The mountains called ultrarunners to New Hampshire for a grueling weekend of racing and adventure in the White Mountains at the fifth annual Jigger Johnson Ultras. Many New Englanders stayed close to home to take part in the event’s 100-mile, 50-mile and 20-mile races, while others headed to Connecticut for the Shenepsit Striders’ Summer Fat Ass 8-hour run. We have both of those events included in this edition of the roundup, as well as a few other races from throughout the country that took place during the Aug. 14-16 weekend.

Jigger Johnson Ultras

Course records crumbled at the fifth annual Jigger Johnson Ultras on Aug. 27-29 in Waterville Valley, N.H. The event offers some of the hardest trail ultramarathons in the United States, with runners taking on 100-mile and 50-mile ultra distances through the White Mountains, as well as a 20-miler that deserves ultra status for its difficulty.

The 100-miler actually measures closer to 108 miles and tests runners with 29,000 feet of climbing as runners journey out-and-back over multiple 4,000-foot peaks. That wasn’t too much for Conor Brown and Lexi Jackson to handle. Both delivered dazzling record-setting performances. Brown was no stranger to the event, having finished second in the 50-miler in 2024. He started the year strong with a win at the TARC Wapack and Back 50-miler, and continued to build toward the Jigger Johnson 100. The 25-year-old from Manchester, N.H., led for nearly the duration and won the race outright in 29:41:20, knocking 46 minutes off of the previous record set by Keith Nadeau in 2024 (30:27:59). Runner-up Benjamin Niebla, 29, also of Manchester, clocked the sixth-fastest time in course history with his 31:38:21 performance. Aaron Gott, 18, of Sharon, Mass., completed the male podium in 31:56:13, earning the seventh spot on the all-time list.

Meanwhile, Jackson also had a dominant weekend as the 38-year-old from Goffstown, N.H., led the female field wire to wire and won in a sizzling 33:12:29. Jackson has spent plenty of time in recent years playing on the trails of the White Mountains, and her mastery of the mountains showed as she knocked more than 4 1/2 hours off of the previous female course record of 37:47:49 set by Katja Fink in 2024. Jackson was the fourth overall finisher. She was joined on the female podium by Jessica Crandall, 47, of Berlin, Conn., and Lenka Matejkova, 48, of Lebanon, Maine, who finished in 39:39:27 and 42:23:34, respectively. Taylor Verville, 35, of Tiverton, R.I., was fourth in 44:51:22.

Of the 82 runners who started the 100-miler, 44 finished within 52 hours. Other top performers from New England included Sam Johansson, 32, of Lisbon, N.H. (sixth overall; 34:42:15); Jonathan Western, 41, of Topsfield, Mass. (seventh overall; 35:06:56); Kris Pieper, 32, of Seabrook, N.H. (11th overall; 39:22:15); and Nick Lee, 41, of Falmouth, Mass. (13th overall; 39:36:53).

Though course records survived in the 50-mile race, some big performances were delivered on the course that actually measures 58 miles with more than 16,000 feet of climbing. Of the 79 runners who started, 61 finished within 29 hours. Laura Ricci had a dominant day of racing, and the 42-year-old from Boston, Mass., finished third overall while blowing away the female field by more than two hours. Ricci’s winning time of 16:40:52 was the second-fastest by a female in event history. The two men who finished ahead of her posted the third- and fifth-fastest times ever on the male record board. Paul Herron, 40, of Montreal, Quebec, led all runners in 13:54:07, while 23-year-old Luke Stetson of North Yarmouth, Maine, followed in 15:37:29. Thomas Smith, 36, of Jericho, Vt., completed the male podium and placed fourth overall in 16:57:51. Ricci was joined on the female podium by Brynn Reese, 28, of Bar Harbor, Maine, who was ninth overall in 18:55:07, and Kristyn Kleman, 36, of Woolwich, Maine, who finished 11th overall in 19:41:58.

The event’s 20-mile race includes nearly 6,000 feet of climbing. Eighty runners completed the course, led by 38-year-old Ben Quatromoni of Newport, R.I., whose time of 3:31:45 was the second-fastest in course history. Female champion Haley Heinrich, 33, of Newbury, N.H., placed third overall in 4:03:39. It was her second time winning the race; she previously won in 2024.

Shenipsit Striders Summer Fat Ass

Seventy-seven runners took part in the second annual Shenipsit Striders Summer Fat Ass on Saturday, Aug. 15, in Tolland, Conn. Runners gathered to enjoy pancakes and run as many laps of an approximately 5K loop course as they wanted within an 8-hour time limit.

