35 and 23:57:21, respectively.

In the 50K race, 104 runners finished within 10 hours. Two New Englanders were among that group. Jessica Densley, 28, of Boston, Mass., was 86th in 8:47:31, and John Hovey, 47, of Hancock, N.H., finished 93rd in 9:17:17. Samuel Kobrin, 28, of Washington, D.C., and Mikka Macdonald, 31, of Washington, D.C., led the male and female fields in 4:18:06 and 5:05:15, respectively.

No New England residents were among the 48 finishers of the 100K race.

Anza Borrego Cuyamaca 50

Two months ago, Takafumi Takai traveled to Julian, Calif., and raced the Cuyamaca 100K. On Saturday, Dec. 6, he returned to the same venue for the sixth edition of the Anza Borrego Cuyamaca 50-miler and raced on familiar trails on the point-to-point course.

Takai, 46, of Cambridge, Mass., had a strong race throughout and was among the top performers. Of the 166 finishers within 15 hours, Takai placed 18th in 10:16:41. Juan Rocha, 43, of San Diego, Calif., led all runners in 7:09:36. Top female Brittany Poor, 37, of Oceanside, Calif., finished seventh in 9:06:17.

McDowell Mountain Frenzy

Alex Jenny made a strong showing in his first 50-mile race at the 17th annual McDowell Mountain Frenzy on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Fountain Hills Ariz. Racing on singletrack trails with punchy climbs in McDowell Mountain Regional Park and the neighboring McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Jenny, 38, of Sudbury, Mass., placed 13th overall and ninth in the male field in 10:28:46. Seventy-one runners completed the race within 16 hours. Western States 100-mile female champion Abby Hall, 35, of Flagstaff, Ariz., led all runners and set a new female course record in 7:12:27. Top male Keegan Oldani, 24, of Carbondale, Colo., finished second overall in 7:23:14.

Tara Allen, 33, of Mount Desert, Maine, was the lone New Englander among the 179 finishers of the 50K race, placing 88th in 6:42:56. Greg Close, 42, of Brooklyn, N.Y., led all runners in 3:40:28, while Natalie Sandoval, 33, of Phoenix, Ariz., finished fifth overall and set a new female course record in 3:57:06.

Ray Miller 50/50

Charlie Fay made his ultrarunning debut in July when he traveled west to Oregon for the Siskiyou Out Back Running Festival 50K. For his second ultra, he tackled another West Coast 50K at the 13th edition of the Ray Miller 50/50 on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Malibu, Calif. Fay, 30, of Boston, Mass., ran strong on the trails of Point Mugu State Park and finished eighth in the field of 150 finishers in 5:01:37. Robert Webber, 36, of San Diego, Calif., led all runners in 4:33:32, while top female Kate Olson, 40, of Studio City, Calif., was 15th in 5:20:05. Olson is a two-time winner of the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100 (2019, 2021, and also the runner-up for the  event’s 30-miler in 2022 and 50-miler in 2024). Two more Boston residents joined Fay among the finishers. Niles Sturtevant, 29, finished 65th in 7:03:08 while Justin Johns, 43, was 80th in 7:30:03. It was Johns’ third time completing the race. The 2013 edition was his second ultra ever. He also completed the race in 2021.

In addition to the 50K, the event also offered a 50-mile race. No New England residents were among the field of 89 finishers.

Festivus 100/50

Seng-Lai Tan secured a late-season 100-mile finish at the inaugural Festivus 100-miler and 50-miler on  Dec. 6-7 in Middleburg, Fla. The event used a 7.2-mile loop course with 225 feet of climbing per loop on the trails of Jennings State Forest, and runners had 38 hours to complete their distances. Tan was the lone New England resident in the 100-mile race, and the 54-year-old from Sudbury, Mass., was one of 19 finishers in 35:16:57. Nathaniel Kola, 28, of Jacksonville, Fla., led all runners in 17:45:40.

Another 69 runners completed the event’s 50-mile race, including 74-year-old Ed Peters of Norwalk, Conn., who was 57th overall in 16:43:59.

*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.