A pair of Massachusetts races highlighted the New England ultrarunning calendar during the May 8-10 weekend with the Watuppa Trail Races in Fall River and the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back races in Ashburnham, Mass. We’ll have those covered in separate stories, but there was plenty of additional ultrarunning action for New Englanders at events across the country. From the Hellbender 100 in North Carolina to the Cocodona 250 in Arizona, we have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

Cocodona

The Cocodona 250 delivered a dynamic storyline during each of its first five editions, but the sixth annual event was without question its most dazzling as runners once again made the journey from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff from May 4-9 in Arizona. The 253-mile point-to-point adventure saw 401 runners start and 267 ultimately finish within 125 hours – including 10 New England residents.

The story of the weekend was that of two-time defending female champion Rachel Entrekin of Conifer, Colo., who not only earned the three-peat, but became the first female to win the race outright as she smashed both the male and female course records while winning in 56:09:48. Second- and third-place overall finishers and top two men Kilian Korth, 30, of Grand Junction Colo., and Cody Poskin, 24, of Cedar Hill, Mo., also broke the male course record but couldn’t rein in Entrekin, finishing in 57:28:36 and 58:13:44. Former Massachusetts resident Joe McConaughy, 34, now of Seattle, Wash., finished fifth overall in 61:35:21. It was his third top-five finish at Cocodona, including a victory in 2022. Female runner-up Courtney Dauwalter, 41, of Leadville, Colo., followed shortly after in 61:58:35 to place sixth overall, while 39-year-old Megan Eckert of Santa Fe, N.M., rounded out the female podium and finished eighth in 63:09:07.

The big weekend for the women also included strong performances by a few New Englanders. At 23 years old, Lila Gaudrault was this year’s youngest finisher, and Maine native and resident of Williston, Vt., placed 12th in the female field and 50th overall in 88:17:35. About an hour later, 50-year-old Jennie Chisholm of Salem, N.H., crossed the finish line in 55th place overall and 13th in the female field in 89:28:28. It was Chisholm’s third time finishing Cocodona.

Additional New Englanders who completed the race were David Veronesi, 59, of Salem, Conn. (94th, 100:56:12); Kevin Lasko, 45, of Pittsfield, Vt. (107th, 104:43:55); Dan Knauss, 40, of Stockbridge, Mass. (175th, 113:26:06); Brian Connor, 59, of Wrentham, Mass. (182nd, 113:48:21); Madison Oboikowitsch, 33, of Burlington, Vt. (192nd, 115:06:25); Jana Kenney, 36, of Biddeford, Maine (199th, 116:49:59); Conrad Crans, 26, of Boston, Mass. (208th, 117:27:25); and Jackie Deruyter, 48, of Brewster, Mass. (234th, 121:07:26).

While the Cocodona 250 was the main event, it wasn’t the only race at Cocodona. The event offered several shorter distance races – though all were plenty long and tough. The second-longest race was the Sedona Canyons 125-miler, and 269 runners finished within 71 hours. Trueheart Brown, 46, of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Andrea White, 33, of Salt Lake City, Utah, led the male and female fields in 25:14:07 and 31:15:59, respectively. Eight New Englanders eventually joined them at the finish line. Kristian Deppe, 38, of Amherst, N.H., got there first, placing 45th overall in 39:51:39. Gregory Lowe, 62, of Newbury, Mass., was the next New Englander to finish, placing 111th in 48:28:20. Antonio Galvao, 37, of Pawtucket, R.I., followed in 123rd place in 49:33:38. Additionally, Jason Pontz, 52, of Stafford, Conn., finished 190th in 57:05:02; Jennifer Nappilanutter, 51, of Lunenburg, Mass., finished 190th in 57:22:53; Mindy Randall, 66, of Goffstown, N.H., finished 19th in 57:30:22; and Erin Abraham, 41, and Chelsea Peterson, 37, both of Portland, Maine, ran and finished together in 267th place in 70:21:45.

Finally, four New Englanders were among the 283 finishers of the Flagstaff Crest 40-miler. Ryan Garrett, 37, of Boston, Mass., finished 150th in 10:23:45; Mackenzie Grant, 32, and Eli Philips, 31, both of Falmouth, Maine, followed in 10:31:38 and 10:31:39, placing 154th and 155th, respectively; and 44-year-old Sarah Brandt of Salem, Mass., placed 203rd in 11:28:03. Avinoam Maier, 35, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Madeleine Hawkins, 38, of North Vancouver, B.C., led the male and female fields in 4:59:29 and 5:55:15, respectively.

No New England residents took part in the event’s Bradshaw Brute 100-mile or Mingus Traverse races.

Hellbender 100

A half-dozen New Englanders took on a big, burly course in the South and successfully conquered the course at the seventh edition of the Hellbender 100 on May 9-10 in Old Fort, N.C. The race once again used a modified course due to damage from Hurricane Helene, but it was still plenty difficult. The race featured big climbs and challenging descents, with 24,000 feet of vertical gain, including a trip to the summer of Mt. Mitchell.

A trio of runners from the region finished in the top quarter of the field. Jared Dybas, 26, of Groton, Conn., led the New England contingent in 14th place overall in 24:16:39. Close behind, John Paul Krol, 41, of North Conway, N.H., finished 17th in 24:50:04. A few hours later, 34-year-old Benjamin Feinson, of Williston, Vt., was the 40th runner to cross the finish line in 27:08:06.

