New Englanders scattered across the country to run ultras from New Jersey to Missouri and California, but most stayed close to home during the Oct. 16-18 weekend. That’s because there were two regional ultras to race, and one was a major attraction. Some runners took part in the Little Duck 50K on Sunday, Oct. 18, in Windham, Maine, results of which were unavailable at the time of publication. Meanwhile, in Brookline, N.H., more than 550 runners took part in the weekend-long Ghost Train Trail Race on the Granite Town Rail Trail. The spooky-themed event is the largest Halloween ultrarunning party in New England, and it featured plenty of scary decorations and a hauntingly fast performance by Jason Kaplan that rewrote the record books. His effort leads off this edition of the roundup.

Ghost Train Trail Race

The 17th edition of the Ghost Train Trail Race took place on Oct. 17-18 in Brookline, N.H., and it was one for the record books. It was one of the coldest Ghost Trains on record with the temperature falling to 29 degrees overnight, and it was one of the largest Ghost Trains ever with more than 550 runners completing out-and-backs on the Granite Town Rail Trail.

It also featured a feat never before seen at the Halloween-themed event. The course was decked out in Halloween decorations, and many runners got into the holiday spirit by sporting festive costumes, while others haunted the course with their scary-fast performances. But one runner unleashed an effort so frighteningly fast and far that it rewrote the Ghost Train record book for endurance. Jason Kaplan became the first person in event history to complete 145 miles in the 30-hour ultra.

Of the 353 runners who took part in the 30-hour race, 56 completed at least 100 miles, and two went farther. Kaplan, 44, of Boston, Mass., completed his 145-mile effort in 29:22:39, breaking the previous record of 130 miles that was set by Scott Warren and Andy Godzinski in 2024. Prior to that year, nobody had gone farther than 115 miles. Kaplan ran 115 miles at the 2025 race. His closest competitor this year was 61-year-old Eric Connor of Barre, Mass., who completed 115 miles in 28:24:38. Connor previously ran 100 miles at Ghost Train in 2025. Austin Sena, 35, of Newnan, Ga., was third overall with 100 miles in 18:24:50. Female champion Caitlin Howes, 44, of Suffield, Conn., followed in fourth overall with 100 miles in 19:27:50. She was joined on the podium by female runner-up Katherine Chwasciak, 36, of Grantham, N.H., and third-place Bryna Hebert, 64, of Seekonk, Mass., who completed 100 miles in 23:53:49 and 24:09:09, respectively.

It was also a record-setting weekend for the nonbinary division as fifth overall finisher Carey Wertz, 45, of Waterville, Maine, tallied 100 miles, and set a new division record by finishing in 21:03:30. They were joined by runner-up Liv Colombo, 25, of Kingston, Mass., who finished in 29:31:44 and posted the third-best 100-mile effort ever by a nonbinary runner at Ghost Train. A year ago, Colombo completed 90 miles.

Five runners finished 90 miles in the 30-hour race this year, 40 finished 75 miles, and 81 runners completed four out-and-backs for 60 miles. Eighty-one runners completed 45 miles, and 70 finished two out-and-backs for 30 miles and ultramarathon credit.

Ghost Train’s newest race, the Haunted 30-Mile Night Race, made its debut in 2023 and has remained popular ever since. A crowd of 124 runners gathered for the evening start, and 108 ultimately finished their double out-and-back through the dark within 11 hours. Benjamin Chesna, 37, of Boylston, Mass., outdistanced the field by a comfortable margin and was the lone sub-4-hour finisher, winning in 3:49:25. Matthew Bettez, 49, of Gardner, Mass., was second in 4:21:34, followed shortly after by 51-year-old Jay Frontierro of South Hamilton, Mass., in 4:24:27. Brandon Rubadou, 36, of Portsmouth, N.H.; Ethan Kilgore, 33, of Malden, Mass.; and John Tranquilli, 44, of Amherst, N.H., rounded out the top six in 4:41:28,  4:43:31 and 4:48:59, respectively. Female champion Lily  Caso, 25, of Hartford, Conn., was the final sub-5-hour finisher. She crossed the line in 4:49:15 and won her division by 16 minutes. Caso was joined on the podium by Kendra Tranquilli, 44, of Amherst, Mass., and Anna Miller, 47, of Lexington, Mass., who finished in 5:05:41 and 5:26:43, respectively. Alex Vautour, 39, of Kingston, N.H., and Emily Holman, 48, of Cambridge, Mass., followed in 5:39:06 and 5:40:28.

