The second-to-last New England ultramarathon of 2025 took place on Saturday with the annual running of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K in Springfield, Mass. We’ll have that covered in a separate story, but here in this week’s roundup we catch up on how runners from the region fared at other ultras throughout the United States during the Dec. 20-22 weekend. Only a handful of runners traveled for pre-holiday ultras, but they turned in some strong performances. None were better than Vermont’s Eric LiPuma and Joanna Fortier who earned victories at the Cave Creek Thriller in Arizona. Their winning efforts lead off this edition of the roundup.

Cave Creek Thriller

The Cave Creek Thriller 50K was supposed to take place in October, but severe weather forced the event to be postponed until Saturday, Dec. 20, in Cave Creek, Ariz. It was worth the wait for Eric LiPuma and Joanna Fortier. The residents of Richmond, Vt., were the lone New Englanders in the field for the 16th annual event–and both stood atop the podium by the time the day was done.

The race took runners on a point-to-point journey through Cave Creek Regional Park with steep, rocky climbs and plenty of mountain trails. Forty-eight runners finished within 9 1/2 hours, but LiPuma was the fastest of all. The 32-year-old smashed the course record by 13 minutes and won in 3:38:51. His closest competitor, 54-year-old Jeff Browning of Flagstaff, Ariz., was a distant second in 4:19:47. Fortier, 35, finished fifth overall and dominated the female field by 40 minutes, winning in 4:46:09.

Lookout Mountain

Sydney Howland closed out a big first year of ultramarathon racing with a solid day on the trails of Tennessee. Howland, 37, of Boston, Mass., made her ultra debut in January at the Arches Ultra 50K in Moab, Utah, finishing 13th in the female field. She followed it up with the Free Spirit 50K in Massachusetts and earned a third-place finish. Two months later, she finished fourth in the female field at the Moosalamoo Ultra 36-miler in Vermont. From there, she added a podium finish at the Buck 50 in October in New York, finishing third in the female field for the 50K distance.

Howland closed out her season with her longest race yet when she took on the Lookout Mountain Trail Race 50-miler on Saturday, Dec. 20, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The 18th annual event challenged runners with steep climbs, speedy descents, and flowing singletrack trails. Sixty-six runners finished within 13 1/2 hours; Howland placed 26th overall and sixth in the female field in 11:23:29.

William Sickenberger, 32, of Chattanooga, Tenn., led all runners in 7:27:13 while top female Amy Ross-Johnson, 41, of Clayton, N.C., finished seventh overall in 9:21:13.

Woodside Ramble

A year ago, Janica Lane signed up for the Woodside Ramble 50K but was unable to attend the race. She earned redemption this year when she signed up, toed the line, and had a solid race at the 14th annual Woodside Ramble 50K on Saturday, Dec. 20, in Redwood City, Calif.

The course took Lane and her fellow runners on a variety of trails in Huddart County Park, including two major climbs that made up the bulk of the race’s 5,400 feet of elevation gain. She handled it well and raced closely with some of the fastest female runners in the field. Though female champion Courtney Winterbauer, 32, of San Carlos, Calif., pulled away early and won in 5:07:14, and the second- and third-place women went with her, Lane was in a tight pack for fourth through seventh. Those four all finished within a 13-minute window, with Lane, 46, of Boston, Mass., finishing sixth in the female field and 44th overall in 6:09:22. 

Seventy-eight runners finished the race, most within eight hours. Kevin Stewart, 35, of Gilroy, Calif, led all runners in 3:48:06.

Sleigh It

It’s been a while since Steve Pepe last ran an ultramarathon – more than two decades, in fact. Pepe’s last ultra came in 2004 at the 24 Hour Around the Lake event in Massachusetts. The 68-year-old from Londonderry, N.H., shook off the rust when he toed the starting line for the inaugural Sleigh It Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 20, in Lake Wales, Fla. 

Pepe was one of 15 runners who took part in the event’s 12-hour race on a 5-mile loop course. All but two runners achieved ultramarathon distance, including Pepe who placed 11th with 30 miles. Justin Boyle, 36, of Punta Gorda, Fla., led all runners with 60 miles. An additional 13 runners took part in the event’s 6-hour race, though none were New England residents.

*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.