Runners taking part in the Race for the Refuge had to wait four extra weeks due to a nor’easter that soaked New England, but it was worth the wait.

When the second annual event took place on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, Mass., runners were treated to an absolutely gorgeous fall day to run for 6 hours, 30K or 10K. After a chilly start near 30 degrees, the day evolved into a calm, comfortable day with 60-degree temperatures and sunny skies. Combined with the colorful foliage, it made for a picture perfect fall day on the trails.

Though not everyone who signed up for the original date was able to make the rescheduled option work, a spirited crowd of around 140 runners took part in the event’s three offerings. One of those runners who was able to be there was Caleb Kussmaul. The 29-year-old from Berlin, Mass., knows the 10K loop through the refuge extremely well–he circled it six times at the 2025 race and won the inaugural 6-hour event with 60K completed in 5:40:15. Kussmaul pushed hard from the start at this year’s event and steadily increased his lead. He proved to be his own best competition as he sought to surpass his own course record. Kussmaul succeeded mightily, winning and setting a new course record for the 6-hour race with seven laps and 70K completed in 5:05:53. Nineteen runners took part in the 6-hour race.

Kussmaul was joined on the male podium by Diego CastilloSchwartz, 18, of Waltham, Mass., and Bill Warner, 32, of Hopkinton, Mass., who each completed six laps and 60K in 5:23:39 and 5:28:53, respectively. Warner was second at the 2025 race with 50K completed. Brian McClelland, 43, of Berlin, Mass., and Tyler Cichowlas, 38, of Sudbury, Mass., also completed 60K, McClelland in 5:31:51 and Cichowlas in 5:53:55. Cichowlas was third in 2025 with 50K completed. Three more runners earned ultramarathon mileage in the 6-hour race by completing five loops and 50K. Nick Johnson, 45, of Concord, Mass., did so in 4:52:52, followed by Bryan Brunelli, 39, of Marlborough, Mass., in 4:57:43, and James Burns, 47, of Sudbury, Mass., in 5:08:59.

In the female field, 57-year-old Heather Lambert of Sudbury, Mass., led the way with four laps and 40K completed in 4:55:29. She was joined on the podium by Dawn Favalora and Megan Prebensen who also completed 40K. Lambert, 48, of Framingham, Mass., was the runner-up in 5:17:06 and Prebensen, 37, of Natick, Mass., finished third in 5:46:04.

An additional 19 runners completed the three-lop 30K race, and the top three men all broke the course record. Bryan Dunyak set the inaugural course standard in 2025 when he won a sprint to the finish, winning in 2:18:35. This year’s race featured a close battle for second place, but the trio of Cody Cutler, Kevin Long and Rony Rodriguez Ramirez all eclipsed Dunyak’s mark. Cutler, 41, of Sterling, Mass., cruised to the overall win in a sizzling 2:09:20. Long, 41, of Dedham, Mass., outdueled Rodriguez Ramirez, 30, of Cambridge, Mass., in the race for second, finishing in 2:17:39 to Rodriguez Ramirez’s 2:18:23. Patrick Doyle, 55, of Sudbury, Mass., was a distant fourth in 2:33:07.

In the female field, Sharon Foster gradually pulled away as the miles progressed and the 61-year-old from Hudson, Mass., ultimately secured the victory in 2:49:05. Courtney Busby, 41, of North Andover, Mass., was second in 2:56:38, followed by Melanie Mahoney, 47, of Marlborough, Mass., in 3:02:22. Leigh Ann Dufresne and Elizabeth Eaton had a close race for fourth place, with Dufresne, 57, of Cranston, R.I., finishing in 3:26:56 and Eaton, 56, of Fairhaven, Mass., following just behind in 3:27:03.

Ninety-four runners finished the 10K race within two hours, and the fastest females in the field rewrote the record books with a sizzling single loop through the course. Morgan Thomas set the inaugural female course standard of 48:06 in 2025, but Alexandra Rauch-Kelly, Kathleen Feeney and Kerry Phelan-Li all toppled the mark by a large margin. Rauch-Kelly, 35, of Concord, Mass., cruised to the win in 43:48 while also placing fourth overall. She broke Thomas’s record by well over four minutes. Feeney, 39, of Cambridge, Mass., followed in 45:14 – about three minutes under the prior course record – and Phelan-Li, 32, of North Grafton, Mass., was third in 46:06 – two minutes under the previous record. A close pack finished fourth through seventh. Dalia Hammoudeh, 45, of Stow, Mass., was fourth in 49:53, followed seconds later by 35-year-old Leah Jacques of Charlestown, Mass., in 50:08. Corinne Jackman, 37, of Sudbury, Mass., was next to finish in 50:37, with 37-year-old Janelle Norquist of Maynard, Mass., just behind her in 50:52.

Nobody in the male field managed to catch Collin Hay’s scorching 37:17 course record, but the top trio was still plenty fast. Benjamin Chesna, 38, of Boylston, Mass., raced to victory in 40:28, followed a minute later by 40-year-old Buck St. Thomas of North Smithfield, R.I., in 41:46. Bertrand D’rgoeuves, 45, of Poigny la foret, France, completed the podium in 42:12. Dylan Katz, 35, of Medford, Mass., was fourth in 43:56, and Nick Mongols, 33, of Arlington, Mass., was fifth in 44:07.