Late October was busy in New England with three ultramarathon events in Massachusetts. One was the popular Womp Romp 50K and another was the second edition of Race for the Refuge which was postponed from September due to a nor’easter. The third was the inaugural Dead Last Ultra, the latest in an increasingly crowded lineup of backyard ultra format events in the region. Results from Dead Last were unavailable at the time of publication, and we’ll have Womp Romp and Race for the Refuge covered in separate stories, but here in this week’s roundup we are catching up on how several New Englanders fared who ventured beyond the region to race during the Oct. 23-25 weekend. None had a bigger performance than Boston’s Laura Ricci, who earned another podium finish at the No Business 100 in Tennessee.

No Business 100

It took a course record-setting effort to beat Laura Ricci’s course record-breaking effort at the No Business 100. Ricci, 43, of West Roxbury, Mass., was part of a tough and talented field at the 10th annual event on Oct. 23-24 in Jamestown, Tenn. She was also a returning veteran of the course.

A year ago, Ricci finished second in the female field and sixth overall in a race that was run in the clockwise direction. It took a course record-setting effort to beat her that year. She returned to run the course in the counterclockwise direction this year, and she performed at an even higher level.

Ricci was one of 269 runners who gathered in Pickett CCC Memorial State Park for the start. A single-loop course through the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area and Pickett State Park awaited, as did more than 14,000 feet of climbing. Ultimately, 180 runners finished within the 34-hour time limit. For the second straight year, Ricci raced among the frontrunners for the duration and finished near the top. She placed fifth overall and second in the female field in 22:22:14, knocking more than an hour off of the previous counterclockwise course record of 23:29:47 that was set by Jaclyn Noshay in 2022. Overall champion Mika Thewes, 35, of Arvada, Colo., also crushed the course record, winning the race outright and setting a new female standard in 20:11:09. Kaysee Armstrong, 36, of Knoxville, Tenn., completed the female podium and was 14th overall in 23:46:31. Top male Blake Neumann, 34, of Athens, Ga., was second overall in 20:17:50. The top 14 finishers completed the course in less than 24 hours.

Ricci was one of five New Englanders among the finishers. In fact, the entire contingent from the region hailed from the Bay State. Anthony Tieuli, 53, of Northbridge, and Patrick McEnaney, 54, of Mendon, ran together and finished 37th and 38th overall in 26:51:46. Drake Meurant, 30, of Boston, was 70th in 29:05:42; and Elizabeth Faye, 44, of Randolph, Mass., finished 115th in 31:54:08.

Canyonlands Ultras

A handful of New Englanders took part in the fourth annual Canyonlands Ultras on Oct. 24-25 in Moab, Utah. The event offered 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultras on the Behind the Rocks Trail. No New Englanders were among the 20 finishers of the 100K, but runners from the region took part in the other two distances. Braden Depteris placed 29th out of 68 finishers in the 50-miler as the 21-year-old from Guilford, Conn., completed the course in 12:25:13. It was his second ultramarathon finish and first 50-miler. Ned Sudbeck, 30, of Flagstaff, Ariz., won the race in 7:43:56.

In the 50K race, Judas Taylor, 31, of Milton, Mass., placed 34th overall in 5:58:11 for his third ultramarathon finish. Additionally, 32-year-old Ellyrie Condoleo of North Anson, Maine, earned her first ultramarathon finish, placing 55th overall in 6:43:31. Heather Viola, 37, of Marlborough, Mass., was also among the 123 finishers within 11 hours, completing the course in 9:25:34. Nick Danielson, 32, and Tracy Steele, 37, both of Seattle, Wash., were the male and female winners in 4:05:48 and 4:49:48, respectively.

NorCal Backyard Ultra

A New Englander was among the longest lasting ultrarunners at the fourth annual NorCal Backyard Ultra on Oct. 23-24 in Granite Bay, Calif. The event used a 4.16-mile loop course on the trails near Folsom Lake, and runners had to complete the loop once per hour, every hour, and return to the starting line to begin the next hour or face elimination.

The event lasted 35 hours. Of the 87 runners who started the competition, 19 completed at least 24 hours and 100 miles. One of them was Jack Langton, 30, of West Hartford, Conn., who finished seventh overall with 108.3 miles after 26 hours of competing.

Josh Kivi, 43, of Reno, Nev., was the last person standing with 145.8 miles. Vince Bilauca, 53, of Huntington Beach, Calif., earned the assist with 141.7 miles.

New Orleans Ultramarathon

Brian Emmons traveled to the Big Easy for a hard-earned top-10 finish at an ultramarathon. Emmons, 43, of Turner, Maine, took part in the eighth annual New Orleans Ultramarathon 50-mile and 50K races on Saturday, Oct. 24, in New Orleans, La. He opted for the 50-mile distance, which took him on an adventure through the streets of New Orleans. Of the 36 runners who finished the race within 14 1/2 hours, Emmons placed ninth overall and seventh in the male field in 8:44:00. Walker Higgins, 44, of Baton Rouge, La., and Renee Nelson, 31, of New Orleans, were the top male and female finishers in 6:38:00 and 8:10:00, respectively.

Another 85 runners completed the 50K race; none were New England residents.

Rim to River 100

Claire Gadrow secured a hard-earned finish at the seventh annual Rim to River 100 at New River Gorge, W.V. Racing on a mix of singletrack trails and rail trails through New River Gorge National Park, Gadrow was one of 240 runners who began the race and 157 who ultimately finished within the 32-hour time limit. Gadrow, 57, of South Kingstown, R.I., finished 135th overall in 31:09:34.

Josiah Stermer, 28, of Beckley, W.V., and Carre Zatwarnytsky, 28, of Wilmington, Del., finished 1-3 overall and were the male and female winners in 16:45:06 and 19:22:13, respectively.

Fonta Flora 50K

Kalina Paunovska headed south to earn a personal-best 50K performance at the 10th annual Fonta Flora 50K on Saturday, Oct. 25, in Nebo, N.C. The event took place on the trails of Lake James State Park and tested runners with around 2,400 feet of climbing. Of the 189 runners who finished the race, Paunovska, 30, of Somerville, Mass., finished 25th overall and placed sixth in the female field in 5:22:17. It was her third time completing a 50K and her fastest effort ever at the distance.

Miller Groome, 35, of Asheville, N.C., won for the third year in a row in 3:57:26. Teagan Thompson, 28, of Fletcher, N.C., placed sixth overall and topped the female field in 4:37:26.

*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.