August came to a close with a jam-packed weekend of ultramarathon running in New England, most of it at official races. Runners took on challenging events in Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. We have the first two–the Five Fields Farm 50K and Black Bear Trail Races 50K–included in this edition of the roundup, while results from the Ocean State Ultra were unavailable at the time of publication. But we lead off with a massive ultra effort at a self-styled event in Maine where Bradford Eslin ran 100 miles and raised more than $17,500 to help the homeless in his hometown.

Bradcrazy’s Hundo for the Homeless

Bradford Eslin delivered the biggest ultrarunning performance in New England during the Aug. 29-30 weekend–and it didn’t come on a race course. Eslin, 48, crafted his own ultra with the goal of making a big impact for the homeless community in Bangor, Maine, when he organized a fundraising run billed as “Bradcrazy’s Hundo for the Homeless.”

The run was personal to Eslin. He struggled with addiction and homelessness in his 20s, he explained in an interview with WABI News in Bangor. Now a successful small business owner of Marathon Plumbing and Drain Services, Eslin logs miles before sunrise and then heads to work. On one of his runs he noticed the significant homeless population in the community and wanted to find a way to help. Ultimately, his solution came in the form of running. He set up a GoFundMe page and began promoting the effort. 

“The Hundo is simply my way of trying to bring all of us together around one common purpose: helping people right here in Bangor who need us,” Eslin wrote in a Facebook post prior to the run. “You don’t have to run. You don’t have to volunteer all weekend. You don’t have to donate hundreds of dollars. Donate $5. Share the fundraiser. Stop by one of the tents. Come walk or run a few miles with me. Tell somebody about it. Just be part of it. Because imagine what happens when an entire city decides, ‘These are our people, this is our community, and we’re going to help.’ We talk about homelessness. We talk about what the city should do. We talk about what needs to change. Now it’s time to DO something.”

Eslin began at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, and took on an approximately 9.25-mile loop through Bangor and Brewer that he completed 11 times. He set up three tents along the way, and he was met there by friends, family, and runners from the community who joined to show support or share some miles.

He pushed hard throughout, and his watch struck the 100-mile mark in 21:31:35.

Proceeds from the run will go to Jericho Road Street Ministry and The Well Warming Center, organizations in Bangor that help the local homeless community. Though the run is complete, donations continue to pour in and have surpassed $17,500.

Five Fields Farm 50K

A small but mighty field of runners took on the second annual Five Fields Farm 50K on Sunday, Aug. 30, in Bridgton, Maine. Runners had to complete three loops of a figure-eight-style course on the trails of Bald Pate Preserve and Holt Pond Preserve, which included plenty of singletrack trails and elevation gain, as well as a pass through an apple orchard.

All three female finishers broke the previous course record, with 30-year-old Emily Bear of Hollis Center, Maine, leading the way in 6:19:26. She also placed second overall. Sarah Pribam, 58, of Shelburne, Vt., and Hanne Heinrich, 31, of Saco, Maine, rounded out the female field in 7:02:12 and 7:17:45, respectively. In the male field, 19-year-old Ronan Brown of Waterford, Maine, earned the victory in 5:26:28, followed by 36-year-old Derek Prox of Sebago, Maine, in 6:42:33. David Foster, 50, of Windham, Maine, rounded out the field in 7:40:59.

Black Bear Trail Races 50K

Massachusetts men swept the podium at the third annual Black Bear Trail Races 50K  on Saturday, Aug. 29, in Waterville Valley, N.H. The race challenged runners with a journey through the White Mountains, with 7,700 feet of climbing and trips up a trio of 4,000-foot peaks–Mt. Osceola, Mt. East Osceola, and Mt. Tecumseh. Ninety-eight runners completed the race within 12 hours, but it was a trio from the Bay State who dueled at the front.

Oliver Jay, 28, of Charlestown, Mass.; Aaron Gott, 18, of Sharon, Mass.; and Jarrod Beauregard, 24, of Acton, Mass., were in close contact throughout, along with Sam Locke, 30, of Goffstown, N.H. It was close throughout and the top three were separated by less than seven minutes with Jay earning the victory in his ultra debut in 5:42:07, followed by Gott in 5:45:40 and Beauregard third in 5:48:51. All three went under the previous course record of 5:54:58 which was set by Beauregard during his 2025 victory. Locke was a close fourth in 5:56:23, followed by Jamie Leahy, 41, of Bethlehem, N.H., in 6:12:45. Breyin Nichols, 29, of Lowell, Mass., was the only other sub-7-hour finisher in the male field, crossing the line in 6:44:46.

While it was a record-smashing day for the male field, the female field had a speedy day as well. Though the female course record went untouched, the second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-fastest times ever by female runners were recorded. Taylor Miller, 36, of Gilford, N.H., led the way, winning in 6:04:44 and finishing fifth overall. She was joined on the podium by Gina Warren,3 6, of Freeport, Maine, and Emily Johansson, 33, of North Woodstock, N.H., who finished in 7:13:03 and 7:17:51, respectively. Erika Cook, 30, of Belmont, N.H., was fourth in 7:19:14, followed by Kelsey Baumberger, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y., in 7:52:03.

Dirty Dozen 50K

Lisa McManus had a record-setting day at the 10th edition of the Dirty Dozen 50K on Saturday, Aug. 29, in New York, N.Y. McManus, 36, of New Canaan, Conn., was one of two New England residents among the field, and she was the only runner at the event to set a course record.

Runners had to complete 12 loops of the 2.5-mile orange loop trail in New York City’s Forest Park. Thirty-four runners started the race and 27 ultimately finished within 8 1/2 hours. McManus finished third overall, and she also placed first in the female field and set a new female course record by 14 minutes, finishing in 4:49:10. Runner-up Jennifer Modie, 43, of New York City, followed in 5:18:18. Alex Kunce, 31, also of New York City, led all runners and was the male champion in 4:26:20. He edged 35-year-old Oliver Dybus of Hicksville, N.Y., by less than a minute as Dybus crossed the line in 4:27:04. It was the second straight year that Kunce and Dybus finished 1-2 overall. Morgan Fine, 54, of Norwalk, Conn., placed 13th overall in 6:20:40.

*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.