The July 1-12 weekend was one of the busiest of the year for ultramarathons in New England with events in four of the region’s six states. In Massachusetts, the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service played host to its popular multi-day Notchview Ultra, which we will have covered in a separate article. Additionally, the Back Cove Backyard Ultra took place in Maine, the Spaulding Woods 50K was held in New Hampshire, and the inaugural The Revolution 12-hour was run in Connecticut. We have all of those events featured in this edition of the roundup, along with several other ultras from across the country and another in Iceland.

Back Cove Backyard Ultra

A crowd of 151 runners gathered at the starting line for the first lap and first hour of the Back Cove Backyard Ultra on Saturday, July 11, in Portland, Maine. They each had a full hour to complete a 4.17-mile loop around the Back Cove Trail and return to the starting line for the next loop or face elimination. They would continue with a new loop each hour, every hour, until only one remained.

After 12 hours, just 47 runners–less than a third of the field–remained. Eleven runners lasted at least 24 hours and 100 miles, but that wasn’t good enough. The field continued to dwindle. Three runners reached 125 miles, but that was the stopping point for 30-year-old Nathan Nappi, a Portland local. When he withdrew, that left just two runners in contention for the title of last person standing: 37-year-old Steve Maloney of Boston, Mass., and 31-year-old Portland local Danny Mejia. They battled for five more hours before Maloney reached his stopping point after 35 hours and 145.85 miles. That left Mejia to complete a 36th and final lap all alone. When he crossed the finish line within the allotted hour, he secured the victory with 150 miles–the second-biggest effort in the event’s five-year history. Only 2025 champion Ed Clifford has ever gone longer at the event, having put up 154.179 miles. The victory was Mejia’s second in a last person standing format event. He previously won Bubba’s Backyard Ultra in New Hampshire in 2024 with a 150.5-mile performance.

Spaulding Woods 50K

The women’s course record board was rewritten at the third annual Spaulding Woods 50K on Saturday, July 11, in Northfield, N.H. The event took place on the trails of Spaulding Academy & Family Services, and runners had to complete five 10K loops on singletrack trails with punchy climbs, rocks and roots.

Fifty-two runners completed the race within 10 hours, and the female field stood out as the top four finishers all broke the previous course record of 7:35:55 by Nicole Gray in 2025.. Maria Didomenica, 30, of Auburn, N.H., finished second overall and first in the female field in 6:08:42, setting a new female course record. Her closest competitors all broke the previous course standard, too, with 21-year-old Ella Szczepanski of South Burlington, Vt., placing second in 6:36:31; 28-year-old Ashley Foster of Cumberland, R.I., finishing third in 7:33:34; and 49-year-old Elsa Cipriani of Deery, N.H., following close behind in fourth in 7:33:55.

In the male field, 36-year-old Benjamin Moser led the way in 5:44:36 while securing the overall win. His time secured the No. 2 spot on the men’s record board. Marc Solari, 39, of Durham, N.H., was the runner-up in 6:14:50, followed less than two minutes later by third-place Andrea Mucchietto, 32, of Cambridge, Mass., in 6:16:42. Joe Blackburn, 30, of Loudon, N.H., and Andrew Bettencourt, 36, of Dover, N.H., rounded out the top five in 6:27:08 and 6:31:12, respectively.

The Revolution

Steep Endurance introduced Connecticut’s newest ultra when it played host to the inaugural The Revolution 12- and 6-hour ultras on Saturday, July 11, in Redding. As a tribute to the signing date of the Declaration of Independence, runners took on a 1.776-mile loop course on a mix of singletrack trails and carriage roads at Putnam Memorial State Park.

Forty-one runners competed in the inaugural 12-hour race, and the top three male finishers all completed 60 miles or more. Anthony Ryan, 19, of New Milford, Conn., led the way with 64.1 miles, followed by 42-year-old David McGrath of West Hartford, Conn., and 20-year-old Justin Monchinski of Marlboro, N.J., with 60.5 miles apiece. Kim Hooper-Stanley, 64, of Bethel, Conn., won in the female field with 49.8 miles. She was joined on the podium by 47-year-old Jes Parker of Westport, Conn., and 54-year-old Qiuju Gu of Weston, Conn., with 48.1 miles and and 46.3 miles, apiece. Thirty runners completed 30 miles or more within the time limit.

