There was plenty of frozen, snowy fun on the trails in New England during the Feb. 6-8 weekend. Nowhere was it busier than Westwood, Mass., where the Trail Animals Running Club played host to the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. We will have that event covered in a separate recap, and we will have other East Coast ultras from the weekend included in a second roundup. Here in Part I of this week’s roundup we head west where New Englanders earned ultra finishes in Texas, California, and Arizona. Nobody had a better weekend than Massachusetts resident Crystal Ross who earned a 100-mile PR and a podium finish at the Rocky Raccoon 100, so she leads off this edition of the roundup.

Rocky Raccoon 100

Crystal Ross kicked off the new year with a 100-mile personal record and a podium finish at the Rocky Raccoon 100 on Feb. 7-8 in Huntsville, Texas. Ross already set a high standard for 100-mile speed with her fourth-place finish in the female field at the 2025 Umstead 100 in North Carolina when she crossed the finish line in 19:35:18. She went even faster at Rocky Raccoon.

Racing on the rolling, rooty trails of Huntsville State Park, the 45-year-old from Carver, Mass., ran among the frontrunners for all five 20-mile laps. By the time Ross was done, she had a new PR to her credit: 19:31:45. Her time was good for third place in the female field and 16th overall.

Nick Petterson, 32, of Leander, Texas, led all runners in 14:38:37 as the top three overall finishers completed the race in less than 16 hours. Tatiana Rypinski, 32, of Houston, Texas, was eighth overall and the first-place female in 17:59:16, followed by female runner-up Val Garcia, 23, of Austin, Texas, in 18:46:10.

Ross was one of two New England residents who were among the 88 sub-24-hour finishers. Sean Smith, 36, of Stoughton, Mass., placed 56th overall in 22:50:43.

Two more New England residents were among the 236 finishers within the 32-hour time limit. Tyler Mitchell, 28, of Boston, Mass., placed 108th in 25:37:38, and 36-year-old Kenny Turner of Pelham, N.H., was 202nd in 29:29:42.

Alamo City Ultra

Michaela Heath had a solid ultramarathon debut when she completed the Alamo City Ultra 50K on Saturday, Feb. 7, in San Antonio, Texas. Heath, 31, of Swanzey, N.H., finished in the top half of the field of 30 finishers within 10 hours. Heath was 12th overall and fourth in the female field in 6:41:22.

John Sugden, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, led all runners in 4:42:47. Top female Anniejoy Amuan, 35, of Laredo, Texas, was fifth overall in 5:26:17 after fending off 40-year-old Natalie Harvey of Houston, Texas, for first place in the female field by less than two minutes. Harvey was the runner-up in 5:27:31.

Fort Ord 50K

Shannon Dyer officially became an ultrarunner when she completed the Fort Ord 50K on Saturday, Feb. 7, in Salinas, Calif. The 14th annual event took place on the trails of the former U.S. Army post on Monterey Bay. Dyer, 28, of Weymouth, Mass., ran strong throughout and was among the top third of the field, placing 27th overall out of 91 finishers within 9 1/2 hours as she completed the course in 6:22:42. Andrew Walgren, 28, of Morro Bay, Calif., led all runners in 3:48:49.

Elephant Mountain 

Carita Wegner has big ultrarunning dreams for 2026. She is registered for the Moab 240 in October, so she has plenty of work to do to get her legs ready. Wegner, 52, of Salem, Mass, kicked her preparation into high gear when she ran the 50K at the Elephant Mountain Trail Run on Saturday, Feb. 7, in Cave Creek, Ariz. No New England residents took part in the event’s other ultramarathon distance, the 50-miler.

Wegner took on a challenging course with plenty of singletrack trails of Cave Creek Regional Park and Spur Cross Ranch. Fifty-eight runners completed the race within 11 hours, and Wegner placed 30th overall and seventh in the female field in 7:31:33. Mitch Roadnight, 25, of Beaconsfield, Australia, led all runners in 5:27:25 while Caitlin Walters, 32, of Brevard, N.C., was first in the female field and fifth overall in 6:08:06.

Wegner will stick around in Arizona for another week and will race the Black Canyon 50K on Sunday, Feb., 15.

*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.