An additional 87 runners completed the event’s 15-mile race which consisted of one out-and-back through the course. Matthew Chen, 26, of Seattle, Wash., finished seventh overall and set a nonbinary division course record with a 2:15:40 performance. Kevin Barnard, 43, of Amherst, N.H., led all runners and topped the male field in 1:53:31, and 47-year-old Jeneve Caddell of Amherst, N.H., was the female champion and fourth overall finisher in 2:06:03.

Livingston Oval Last Person Standing

The winner of the inaugural Livingston Oval Last Person Standing race was a New Englander. The event took place on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Livingston, N.J., on the paved 0.436988-mile Livingston Memorial Oval. Unlike traditional last person standing events that require runners to complete a 4.17-mile course each hour, runners had to complete two laps of the oval within 10 minutes before each new round began, meaning an 11:20 mile pace.

Of the seven runners who started the race, six completed at least 32.56 miles and two surpassed the 50-mile mark. Anthony Guinsatao-Sanchez, 20, of New Milford, Conn., earned the victory with 63.36 miles. David J. Rios, 50, of New York, N.Y., earned the assist with 62.92 miles.

Blue Ridge Ultra

Robert Wheeler had to wait a week to race the Blue Ridge Ultra after the event was postponed due to weather. Still, it was worth the wait when Wheeler ultimately took part in the eighth annual event on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Blue Ridge, Ga. The 37-year-old from Marshfield, Mass., earned a top-10 finish.

Forty-three runners toed the starting line–a much smaller than usual field for the event due to the postponement. They raced on a single-loop course through the Chattahoochee National Forest in the North Georgia Mountains. Thirty-nine runners ultimately finished, most within 10 hours. Wheeler placed eighth overall and seventh in the male field in 6:59:03.

Kyle Harris, 32, of Smyrna, Ga., led all runners in 4:57:42. Amy Ross-Johnson, 42, of Clayton, N.C., placed second overall and set a new female course record in 5:20:50.

Sonoma Fall Classic

Will Boardman ran his first 100-miler in California in 2025 when he completed the Rio Del Lago 100. For his second crack at the distance he returned to the Golden State for the 18th edition of the Sonoma Fall Classic on Oct. 17-18 in Healdsburg, Calif. The multi-distance festival played host to its inaugural offering of its 100-Mile Sufferfest race, and Boardman, 29, of Burlington, Vt., was part of the field who accepted the challenge.

Seventy-six runners started the race, and Nick Reshetnikov, 38, of Windsor, Calif., and Nicole Kurnik, 42, of Phoenix, Ariz., finished 1-2 overall and were the male and female champions in 20:01:06 and 20:55:25, respectively, leading a field of 36 finishers within 36 hours. Boardman was the lone New Englander in the field. He placed 23rd overall in 33:06:52.

An additional 115 runners finished the Lake Sonoma 50-Mile race within 18 hours, and another 96 runners completed the Sonoma Trail Marathon. No New Englanders were in the field at either distance.

Cave Creek Thriller

A pair of Mainers ditched chilly New England to run in the desert at the 17th annual Cave Creek Thriller 50K on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Cave Creek, Ariz. Rebecca Nisetich, 43, and Patrick Bagley, 40, both of Portland, Maine, took on a point-to-point race on the Maricopa Trail that ended in Cave Creek Regional Park. Sixty-five runners finished within 10 hours, including Nisetich and Bagley who ran together and finished together, placing 50th and 51st overall, Nisetich in 8:33:06 and Bagley in 8:33:07. Mitchell Briggs, 34, of Gilbert, Ariz., and Natalie Holgate, 33, of Flagstaff, Ariz., topped the male and female fields in 4:24:08 and 7:17:18, respectively.

Rock Bridge Revenge

Mike Petrik earned his first ultramarathon finish when he completed the Rock Bridge Revenge 50K on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Columbia, Mo. Petrik, 41, of, Block Island, R.I, was one of 31 runners who completed two laps of the 25K loop course on the singletrack trails of Rock Bridge State Park. He finished in the top half of the field, placing 15th overall in 5:07:35. Caleb Termorshulzen, 29, of Columbia, Mo., led all runners in 3:41:16. Renee Henson, 39, also of Columbia, placed third overall and first in the female field in 4:41:25. Both Termorshulzen and Henson set course records at the 16th annual event.

*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.