The Sept. 11-13 weekend was the busiest of the year for ultramarathons in New England with seven ultra events taking place throughout the region. Though none were held in Massachusetts, Vermont or Rhode Island, three took place in New Hampshire, two were held in Connecticut and two more in Maine. Additionally, New Englanders took part in at least nine other ultras throughout North America. Results from some of the events were not available at the time of publication, but we have many of them covered in this edition of the roundup.

Bradbury Badass Races

Trail Monster Running concluded its Big Brad Ultras event in 2025, but the club evolved the event into a new offering: the Bradbury Badass Races. The first running of the new event took place on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Pownal, Maine, and it brought to a close this year’s edition of the Bradbury Mountain Trail Running Series. Runners took on a 15.5-mile loop course on the trails of Bradbury Mountain State Park, completing two loops for a 50K in the event’s Pounder race, or one loop for the 25K Half-Pint.

Eighteen runners completed both loops of the Pounder within 10 hours, and a familiar face led the way. Matt Cheney won the Big Brad Ultras 50-miler in 2023. Cheney, 33, of Brunswick, Maine, topped the field in the Pounder in 4:06:33. Michael Nicklasson, 51, of South Portland, Maine, was a distant second. Female champion Alexandria Leveille, 32, of Londonderry, N.H., was third overall in 5:49:49. Benjamin Demerchant, 39, of Woolwich, Maine, was fourth overall and the final male podium finisher in 6:19:43. Leveille was joined on the female podium by runner-up Amy Wells, 41, of Limerick, Maine, and third-place Nichole Cort, 42, of Poland, Maine, who finished in 6:29:04 and 6:38:58, respectively.

An additional 62 runners completed the single-loop Half Pint. Luke Nye, 36, of Scarborough, Maine, and Samantha Applebaum, 26, of Portland, Maine, were the male and female winners in 2:04:30 and 2:40:19, respectively.

Pisgah Mountain Trail Race 50K

No runner has made a bigger mark on the Pisgah Mountain Trail Race than David Herr. The 61-year-old from Canaan, Vt., ran the inaugural event in 1999 and has been back nearly every year since. Herr took part in the 24th edition of the race on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Chesterfield, N.H., and earned his 17th finish in 18 tries.

Herr has been dominant on the trails of Pisgah State Park throughout his career. Not only has he been a regular at the event, but he has been a frequent champion–including this year. Of the 23 finishers within nine hours, Herr led the way in 4:33:17. It was his 15th time placing on the podium and seventh time winning the race. His other victories came in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

While Herr pulled away for the win, Brent Herring, 44, of Durango, Colo., followed in second place overall in 4:41:15, and 37-year-old Ian Hart of Swanzey, N.H., completed the male podium in 4:43:16. Brian Rusiecki, 47, of South Deerfield, Mass., finished fourth in 4:53:50. Lauren Macarthur, 47, of Marlboro, Vt., finished first in the female field in 6:23:10, followed by Lucy Burnell, 46, of Biddeford, Maine, in 8:12:48, and Amanda Paul, 50, of Swanzey, N.H., in 8:13:59.

Another 33 runners completed the event’s 23K race. Peter Bonito, 41, of Westmoreland, N.H., and Samantha Bernard, 33, of Clarksburg, Mass., topped the male and female fields in 1:47:23 and 2:17:35, respectively.

Bear Brook Trail Ultramarathon

The Bear Brook Trail Race has existed for more than a decade, but this year it expanded to include a 50K ultramarathon on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Allenstown, N.H. Twenty-two runners successfully completed the inaugural ultra within 11 hours. Sam Locke, 31, of Goffstown, N.H., dominated the race and won in 5:50:35. Riley King, 24, of Concord, N.H., followed in 6:29:17. Top female Taylor Miller, 36, of Gilford, N.H., finished third overall in 6:34:22 and outdistanced the rest of the female field by more than a half hour. Nicholas Labbe, 36, of New Durham, N.H., completed the male podium in 6:57:35 and finished fourth overall.

Miller was joined on the female podium by 28-year-old Caroline Rodi of Amherst, N.H., and 36-year-old Taylor Verville of Tiverton, R.I., who finished in 7:07:56 and 8:01:10, respectively.

Macedonia Trail Race 50K

It has been a minute since Matt Pacheco last ran a trail race. He opened the season in April with a runner-up finish at the Mt. Toby 50K. He followed it up with six straight victories, winning the Traprock 50K in April, the Blue 2 Blue Challenge 50K and Chesterfield Gorge Ultra 50-miler in May, the Woodbooger 100-miler in Virginia in June, and the Notchview Ultra 6-Hour race in mid-July.

About two weeks after Notchview, Pacheco was struck by a car while on his morning run. He suffered a concussion and road rash, but thankfully was able to continue running. He waited a bit to return to a starting line, but finally did so at the ninth edition of the Macedonia Trail Race 50K on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Kent, Conn. The race presented a tough test with three loops of a course on the singletrack and forest trails of Macedonia Brook State Park with more than 7,000 feet of climbing. Pacheco DNFd the race in 2024, so he was back for redemption–and he got it.