Some participants opted for one or two loops, while others pushed for ultramarathon mileage. Eighteen runners surpassed the marathon distance, and the top three men all finished 37.29 miles. Kyle Bridgewater, 36, of Avon, Conn., got it done first and earned the win in 7:08:16. Ioannis Galouzis, 34, of Chestnut Hill, Mass., was second in 7:30:55, followed by 37-year-old Jeff Sullivan of Manchester, Conn., in 7:52:55. Anthony Tieuli, 53, of Northbridge, Mass., was fourth with 34.18 miles in 6:52:29. The trio of 50-year-old Tim Driver of Northbridge, Mass., 54-year-old Patrick McEnaney of Mendon, Mass., and 46-year-old Jason Gray of Northbridge, Mass., each finished 31.08 miles, as did 32-year-old John Sullivan of Burlington, Conn., and 28-year-old Jerry Reyes-Rivera of East Hartford, Conn.

Amy Sullivan, 34, of Burlington, Conn., led the female field with 31.08 miles to secure the victory. Caitrin Huysman, 25, of Farmington, Conn., and Chelsea Byrd, 34, of West Hartford, Conn., followed with 27.97 miles apiece.

Fabulous Fahnestock Trail Races

Five New Englanders were among the finishers of the fourth annual Fabulous Fahnestock Trail Races 50K on Saturday, Aug. 15, in Cold Spring, N.Y. Fifty-one runners completed the race within 12 hours while running on the technical singletrack trails and dirt roads of Fahnestock State Park in upstate New York.

Mike Skluth, 31, of Ridgefield, Conn., led all runners from the region, placing fifth overall in 6:02:57. Robert Wheeler, 37, of Marshfield, Mass., finished 15th in 7:15:02. Additionally, 26-year-old Delia Topitzer of Tolland, Conn., finished 35th overall and fourth in the female field in 8:55:01; Ryan Boutin, 32, of Coventry, Conn., finished 43rd in 9:32:42; and Benjamin Halter, 32, of Glastonbury, Conn., was 44th in 9:45:50.

Cole Smith, 27, of Boulder, Colo., and Jennifer Mikolay, 40, of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., were the male and female champions in 5:03:23 and 7:41:41, respectively.

Beast of Burden – Summer

Anthony Ryan didn’t run his first ultramarathon until earlier this year, but the 19-year-old from New Milford, Conn., now has two 100-mile finishes to his credit. He completed 100 miles at the Centurion Ultra Trail Event 33-hour race earlier this summer. Then, on Aug. 15-16, he notched another 100-mile finish at the Beast of Burden summer race in Lockport, N.Y.

Ryan was one of 22 runners who completed four out-and-backs on the Erie Canal Towpath within 32 hours to earn 100-mile belt buckles at the 17th annual event. Ryan placed second overall in 24:34:27. He was the lone New Englander among the finishers. Aaron Dana, 41, of Rochester, N.Y., earned the overall win in 19:33:03. Top female Kelly Nash, 55, of Rochester, N.Y., placed third overall in 24:41:02.

Another 18 runners completed two out-and-backs for 50-mile finishes, including 41-year-old Jay Steinhardt of Plainville, Mass., who finished fifth overall in 11:32:20. Jeremy Van Moorsel, 30, of Stevensville, Ontario, led all runners in 6:52:43.

Bigfoot 200

New Hampshire represented New England at the 11th running of the Bigfoot 200 from Aug. 14-18 near Mt. St. Helens in Washington. Four runners from the Granite State completed the race, and one placed on the podium for the second time.

Brody Chisholm, 19, of Salem, N.H., finished second in 53:36:41, earning runner-up status for the second year in a row. Chisholm finished the 2025 race in 45:45:40, which ranks third all-time and would have won this year’s race. Aaron Kubala, 31, of San Francisco, Calif., won this year’s race in 47:21:11, which ranks fourth all-time.

Aimee Warnke, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, topped the female field in 61:18:35 and placed sixth overall. Chisholm’s mother, 50-year-old Jennie Chisholm, finished ninth in the female field and 23rd overall in 72:43:19.

Of the 255 runners who started the race, 187 finished within 107 hours. Two more New Hampshire residents were among that group. Jacqueline Fucile, 42, and Nicholas Fucile, 47, both of Stark, N.H., ran together and finished together in 101:22:53 and 101:22:54, placing 156th and 157th respectively. The couple typically runs and races together, and it was the first 200-mile finish for both. They will attempt another 200-miler together in June 2027 at the Tahoe 200.

*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.