The Midstate Massive Ultra Trail Races began with picture-perfect fall leaf-peeping conditions when runners in the event’s 100-mile race departed the Windblown Ski Area in New Ipswich, N.H., on Saturday morning, Oct. 10. The 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K races concluded a day later with participants attempting to outrun the approaching rain as they made their way to the finish line at Douglas State Forest in Douglas, Mass.
For some, it was a mix of the most ideal and most challenging conditions that runners have encountered during the event’s eight years of testing runners as they traversed Massachusetts from north to south. For all, it was a scenic and punishing run, regardless of the distance chosen.
Those who tackled the 100-miler endured the harshest terrain but enjoyed some of the most colorful foliage. Though the course offers a mix of rugged, mountainous terrain, root-covered singletrack and paved roads, the biggest climbs were packed into the front half of the course as runners made their way from the Windblown Ski Area and headed across the Massachusetts border and worked their way south, encountering Mt Watatic and Wachusett Mountain along the way. The event uses wave starts, with the runners projected to finish fastest starting the latest. The approach allowed runners to spread out along the trail, but also gave those pursuing victory a few hours less of daylight to work with.
If the limited daylight affected Nick Schroeder then he sure didn’t show it. The 34-year-old from Blackwood, N.J., was in the final wave at 1:30 p.m. – the latest runners have ever started at Midstate Massive – so darkness was creeping in as he descended Wachusett Mountain. He ultimately ran around 70 miles in darkness, steadily reeling in runners from earlier waves while leaving others who’d started with him in the dust. Schroeder ultimately won in 19:58:53. It was his fourth time finishing a 100-miler and third time winning. His other 100-mile victories came at the New Jersey Devil 100 in 2023, the Pine Creek Challenge 100 in 2024, and the Loopy Looper 100 in August of this year. He also finished third at the Saddles 100 in Arizona in 2025.
Schroeger’s performance was the ninth-fastest in course history, and only one runner – 2022 and 2024 champion Corin Kwasnik – has ever broken 19 hours on the course.
Schroeger may have won this year’s race comfortably, but he was far from the lone standout performer. Riley Williams made his 100-mile debut at Midstate Massive, and the 25-year-old from Watertown, N.Y., pushed to a second-place finish in 21:31:02. Five more runners finished in less than 24 hours, including third-place finisher Jacob Walsh, 33, of Buffalo, N.Y., who did so in 23:20:00. Fourth-place finisher Matt Desrosiers, 39, of West Springfield, Mass., followed in 23:27:00, with 32-year-old Eli Converse of Cambridge, Mass., the fifth to finish in 23:31:44. It was the second 100-mile finish for Desrosiers and the first for Converse. Justin Lewandowski, 37, of Newton, N.J., and Nathan Ramesh, 25, of Chicago, Ill., also broke the 24-hour mark, finishing in 23:43:14 and 23:44:13, respectively.
In the female field, Alexandria Leveille added another chapter to her Midstate Massive story. She finished fifth in the 50K in 2024, in what was her ultra debut. A year later, she won the 50-mile race. This year, Leveille opted to run the 100-miler – her first time attempting the distance – and the 32-year-old from Londonderry, N.H., won in 26:11:16. Leveille was strong throughout and won by more than two hours. Her closest competitor was Alison Andersen, 41, of Somerset, Mass., who crossed the finish line in 28:23:01. Russet Morrow, 52, of Millis, Mass., completed the female podium in 29:30:50. Allie Lefebvre, 27, of North Kingstown, R.I., and Heather Paquette, 43, of Charlton, Mass., rounded out the top five in 29:54:53 and 29:59:21, respectively.
Ultimately, 82 runners finished the 100-miler within 34 hours. A notable finisher among them was Kathleen Walker. The 67-year-old from Hyde Park, N.Y., has been a regular presence at the event through the years, always racing the 100-mile distance. She finished in 33:12:34, this year, earning her record-setting sixth finish of the 100-mile race.
