WESTWOOD, Mass. – Rick Abradi gazed at the water as he ran along the sandy North Beach of Noanet Pond during his first loop of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, March 21, at Hale Education. A grin spread across his face and he shook his head.

“Who has more fun than us?” Abradi declared, allowing his rhetorical question to linger as he continued across the beach and disappeared into the woods on a singletrack trail.

It was hard to argue with him on a near-perfect day for trail-running. The course had muddy spots from some overnight rain, but was in good condition overall; temperatures ranged from the low 40s to low 50s; the sun even peeked out from behind the clouds as the day progressed and the miles piled up. It was hard to believe that the last time the Trail Animals Running Club gathered here–just six weeks earlier–the venue was buried under two feet of snow.

On this day, joy and enthusiasm were on display seemingly everywhere along the 3.5-mile loop course. You could see it from Augie Houlahan as the 6-year-old from Newburyport, Mass., charged up a short climb, dodged a few rocks and then broke into a sprint on a flat straightaway. You could see it in the smiles of Vrushali Phirke, 49, of Newton, Mass., and Sreejesh Chethil, 51, of Hopkinton, Mass., as the friends chatted away while navigating the trail.

Similarly, you could see it in the trio of longtime Trail Animals Jeff Hattem, 74, of Natick, Mass., Stephen Galloway,, 63, of Framingham, Mass., and Don Keren, 70, of Melrose, Mass., as the pals shared some early-season miles after a long, cold winter. You could see it in the extra spring in the step of 9-year-old Lucy Houlahan–Augie’s sister–as she reached North Beach and suddenly broke away from her mom and little brother for a dash across the sand.

The glee was unmistakable on the face of 26-year-old Boston resident Amelia Porter as she trotted through the trails of the place where she works as the Director of the Hale Day Camp. 

You could see the excitement in Abradi, too. The 67-year-old from Lisbon, Maine, completed five loops on this pleasant day, and he smiled his way through most of his 17.5 miles while soaking up the sights and sounds of early spring.

Indeed, Race Director Melissa Arnold dialed up a beauty of a day, and the runners in both the 6-hour ultra and single-loop 3.5-mile trail race savored every bit of it.

Thirty-three runners took part in the single-loop race, which saw 28-year-old Patrick Caron of Needham, Mass., scorch the course from the start and win in a speedy 23:26. Adam Coogan, 33, of North Providence, R.I., pushed hard and finished second in 25:04. Top female finishers Hailey Skiff, 27, of Boston, Mass., and Abby McCabe, 44, of Framingham, Mass., were third and fourth overall in 31:29 and 33:15, respectively. Maxwell Hume, 38, of Dedham, Mass., led the nonbinary division and placed ninth overall in 38:25.

Another 103 runners took part in the 6-hour race and piled up as many loops and miles as they wanted within the time limit. Every runner completed at least two loops and 7 miles. Sixteen runners surpassed the marathon distance by completing at least eight loops and earned official ultramarathon mileage. The top four runners, including the top two male and female finishers, all completed nine laps and 31.5 miles within the time limit. Anthony Accardi, 24, of Groveland, Mass., finished first overall as he completed 31.5 miles in 5:27:30. Top female Jade Bihua Zhang, 46, of Belmont, Mass., was next in 5:34:56, topping the female field for the second time at To Hale and Back. Female runner-up Candice Lanzoni, 32, of Hopkinton, Mass., was third overall in 5:46:11, and male runner-up Jacob Varekamp, 51, of Norwell, Mass., followed in 5:49:46.

Another 12 runners completed eight laps and 28.0 miles. Included among that group were male and female runners-up Alejandro Mesa Mazo, 23, of East Boston, Mass., and Allie Bartak, 38, of Sunapee, N.H. Additional 28-mile finishers were Matthew Dibb, 45, of Scituate, Mass.; Li Sun, 54, of Andover, Mass.; Michael Mckie, 59, of Peabody, Mass.; Samuel Belcher, 33, of Natick, Mass.; Kevin Marks, 49, of Boston, Mass.; Russet Morrow, 52, of Millis, Mass.; Robert Lynch, 50, of Sharon, Mass.; Joshua Bricknell, 29, of Cambridge, Mass.; Jason Kaplan, 42, of Dedham, Mass.; and Tomer Azenkot, 43, of Chestnut Hill, Mass.

End of an Era for NTS: To Hale and Back marked the final event where longtime Trail Animal Norm Sheppard will serve as the official timer with his NTS (Norm’s Timing System). Nearly 13 years ago to the day, Sheppard timed his first race with the system that he built. The occasion was the inaugural running of the TARC Spring Thaw 6-Hour, which was created by Emily Trespas and was the precursor event to To Hale and Back. The event coincided with the start of the third edition of the TARC Trail Series in 2013. Sheppard has timed the majority of TARC races since then, and his equipment has endured a variety of conditions, from frigid weather to extreme heat, to having his timing mats soaked in puddles at many editions of the TARC Spring Classic. Though his timing system is retiring, you can still expect to see Sheppard at many TARC events – just look for him at the starting line with the other runners.

Up Next in the TARC Trail Series: The Trail Animals’ next race will take place on Sunday, April 19, with the annual “Don’t Run Boston” 50K and 50-mile ultras at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton. The club’s original event remains free and uses an unmarked course that runners must navigate by color-coded map, or by memorizing in advance. Then, on Saturday, April 25, the club will gather at the Jericho Woods in Weston for the TARC Spring Classic 50K, marathon, half marathon and 10K trail races.