Arizona was the hottest place to be for trail ultrarunning during the Feb. 14-15 weekend. Four dozen New England residents took on the 100K and 50K distances at the Black Canyon Ultras, but it was a former Boston resident – 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel – who turned in the biggest highlight. After making her ultra debut in January with a 50K victory at Bandera, Seidel secured a Golden Ticket into Western States with a sizzling 100K debut. In addition to Black Canyon, we also catch up on how New Englanders did at races in Virginia, California and Florida in this edition of the roundup.

Black Canyon Ultras

Molly Seidel exploded on the trail ultrarunning scene when she won the 50K race outright at the Bandera Ultras in January. The former Boston resident followed it up with a dynamite showing at her second ultra and first 100K at the 12th edition of the Black Canyon Ultras on Feb. 14-15 in Mayer, Ariz. She didn’t win the race this time, but she was one of the big winners as her performance netted the 31-year-old resident of Flagstaff, Ariz., a Golden Ticket to the Western States Endurance run in June.

Seidel, a former Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, placed 18th overall and finished fourth in the female field on the point-to-point course on the Black Canyon National Recreation Trail through the Sonoran Desert. The top three male and female finishers of the 100K race earned Golden Tickets, though if they already had a place at Western States or declined the Golden Ticket then the offer slid to the fourth- or fifth-place finishers. Though shoe company Hoka pays for naming rights to sponsor the Golden Tickets, the company – which made $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025 according to the 2025 Annual Report of its parent company, Deckers Brands – pays nothing toward the entry or travel expenses of the runners. Instead, the runners must fork over the gold and foot the bill themselves.

Jennifer Lichter, 29, of Missoula, Mont., topped the female field and placed ninth overall in 7:57:03, followed closely by 36-year-old Anne Flower of Colorado Springs, Colo., as the runner-up in 10th place in 7:58:15. Third-place (and 12th overall) Tara Dower, 32, of Durango, Colo., finished in 8:11:46. The top three women all broke the previous course record. Dower already had a place locked up in the Western States field from earning a Golden Ticket at the Javelina Jundred in November. That meant the final spot went to Seidel who finished in 8:25:13. Defending Western States champion Abby Hall, 35, of Flagstaff, Ariz., was fifth in 8:27:50.

Hans Troyer, 25, of Newnan, Ga., led all runners and set a male course record in 7:20:00. He topped a field of 764 finishers within 20 hours. Anthony Costales, 37, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was second in 7:42:32, followed by 27-year-old Tracen Knopp of Anchorage Alaska, in 7:29:32. Canyon Woodward, 33, of Franklin, N.C., and Jordan Bramblett, 28, of Paulden, Ariz., rounded out the top five in 7:40:05 and 7:42:32, respectively. Troyer and Woodward previously secured spots in the Western States field, so the Golden Tickets went to Costales, Knopp and Bramblett.

While Seidel no longer lives in New England, 23 current residents of the region were among the 100K finishers. Thomas Hanlon, Sam Worley and Zack Beaven were the fastest. Hanlon, 28, of Waltham, Mass., finished 42nd in 9:11:36, followed by Worley, 25, of Boston, Mass., in 45th place in 9:20:52. Beavin, 31, of Newton, Mass., was 64th in 9:57:33.

Eight more New Englanders finished in the top half of the field. Samuel Sturim, 24, of Charlotte, Vt., was 127th in 11:11:22; Greg Merritt, 36, of Falmouth, Maine, placed 148th in 11:39:53; Jeff Uzzell, 40, of Easthampton, Mass., was 173rd in 12:14:29; Jake Kampner, 28, of Boston, Mass., placed 191st in 12:32:05; Nathan Nappi, 30, of Portland, Maine, finished 213th in 12:55:16; Erin O’Toole, 41, of Biddeford, Maine, was 224th in 13:04:45; Arnold Twitchell, 61, of South Paris, Maine, finished 336th in 14:24:49; and James Carolan, 26, of Stratham, N.H., placed 341st in 14:27:11.

Additional 100K finishers from the region were Steven Ockerbloom, 51, of Granby, Conn. (406th, 15:07:16); Will Manuel, 52, of Greenwich, Conn. (495th, 15:58:06); Colin Joyce, 38, of Greenwich, Conn. (500th, 16:00:45); Benjamin Deruyter, 48, of Brewster, Mass. (519th, 16:11:54); Jackie Deruyter, 48, of Brewster, Mass. (535th, 16:20:50); Amber Christoffersen, 44, of Cambridge, Mass. (578th, 16:43:04); Dan Balestrieri, 46, of Billerica, Mass. (591st, 16:50:12); Amiad Zionpur, 50, of Natick, Mass., and Adam Hoffman, 56, of Natick, Mass. (tied for 597th, 16:53:19); Charles Broderic, 29, of Sherborn, Mass. (616th, 17:23:14); Stephanie Sibille, 39, of Granby, Conn. (617th, 17:25:58); and John Blanchard, 44, of Nashua, N.H. (755th, 19:49:24).