Richer Sizzles to Course Record in 50-Mile Race
When Ryan Richer made his ultrarunning debut in 2022, he made his presence felt immediately as he raced to victory in dominant fashion on a rainy day at the rugged TARC Winter Classic at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. For those wanting to see his follow-up act, they had to wait until April of this year to see Richer race another ultra. That came at the Canyons 50K in California where he placed 26th overall out of more than 600 runners. Richer’s third ultra came in the 50-mile race at Midstate Massive. It was his debut at the distance, and the 29-year-old from Holden, Mass., did not disappoint. He led the race nearly wire to wire and won in dominant fashion with a 77-minute cushion while finishing in a scorching 7:33:45. Richer became just the second runner to break the 8-hour mark in the Midstate Massive 50-miler, and he toppled Ben Quatromoni’s course record of 7:47:22 from 2020.
While Richer was the lone sub-8-hour finisher, T
The top 10 men all went sub-10, but only two joined Richer in finishing in less than nine hours. Alejandro Mesa Mazo, 24, of East Boston, Mass., was the runner-up in 8:51:08. It was an impressive performance for Mesa Mazo, whose first ultra came in March of this year at the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour when he finished third in the male field. Third-place finisher Jesse Geary, 33, of Chicopee, Mass., finished in 8:53:32. It was his first 50-miler but his second time racing at Midstate Massive; he finished 12th overall in the 50K in 2025. Karl Hellstrand, 47, of Southington, Conn., and Brandon Amadon, 39, of Barre, Mass., rounded out the male top five in 9:21:30 and 9:27:15, respectively. David Corey, 43, of Lancaster, Mass., and Brett Jackson, 48, of Plainfield, Mass., followed in 9:34:11 and 9:38:14.
The female field saw strong performances from several first-time ultrarunners. That included 26-year-old Celia Christake of Burlington, Conn., who was victorious in her ultra debut, winning in 11:28:56. Ultra veteran Anna Miller, 47, of Lexington, Mass., was second in 11:54:37 while building up to the Hamsterwheel 30-hour in November. Another first-time ultrarunner cracked the podium as 34-year-old Sarah Fanion of Cooperstown, N.Y., placed third in 12:08:49. Kathryn Ezra, 45, of Girona, Spain, and Rachael Kehlor, 26, of Chicago, Ill., rounded out the top five in 12:21:31 and 12:23:43, respectively.
There were 113 finishers of the 50-mile race, most within 18 hours.
Record Board Rewritten By Speedy 50K Field
Runners in the 50K race took a wrecking ball to the male and female all-time lists, but nobody crushed the leader board harder than Mac Sloan Anderson. The 25-year-old from Somerville, Mass., made his ultrarunning debut in June when he won the Edge Hill 50K and missed the course record by a few minutes. For his second ultra, he chose Midstate Massive and left his mark on the course. Sloan Anderson hammered the course and led the field of 104 finishers with a 4:06:27 effort that smashed the previous course standard by three minutes. Though he won by nearly 13 minutes, Sloan Anderson had plenty of speedy company. Runner-up Dennis Mooney, 30, of Woburn, Mass., and third-place finisher Connor McGrath, 24, of Newport, R.I., logged the third- and eighth-fastest times in course history with their 4:19:01 and 5:06:08 performances. Fourth-place Chris Coughlin also got in on the fun as the 38-year-old from Paxton, Mass., secured the ninth-fastest mark by a male runner in course history with his 5:08:55 finish.
Though Madison Collins’ female course record of 4:57:09 survived this year’s field, she got plenty of new neighbors on the all-time list as seven of the 10 fastest times ever by female runners were recorded at this year’s race. That started with champion Meghan Davis, 25, of Somerville, Mass., who finished fifth overall and led the female field in 5:13:45, securing the No. 2 spot on the all-time list. Just behind her, 34-year-old Hannah Morgan of South Kingston, R.I., was the runner-up in 5:17:51 which was the third-fastest time ever. Third-place Melinda Ward, 26, of Washington, D.C., posted the fourth-fastest time ever by a female on the course with her 5:35:39 effort, which fourth-place Suzanne Landry, 68, of New Ipswich, N.H., posted the fifth-fastest time ever with her 5:44:16 performance. Additionally, Alanna April, 33, of Manchester, N.H. (6:00:44); Grace Janson, 22, of Boston, Mass. (6:02:12); and Emberleigh Luce, 34, of Waterford, Mass. (6:07:39) ran the eighth-, ninth- and 10th-fastest times ever by a female runner on the 50K course.