Pacheco ran strong, won comfortably and recorded the fourth-fastest time in course history, finishing in 5:56:10. Brian Adams, 39, of Chicopee, Mass., was a distant second in 6:23:43, and David McGrath, 42, of West Hartford, Conn., was a close third in 6:24:01.

Erin Mingey, 26, of Middlebury, Conn., was the first and only female finisher, placing 15th overall in 9:05:55. Thirty runners started the race and 19 ultimately finished.

The Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health

Eighteen runners completed the eighth annual Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness on Saturday, Sept. 12, in West Suffield, Conn. The 56-mile run consisted of a journey from north to south on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, starting in West Suffield and finishing at the harbor in New Haven.

Anthony Ryan, 19, of New Milford, Conn., led the way in 9:25:00, followed by 30-year-old Jack Langton of West Hartford, Conn., in 9:34:00. Thomas Rice, 24, of Concord, Mass., completed the male podium in 9:47:00, followed closely by 30-year-old Nikolai Quigley of West Hartford in 9:51:00.

Christina Odendahl, 23, of Trumbull, Conn., finished first in the female field in 12:40:00, followed by 51-year-old Olivia Carrick of Westwood, Mass., in 13:04:00. Angela Degrassi, 45, of Meriden, Conn., was third in 13:24:00.

Virgil Crest Ultras

David Stawski was the lone New England resident among the finishers of the various distance offerings at the 14th edition of the Virgil Crest Ultras Sept. 12-13 in Cortland, N.Y., but Stawski won the biggest event. The 45-year-old from Manchester, Conn., placed first out of four finishers of the event’s 100-mile race in 27:53:54. Stawski won the race by nearly 2 1/2 hours. He finished fifth at last year’s race and improved by more than three hours.

Shawangunk Ridge Trail Ultras

Joel Port got to know the Shawangunk Ridge Trail quite well last year when he placed third at the Shawangunk Ridge Trail Ultras 70-miler. He returned for the 12th edition of the event on Saturday, Sept. 12, and had another big day on the familiar route. The Shawangunk Ridge Trail crosses the Shawangunk Mountains, from High Point State Park in New Jersey to Rosendale, N.Y.

Port, 48, of Carlisle, Mass., placed third again this year, but he improved by nearly two hours and finished in 20:16:45. Matthew Roy, 31, of Edgewater, Md., and Donald Hopper, 49, of West Shokan, N.Y., were the only runners faster, finishing in 18:48:48 and 19:04:26, respectively. Port was the lone New England resident among the 21 finishers.

An additional 62 runners completed the event’s 30-mile race, led by 24-year-old Diego Schillaci of New Paltz, N.Y., in 4:38:36. Only one New Englander took part in that race, with 44-year-old Sofia Flynn of Westport, Conn., placing 37th overall in 8:55:44.

Mogollon Monster

James Legler will go for his third straight finish of the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-miler this October. As a tuneup, he took on another tough 100-miler when he raced the Mogollon Monster 100 on Sept. 12-13 in Pine, Ariz. The 14th edition of the event took runners on a journey up, down, and around the Mogollon Rim, varying in elevation from 5,500 feet above sea level to 7,900 feet, with more than 18,000 feet of climbing throughout.

Andy Chrysler, 38, of Los Alamos, N.M., won the race in 21:26:35. Charlie Detar, 44, of Bozeman, Mont., followed in 21:59:55. Moriah Carty, 33, of Grand Junction, Colo., led the female field in 27:45:00. Legler, 42, of Worcester, Mass., finished 30th overall in 30:33:24.

Two more New Englanders joined Legler among the finishers. Gregory Smith, 31, of Wethersfield, Conn., finished 105th in 35:59:53, and 39-year-old David Jackson of Brookline, Mass., finished 138th in 37:38:34. There were 141 finishers within the 38-hour time limit.

Devil on the Divide 50K

Chris Paquette earned a top-10 finish at the 12th edition of the Devil on the Divide 50K on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Empire, Colo. Paquette, 34, of Waterford, Conn., did so on a challenging, remote course that included 6,500 feet of climbing while reaching elevations as high as 13,000 feet above sea level.

There were 137 finishers within 11 hours. Kyle Moss, 35, of Broomfield, Colo., led all runners in 4:47:40. Mari Gobitz, 35, of Golden, Colo., finished 12th overall and led the female field in 6:03:18. Paquette placed eighth overall in 5:34:08 and was the top New Englander among the finishers. Simon Holt, 27, of Milford, N.H., placed 29th overall in 6:44:39, and 27-year-old Courtney McGowan of Dorset, Vt., finished 39th overall (eighth-place female) in 6:54:25.

*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.