In five short years, the Womp Romp established itself as an ideal place to run a first trail race or trail ultramarathon. At the sixth edition of the event on Saturday, Oct. 24, both proved true once again as runners took to the trails of Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, Mass.

Runners were treated to an ideal fall day. Though it was a chilly 32 degrees at the start, the temperature warmed to the mid 50s by mid-day and runners enjoyed calm, dry, sunny conditions throughout while tackling a 10+-mile loop course on rolling trails through the woods.

Of the 108 runners who gathered at the starting line for the three-loop 50K race, none were former champions but plenty were Womp Romp veterans as well as several first-time ultrarunners. That set the table for a day where new champions would be crowned and new personal milestones achieved.

In the female field, new Womp Rompers upended the record board as event first-timers Blaire Byg and Kayla Burnham were among the frontrunners and in close contact throughout. Both ran strong throughout, and two questions remained with just a few miles to go: which runner would prevail, and would the course record fall?

Ultimately, Byg secured the victory in 4:39:35 and placed second overall. The 35-year-old from New Haven, Conn., also broke the female course record by five minutes, eclipsing Clorice Reinhardt’s previous course standard of 4:44:51 that was set in 2023. Burnham crossed the finish line a few minutes later as the second-place female and fourth overall finisher in 4:44:36, and the 22-year-old from Boston, Mass., also broke the previous record by 15 seconds to cap a stellar ultra debut performance.

Sophie Van Leeuwen, 26, of Allston, Mass., completed the female podium and placed eighth overall in 5:09:14. First-time ultrarunners Abby McCoy, 39, of Hingham, Mass., and Chelsea Stone, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were fourth and fifth (11th and 12th overall) in 5:13:03 and 5:23:25, respectively.

Meanwhile, the male field celebrated a new champion as a new Womp Romper delivered another strong performance in what has been an impressive debut year of ultrarunning. Alejandro Mesa Mazo, 24, of East Boston, Mass., ran his first ultra in March when he finished third in the male field and fifth overall at the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra. The following month, he was the runner-up at the Spring Fever 8-Hour at Wompatuck State Park, completing 40 miles within the time limit. Then, in early October, Mesa Mazo completed his longest race to date when he placed second in the Midstate Massive 50-miler.

At Womp Romp, Mesa Mazo earned his first ultramarathon victory and clocked the fifth-fastest time in course history, winning handily in 4:03:04. Mesa Mazo was dominant, outdistancing the field by 39 minutes. Runner-up and third overall finisher James Maynard, 36, of Hingham, Mass., finished in 4:43:09. It was Maynard’s third time placing on the podium at Womp Rom. He was third in 2023 and second in 2024. A few minutes later, Fernando Polanco completed the podium in 4:47:06. For Polanco, 22, of New Bedford, Mass., it was his first ultramarathon. Two minutes later, 47-year-old Robert Struck finished fourth in 4:59:50. Struck, of Taunton, Mass., became the first person to complete all five editions of the Womp Romp 50K. The event only offered a 10-miler in its inaugural year, but added the 50K in 2022. Brandon Parnell, 24, of Wellesley, Mass., was fifth in 5:00:39, followed by 45-year-old Matt Dibb of Scituate, Mass., in 5:10:58.

Jackie Goldman, 33, of Providence, R.I., was the nonbinary division winner in 7:12:35.

Ninety-five runners completed the race within nine hours.

The 10-mile was the original Womp Romp distance, and its sixth running saw a sprint to the finish between Brandon Tower and Ryan Nolette. Ultimately, Tower held on and the 37-year-old from Arlington, Mass., won in 1:09:21. Twenty seconds later, Nolette crossed the finish line in 1:09:41. It was the third straight year that Nolette, 39, of Plymouth, Mass., has finished second, and it was the closest he has come to winning. In 2024, Nolette missed victory by 51 seconds. In 2025, he was 30 seconds behind the winner. In addition to coming close to victory this year, he ran his fastest time ever on the course by nearly two minutes. Reza Bergemann, 27, of New Haven, Conn., was a distant third in 1:19:06, followed by Anders Morley, 47, of Littleton, N.H., in 1:22:00. Edward Hanlon, 31, of Cambridge, Mass., completed the overall top five in 1:23:14.

Right on Hanlon’s heels, female champion Alison Shell, 42, of Milton, Mass., raced across the finish line in 1:23:19 to cap a successful Womp Romp debut. She was joined on the podium by Christine Wiggins, 31, of Roslindale, Mass., and Brittany Durgin, 40, of Bristol, N.H., who finished in 1:26:15 and 1:26:38, respectively. It was Durgin’s first time running Womp Romp while Wiggins finished second at the 2024 race in a nearly identical time (1:26:21).

Kim Eldredge, 28, of Kingston, Mass., placed 20th overall and was the nonbinary division champion in 1:28:10.

There were 139 finishers of the 10-miler within 6 hours.