Leah Nicholson, 38, of Lebanon, N.H., cracked the female top 10, placing ninth in the division while finishing 61st overall in 28:44:25. It was her latest success running in Old Fort. In March, she won the Mt. Mitchell Heartbreaker 50-miler. Similar to Nicholson, Christopher Lay also made an early trip to Old Fort this year and ran Mt. Mitchell Heartbreaker. Lay, 45, of Somerville, Mass., parlayed that effort into a successful run at Hellbender where he finished 92nd in 30:49:07. 

Sara Duncan, 35, of West Warren, Mass., placed 158th in 36:24:05. The former North Carolina resident has raced extensively in the region, though it was her first 100-miler. She will next take on the 48-hour race at the Notchview Ultra in July, and then the Jigger Johnson 50-miler in New Hampshire in August.

Drew Antonisse, 31, of Telluride, Colo., led all runners in 18:54:51, while Jana Grindheim, 40, of Durham, N.C., topped the female field in 23:36:09 as 175 runners completed the race within the 39-hour time limit.

Dirty German Endurance Fest

A trio of New England women earned top-10 finishes at the 16th edition of the Dirty German Endurance Fest 50-mile and 50K ultras on Saturday, May 9, in Philadelphia, Pa. Both races took place on the trails of Pennypack Park on a mix of nontechnical and mildly technical terrain with rolling hills.

The New Englanders stood out in the 50-miler by placing three in the top 10 of the female field. Ultra veteran Karen Benway, 54, of Williston, Vt., cracked the podium by placing third in the female field and 16th overall in 8:26:41. Maria Nolan, 24, of West Granby, Conn., finished 59th overall and sixth in the female field in 10:14:05. Rebecca Cunningham, 22, of Burlington, Vt., also cracked the female top 10, finishing ninth while placing 74th overall in 10:47:05. The race was the ultramarathon debut for both Nolan and Cunningham.

Philadelphia residents Brendan Shearn, 31, and Caroline Markmann, 26, were the male and female champions and finished 1-4 overall in 6:15:34 and 7:35:33, respectively, and led the field of 133 finishers within 13 hours.

Another 257 runners finished the 50K race, led by 24-year-old Philadelphia resident Sean Hamilton and 35-year-old Margaret Vido of Lafayette Hill, Pa., who finished 1-2 overall and were the male and female champions in 3:50:31 and 4:06:58, respectively. Michele Norman, 58, of Wellesley, Mass., placed 94th overall in 6:04:50, a 15-minute improvement over her 2025 performance. Mattel Kanevsky, 28, of Hamden, Conn., finished 159th in 7:05:08, and Shaun Moore, 64, of Bow, N.H., placed 190th in 7:39:26. It was the first ultramarathon for both Kanevsky and Moore. Additional finishers from New England were Michelle Christmann, 35, of Rocky Hill, Conn. (217th, 8:05:14); Lauren Frymus, 33, of Hamden, Conn. (229th, 8:24:27); Mitchell Munger, 29, of Wallingford, Conn. (234th, 8:30:02); and Andrew Salazar, 32, of Ansonia, Conn. (235th, 8:30:03).

Mind the Ducks 12-Hour Ultra

It’s easy to pile up miles quickly at the Mind the Ducks 12-Hour Ultra. The event takes place on a USATF-certified 1.01203-mile paved bike path at North Ponds Park in Webster, N.Y., so there are no tripping hazards and plenty of company. Benn Griffin knows this very well. Griffin, of Pittsfield, Mass., has been coming to Mind the Ducks for years. He returned for the 15th edition of the event on Saturday, May 9, and was one of 139 runners who took part. Of that group, 97 completed at least 30 miles. Griffin placed 39th overall with 40.5 miles in 9:34:45, and in doing so he achieved a big personal milestone by logging his 600th mile at Mind the Ducks.

Griffin was one of two New England residents who logged ultramarathon mileage. Elisa Donato, of Arlington, Vt., placed 65th overall with 33.4 miles in 10:27:21 Olex Pidhainy of Toronto, Ontario, led all runners with 73.9 miles in 11:54:37, while top female Kim Conway, of Rockville, Md., finished third overall with 64.8 miles in 11:54:43.

Freight Train Ultras

Ultramarathon veteran Kate Cook added another strong finish to her resume at the sixth edition of the Freight Train Ultras on Saturday, May 9, in Farmville, Va. The event took place on a mostly flat rail trail and offered both 100K and 50K distances. No New England residents were among the 44 finishers of the 100K, and Cook was the lone runner from the region among the 88 finishers of the 50K. Cook, 50, of Marblehead, Mass., placed 33rd overall and 11th in the female field in 6:07:24. 

Brian Dibetta, 35, of Leesburg, Va., and Laura Breu, 48, of Arlington, Va., topped the male and female fields and finished 1-3 overall in 3:54:39 and 4:30:59, respectively.

Glacier Ridge

Luke Chasse is officially an ultrarunner, and he skipped the 50K distance in doing so. Chasse, 21, of Newton, Mass., took on the 15th edition of the Glacier Ridge Ultramarathon 50-mile and 50K trail races on Saturday, May 9, in Portersville, Pa., and Chasse opted for the longest distance.

Chase and his fellow runners took on an out-and-back course on the Glacier Ridge/North Country Trail that runs between Moraine State Park and the Jennings Environmental Education Center. They had 14 hours to finish 50 miles, and Chasse was one of 30 runners who beat the cutoff. He finished in 13:39:05 and officially became an ultrarunner. Tyler Hanks, 31, of Warren, Ohio, led all runners in 7:59:36.

An additional 62 runners completed the 50K race, but no New Englanders took part at that distance.

*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.