Twenty-five New England residents were among the 848 finishers of the 50K race within 11 hours. Brian Brennan, 26, of Middleton, N.H., was the top finisher from the region, placing 42nd overall in 4:04:23. Matthew Lane, 26, of Boston, Mass., and Maddy Pfeifer, 31, of Williston, Vt., also cracked the top 100, with Lane placing 79th in 4:29:42 and Pfeifer 87th in 4:33:37. Seth Ruhling, 31, of Boulder, Colo., and Jane Maus, 30, of Salt Lake City, Utah, topped the male and female fields in 3:16:29 and 3:47:04, respectively.

Additional New Englanders among the 50K finishers were: Emily Ulmann, 33, of Brookline, Mass. (113th, 4:44:58); Caitrin Helminski, 31, of Waterford, Conn. (120th, 4:47:31); David Spandorfer, 37, of Somerville, Mass. (127th, 4:49:23); Aisha McAdams, 30, of Providence, R.I. (136th, 4:53:17); Rochelle Bilow, 38, of Morrisville, Vt. (168th, 5:04:51); Rich Sturim, 59, of Charlotte, Vt. (196th, 5:18:11); Santosh Karmacharya, 50, of Watertown, Mass. (200th, 5:19:05); Alex Dagley, 37, of Malden, Mass. (249th, 5:41:48); Michael Burnstein, 36, of Cambridge, Mass. (264th, 5:48:40); Kimberly Shepherd, 35, of Cambridge, Mass. (274th, 5:51:24); Noah Keates, 28, of Portland, Maine (356th, 6:23:05); Nick Downs, 40, of Windham, Maine (386th, 6:31:18); Jana Kenney, 36, of Biddeford, Maine (482nd, 7:00:13); Nicole Whyte, 43, of Northfield, N.H. (598th, 7:44:30); Carita Wegner, 52, and Karen Hoch, 56, of Salem, Mass. (tie for 635th, 7:56:56); Nicole Hazlett, 46, of New Gloucester, Maine (668th, 8:08:38); Jessica Segal, 34, of Portland, Maine (683rd, 8:17:20); Nick Stoneman, 65, of Arrowsic, Maine (707th, 8:27:50); Nicholas Hout, 30, of Stamford, Conn. (742nd, 8:52:06); Jackie Gerow, 30, of Somerville, Mass. (747th, 8:54:38); and Robert Hanna, 55, of Ledyard, Conn. (769th, 9:08:52).

Holiday Lake 50K++

Two women from New England earned top-10 finishes at the 29th annual Holiday Lake 50K++ on Saturday, Feb. 14, in Appomattox, Va. Both Maryanna Aldunate and Lyn Doubman were among the fastest females to complete the two-loop course around Holiday Lake on trails and country roads. Aldunate, 45, of Ripley, Maine, finished eight in the female field and 32nd overall in her ultramarathon debut, completing the course in 5:56:59. Doubman, 21, of Winchester, Mass., followed in 6:05:50, placing 10th in the female field and 35th overall in her third ultramarathon.

Amanda Presgraves, 31; of Harrisonburg, Va., finished first in the female field and was seventh overall in 4:34:48. Nathan Moore, 23, of Lynchburg, Va., led all runners in 3:53:13. There were 126 finishers within the 9-hour time limit.

The Ranch 50K

Chris Bornhorst officially became an ultrarunner when he successfully completed The Ranch 50K on Saturday, Feb. 14, in Escondido, Calif. Bornhorst, 27, of Boston, Mass., and his fellow ultrarunners took on a 15.6-mile loop course that they had to complete twice on the trails of Daley Ranch, amassing around 6,300 feet of elevation gain by the time they were done at the seventh annual event.

Bornhorst tied for 50th overall in 6:38:53 in the field of 88 finishers within the 9-hour time limit. Brian Mashburn, 46, of Wake Forest, N.C., led all runners in 4:15:43 while top female Maija Hitchings, 42, of Fallbrook, Calif., was fifth overall in 4:47:23. Both Mashburn and Hitchings set new course records.

Sombrero Ultra Running Festival

Jenn Taylor earned a distance personal record at the second annual Sombrero Ultra Running Festival (SURF) on Feb. 13-15 in Middleburg, Fla. The event offered 48-, 24-, 12- and 6-hour ultramarathons on a 1.344-mile loop course at the Clay County Regional Sports Complex. Taylor was the lone New England resident who took part, and the 49-year-old from Salem, Mass., took on the 48-hour event. She was one of 47 runners in the field, and she placed 24th overall. Taylor entered the event with a distance PR of 31.59 miles at the BURCS Sweltering Summer 8-Hour in August 2025. At SURF, she hammered out 77.72 miles.

Joel Rich, 56, of Gainesville, Fla., led all runners with 152.76 miles while Susan Kokesh, 59, of Lake Oswego, Ore., topped the female field with 120.60 miles. Twenty-two runners ran 100 miles or more.

Taylor will look to use the race as a springboard for a big 2026 as she builds up to the 30-hour race at The Hamsterwheel in November.

*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.