The holiday weekend was relatively quiet on the ultrarunning scene, but that didn’t stop a few New Englanders from turning in strong performances. Runners from the region earned podium finishes on both coasts during a light July 3-5 weekend of racing, and we have it covered in this edition of the roundup.

Red Wing Trail Challenge

New Englanders reigned at the ninth edition of the Red Wing Trail Challenge on Sunday, July 5, in Lagrangeville, N.Y. The event included a 60K ultra, along with 30K and 15K sub-ultra distances, but the small but mighty field in the 60K was highlighted by New Englanders. Of the  13 runners who took on a course with around 6,600 feet of climbing on the trails of the Red Wing Recreation Area, nine finished within 13 hours and a pair of Connecticut residents topped the male and female fields. Rebecca Doring, 37, of Cornwall Bridge, was the female champion and sixth overall finisher in 9:45:34. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Anthony Ryan of New Milford topped the male field in 6:48:30. A pair of Massachusetts men joined him on the podium, with 36-year-old Robert Wheeler of Marshfield placing second in 7:48:10 and 47-year-old Dan Cohen of Williamstown taking third in 8:39:46.

Finger Lakes 50s

A handful of New Englanders earned successful finishes at the 36th edition of the Finger Lakes 50s on Saturday, July 4, in Hector, N.Y. Runners took on a 16.5-mile multi-loop course that they had to complete either two or three times for 50K and 50-mile finishes on the trails of the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Christopher Chang was the lone New Englander among the 23 finishers of the 50-mile race. The 33-year-old from Burlington, Vt., placed seventh overall in 10:28:02. Daniel Hollister, 44, of Columbia Cross Roads, Pa., and Raizel Pongracz, 22, of Bangor, Pa., topped the male and female fields in 9:08:35 and 10:04:05, respectively.

Five more New Englanders were among the 88 finishers of the 50K race, with 54-year-old Dave Dilorenzo of Arlington, Mass., leading the way with a 12th-place finish in 6:02:02. Kristopher Morin, 44, of Enfield, Conn., followed shortly after in 14th place in 6:03:01. Additionally, 43-year-old Laura Larsen of West Hartford, Conn., finished in 8:39:14, and Kristen Snow, 43, and Kathleen Snow, 43, both of Enfield, Conn., ran together and finished together in 9:07:25 and 9:07:27. Michael Garside, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Sonia Sanchez, 31, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., led the male and female fields and placed 1-2 overall in 4:34:36 and 4:50:06, respectively.

Hellz Bellz Ultra

Two New Hampshire men traveled cross-country to take on a challenging course, and both delivered solid performances at the sixth edition of the Hellz Bellz Ultra 50-miler and 50K trail races on Sunday, July 5, in Yacolt, Wash. The races took place on the trails of the Yacolt Recreation Area and Moulton Falls Regional Park, where runners marched to the top of Bells Mountain and earned views of Mt. St. Helens along the way. Avery Traffie, 28, and Nels Traffie, 52, both of New Ipswich, N.H., were the lone New Englanders in the field–and they were also among the fastest runners. Both ran among the frontrunners throughout, even as the field stretched out as the miles piled up. By the time they reached the finish line, one had secured a place on the podium and another narrowly missed out. Avery Traffie earned the runner-up spot in the male field in 8:35:53, trailing only 28-year-old Joshua Bibbee of Corvallis, Ore., who won in 7:38:17. Nels Traffie finished fourth in 9:30:08, less than six minutes behind third-place Daniel Lynch, 40, of Battle Ground, Wash. (9:24:56). It was the first ultra for the younger Traffie, and at least the fifth for the elder. Nels Traffie completed the Hellz Bellz 50-miler in 2025 in 10:27:22, so this year’s performance was an improvement by nearly an hour.

Thirty-nine runners finished the 50-mile race within 15 1/2 hours.

No New Englanders were among the 23 finishers of the 50K race.

*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.