An additional 39 runners took part in the 6-hour race, with Jared Dybas, 26, of Groton, Conn., and Ryan O’Boyle, 21, of Harrison, N.Y., topping the male field with 35.6 miles apiece, and 43-year-old Raquel Brainard of Waterford, Conn., leading the female field with 33.8 miles. Mark Konopka, 38, of Seymour, Conn., was the third-place male with 32 miles, while 42-year-old Lisa Conyer and 33-year-old Emberleigh Luce, both of Waterford, Conn., were the second- and third-place female finishers with 32 miles and 28.5 miles, respectively.

Hardrock 100

The Hardrock 100 is difficult on an ordinary day with its high altitude, more than 33,000 feet of climbing, and steep climbs and descents while navigating the trails of Colorado’s San Juan mountains. The 32nd edition of the event on July 10-12 featured the added challenge of wildfire smoke.

Still, 147 runners once again gathered at the starting line in Silverton, Colo., to attempt the 101.8-mile loop through the mountains. Of those who started, 116 ultimately finished within the 48-hour time limit, including two New Englanders who overcame everything that the course and the elements threw at them.

Hardrock first-timer Yuichiro Hidaka, 47, of South Kingstown, R.I., finished 89th in 46:15:40, and Hardrock veteran Dima Feinhaus, 52, of Waban, Mass., earned his fourth finish, finishing 115th and beating the cutoff in 47:52:01. Final finisher Justin McMillan, 52, of Atascadero, Calif., followed shortly after in 47:54:13.

Aliza Lapierre of Richmond, Vt., started the race but dropped after nine hours. Former Maine resident Jeff Rome also was among the starting field, but the four-time finisher dropped after 10 hours of running.

Despite the smoke, 50-year-old Ludovic Pommeret of France earned his third straight Hardrock victory in a course record 21:11:36. He knocked 22 minutes off of his previous record from 2024. Jimmy Elam, 39, of Midway, Utah, was a distant second in 23:48:56. In the female field, 41-year-old Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colo., won for the fourth time in 26:03:10. Dauwalter’s performance was the second-fastest by a female in event history, trailing Katie Schide’s record of 25:50:23 from 2025.

Mt. Hood 50

A trio of New Englanders earned their first ultramarathon finishes at the Mt. Hood 50 on Sunday, July 12, in Clackamas Lake, Ore. The event offered both 50-mile and 50K distances on the Pacific Crest Trail, and all of the New Englanders opted for the shorter option.

Riya Sivakumar, 24, of Cambridge, Mass., led the New England contingent with a strong day of running. She placed 37th overall out of 195 finishers and was 10th in the female field in 4:57:23. Additionally, Nicholas Brochu, 45, of Paxton, Mass., placed 172nd in 7:27:27, and Elizabeth Owens, 30, of Franklin, Mass., finished 175th in 7:32:05.

Dustin Franta, 37, of Portland, Ore., and Linnaea Kavulich, 26, of Washington, D.C., topped the male and female fields in 3:24:43 and 4:05:09, respectively.

Ironstone 100K

Tobias Tello is no stranger to tackling difficult long-distance courses. The 22-year-old from Cheshire, Conn., made his 100-mile debut at the 2019 Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail when he was just 15 years old. Since then, he has amassed a number of additional finishes of 100 miles or more, including the challenging Connecticut Ultra Traverse 112-miler in 2021 and 2022; the Eastern States 100-miler in Pennsylvania in 2023; the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 in Virginia in 2024; and the Wolverine State 100-miler in Michigan in 2025.

Though not 100 miles, Tello found a grueling 100K race that enticed him to return to Pennsylvania when he took part in the fifth annual Ironstone 100K on Saturday, July 11, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. The event offered a point-to-point course that took runners on a journey through rugged and remote trails through Pennsylvania’s Ridge and Valley Region. Of the 104 runners who started the race, 77 finished within the 23-hour time limit. Tello was among the fastest, placing 17th overall in 17:23:23. Scott Lesh, 42, of Boiling Springs, Pa., led all runners in a course-record 13:57:13. Top female Justyna Wilson, 50, of Fairless Hills, Pa., finished fourth and set a new female course record in 14:21:04.

Laugavegur Ultramarathon 55K

After years of racing trail ultras in the United States, John Sherback added an international adventure to his resume when he took part in the Laugavegur Ultramarathon 55K on Sunday, July 12, in Iceland. One of Iceland’s most scenic ultras, the event took runners on a journey through Iceland’s southern highlands, crossing black sand deserts, glacial rivers and lava fields while amassing more than 5,000 feet of vertical gain.

Nearly 700 runners finished the race, with Sherback placing 347th in the male field in 8:06:26. Porsteinn Roy Johannsson won the men’s race in 4:06:35, while Tove Alexandersson topped the 275-runner female field in 4:14:08.

*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.