The Chesterfield Gorge Ultra tested runners with some rain and a modified course that added a bit more mud and vertical gain. Rather than carnage, the result was a big year for course records at the eighth edition of the event on May 30-31 at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation in West Chesterfield, Mass.

Seven course records were set – including four in the nonbinary division. Nonbinary runners set records for 100 miles, 50K and 11K distances and won two races outright, while the male 50-mile record was toppled. Additionally, course standards were set for male, female and nonbinary runners in the new 33K race.

Rain on Saturday morning created chilly, wet, damp conditions that those in the event’s ultra distances had to endure for up to 30 hours while running 100 miles, 100K, 50 miles or 50K. They amassed those miles while running on a course that was modified from prior years. Rather than the typical 7.75-mile run through the gorge and out to a sun-exposed turnaround point, they instead completed 4.75 miles through the gorge, as well as a short out-and-back up and down a steep, slick, muddy hill for an approximately 10-mile round-trip journey that they had to complete multiple times.

Justin Martino-Harms wasn’t deterred by the conditions or modified course. After completing 100 miles at the 2025 race in 22:35:35, Martino-Harms returned with bigger goals in mind. The 42-year-old from Roslindale, Mass., ran strong from start to finish, won the race outright and smashed the nonbinary division course record by winning in 18:03:49. Martino-Harms was joined soon after at the finish line by second overall finisher and top male James Robitaille, 28, of South Boston, Mass., who finished his 100-mile debut in 18:30:10. Martino-Harms and Robitaille were the lone sub-20-hour finishers among the 13 runners who completed the distance within the 30-hour time limit.

Robitaille was one of several runners who earned their first 100-mile finishes at Chesterfield Gorge. Third overall finisher Danh Nguyen, 42, of Holbrook, Mass., and fourth overall finisher James Menousek, 33, of Framingham, Mass., did so, too, with Nguyen finishing in 20:09:04 and Menousek following less than three minutes later in 22:11:58. Six more runners were also first-time 100-mile finishers, including sixth overall finisher John Ryan, 45, of Clifton Park, N.Y., (24:46:49), and top female finisher Lisa Keary, 41, of Framingham, Mass., who earned her victory in 25:32:41. Also earning their first 100-mile finishes were 38-year-old Justin Pulver of Ashuelot, N.H. (10th, 27:00:23); Eric Schaefer, 37, of Basking Ridge, N.J. (11th, 29:11:11); and third- and fourth-place female finishers Rachel Paiste, 42, of Milton, Mass. (29:32:45), and Shelly Audette, 32, of Newport, Vt. (29:38:36).

Like Martino-Harms, the trio of Tom Wolejko, David Stawski and Judy Proteau all entered with prior 100-mile finishes at the Chesterfield Gorge, and all successfully completed the course again. Wolejko, 44, of Leominster, Mass., finished fifth overall in 23:03:08 for his second sub-24-hour performance at the race; Stawski, 44, of Manchester, Conn., improved by nearly 90 minutes from his 2025 effort by finishing in 25:18:44. Proteau, 51, of Marlborough, Mass., wasn’t quite as quick as her 2023 victory in 23:32:26, but she overcame the mud and rain to finish ninth overall and second in the female field this year in 26:47:06.

Just 12 runners completed six out-and-backs through the gorge for 100K finishes. Matthew Brown, 46, of Arlington, Mass., and Max Taylor, 39, of Amherst, Mass., were in close competition throughout the day, but Brown ultimately prevailed in 12:26:21. Taylor finished as the runner-up in 12:39:50, and 41-year-old Daniel Hrobak of Merrimack, N.H., joined them on the male podium in 13:53:19. They were the lone sub-16-hour finishers. Bonni Pres, 66, of Chatham, N.J., and Marie Broadaway, 40, of Nashua, N.H., were the lone female 100K finishers, with Pres completing the course in 17:05:44 and Broadaway following in 18:15:33.

After winning the event’s 50K race in 2022, Matt Pacheco returned this year to take on the 50-mile distance. The 41-year-old resident of Springfield, Mass., scorched the soggy course and topped the field of 35 finishers within 16 1/2 hours, winning in a male course record time of 6:48:36. Josh Brodin, 35, of Boston, Mass., was a distant second in 7:41:34, followed by 48-year-old Benjamin deRuyter of Brewster, Mass., in 8:15:05. Ansley Queen, 28, of Chicago, Ill., finished 10th overall and first in the female field in 9:33:08. Chesterfield Gorge regular Maria Chevalier, 51, of Cumberland, R.I., was the runner-up in 10:17:19, followed by 42-year-old Caitlin Rossi of Torrington, Conn., in 10:36:48.

Sixty runners earned 50K finishes for completing three out-and-backs of the course, and all who did so completed the distance within 13 1/2 hours. Bryan Dunyak, 37, of Sudbury, Mass., topped the field by 10 minutes, winning in 4:08:41. Mark Howard, 43, of North Providence, R.I., was second in 4:18:20, and third-place Karl Hellstrand, 47, of Southington, Conn., completed the male podium in 4:34:14. Micah Kennedy, 34, of Easthampton, Mass., finished fifth overall and set a nonbinary division course record in 4:57:52. Kennedy was joined on the podium by Lydia Warters, 31, and Donovan Snyder, 31, both of Dalton, Mass., who ran together and finished together in 7:30:16. Jacquelyn Gorski, 48, of Warwick, R.I., was the female champion in 5:24:30, followed by Mykayla Herges, 32, of Sandwich, Mass., and Catherine Emily Holman, 48, of Cambridge, Mass., who finished in 5:25:35 and 5:30:22, respectively.

While the ultrarunners started their races on Saturday, a pair of sub-ultra distance offerings took place Sunday: a 33K and an 11K.

The 33K distance was a new addition to the Chesterfield Gorge lineup this year, replacing the 25K that had been a part of the event since the beginning. Forty-four runners completed the race within 8 1/2 hours, and a close race unfolded at the front among the top male competitors. Ultimately, 31-year-old Mark Rabasco of Greenfield, Mass., earned the victory in 2:19:34, followed by 47-year-old Brian Rusiecki of Deerfield, Mass., in 2:27:57. Timothy Cote, 50, of South Hadley, Mass., was third in 2:31:16. A close race also played out among the top female runners, with 28-year-old Tori Laverdiere of Holyoke, Mass., winning in 2:51:30. Lauren Groppi, 47, of Moosup, Conn., was the runner-up in 2:58:31, followed four minutes later by third-place Breanna Glasgow, 38, of Bedford, Mass., in 3:02:36. Nuri Sherif, 33, of Northampton, Mass., finished first in the nonbinary division in 3:40:45, followed by 46-year-old Z Porter of Roslindale, Mass., in 3:57:48.

An additional 48 runners completed the 11K race within 2 1/2 hours. Liv Lohmeier dominated the race from start to finish, and the 24-year-old from Hadley, Mass., earned the victory and a nonbinary division course record in 47:33. Top female Becky Cushing Gop, 42, of Lenox, Mass., was second overall in 1:00:18, followed by Lisetta Shah, 42, of Worcester, Mass., in 1:03:54. Top male Chris Johnson, 68, finished in 1:10:50.

Up Next In the Beast Coast Trail Series: The Beast Coast Trail Series resumes with the Edge Hill Trail Race on Saturday, June 13, in Ashfield, Mass. The event offers 50K, 30K and 10K races on the singletrack trails of the Edge Hill Conservation Area and nearby dirt roads. Proceeds from the event benefit the Franklin Land Trust.