Jason Kaplan closed out the 2025 New England ultrarunning season with a winning effort at the West Rock Winter Fat Ass Extravaganza in Connecticut, and Cole Crosby ringed in the new year with a sizzling 200+-mile effort over 48 hours at Across the Years in Arizona. These are just a few of the highlights for New England ultrarunners from the final days of 2025 and first moments of 2026 that we have featured in this edition of the roundup.

West Rock Winter Fat Ass Extravaganza

The West Rock Winter Fat Ass Extravaganza closed out the 2025 New England ultrarunning season with its fourth annual offering on Sunday, Dec. 28, in Hamden, Conn. Runners once again had eight hours to run 1.6-mile loops around Lake Wintergreen, and 40 runners accepted the challenge. All participants completed at least four laps, and 15 runners eclipsed the marathon distance.

Jason Kaplan, 43, of Boston, Mass., led all runners with 44.8 miles, outdistancing his closest competitor by three loops. Roland Mann, 44, of New York, N.Y., was the runner-up with 40.0 miles, and 28-year-old Tom O’Shea of Lafayette, Ind., was third with 36.8 miles, just ahead of 34-year-old Christian Stockinger of West Haven, Conn., who matched the mileage. Catherine Walsh, 49, of Bethany, Conn., was the top female finisher with 30.4 miles, good for 10th place overall. Liz Russell, 43, of Middletown, Conn., was the female runner-up with 28.8 miles, followed by Melissa Pogwizd Bertele, 49, of Bethany, Conn., with 25.6 miles.

Across the Years

A year ago, Cole Crosby closed out the year by running the 24-hour race at Across the Years, winning with a course record-setting 152.134-mile performance that secured him a spot on the USA 24-Hour Team. He returned for the 41st edition from Dec. 27, 2025-Jan. 3, 2026 at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz., but this time bumped up to the 48-hour event. By the time he was done, the 37-year-old from Cranston, R.I., once again secured a victory, this time after running 224.33 miles to top the 54-runner field. His performance was the third-best in event history, and was 35 miles farther than runner-up Eric Hallsten, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M., who logged 189.058 miles.

Crosby was the lone New Englander in the 48-hour field, but several other runners from the region took part in a number of the other races at Across the Years. In the Last Person Standing race, 28-year-old Benjamin Niebla of Manchester, N.H., earned the assist by placing second out of 26 competitors with 203.15 miles. Neibla’s big effort pushed 39-year-old Michael Carson of Rainbow City, Ala., to earn the win with 204.56 miles.

In the 6-day race, 54-year-old Michael Lo Presti of Norfolk, Conn., was among the top performers in the 90-runner field. He finished 373.884 miles, good for seventh overall. Justin Montague, 45, of Seaton, UK, led all runners with 481.111 miles, while his wife, Melissa Montague, 49, led the female field and finished third overall with 406.335 miles.

Other New Englanders who earned ultramarathon finishes at Across the Years included 69-year-old Fred Murolo of Cheshire, Conn., who finished the 100-mile race in 44:25:56; Eli Abbott, 27, of Newburyport, Mass., completed 81.831 miles in the 24-hour race; and Andrea Mucchietto, 32, of Cambridge, Mass., finished 36.683 miles in the 6-hour race.

Run Undead Ultra Trail Party

Tek Ung has completed dozens of races of 100 miles or more since her first in 2017, including her first 200-miler in 2025. She closed out 2025 and opened 2026 with at least her 36th finish of 100 miles or more when she completed 100 miles at the Run Undead Ultra Trail Party on Dec. 31, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026, in Pelham, Ala. The fourth annual event offered several ultra distances on a 5-mile loop course.

Ung, 44, of Cranston, R.I., was one of 36 runners who finished 100 miles within 38 hours. She placed 19th overall and sixth in the female field in 31:53:47. Stephanie Stonebraker, 42, of Fort Worth, Texas, was the top female and sixth overall finisher in 28:55:12. Zack Jordan, 32, of Ball Ground, Ga., led all runners and was the lone sub-24-hour finisher in 23:35:17.

No New Englanders took part in the 100K, 50-mile or 50K ultra distances.

The Great Scorpion 50K

Justin Deflumeri earned his first ultramarathon finish of the new year when he completed the Great Scorpion 50K on Saturday, Jan. 3, in Meridian, Miss. The ninth annual event took place on a loop course with a mix of singletrack grails and jeep roads. Deflumeri, 37, of Nashua, N.H., finished 39th in 8:40:57. Forty-five runners completed the race within 10 hours. Peter Kazery, 34, of Jackson, Miss., and Bethany Madison, 39, of Baton Rouge, La., finished 1-2 overall and set new male and female course records in 4:05:18 and 4:35:08, 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.