October came to a close with a busy Oct. 30-Nov. 1 weekend of ultrarunning in New England, from the RutFest Trail Running Festival 36-hour event in Rutland, Vt., to the Next Loop Challenge 50-mile, 40-mile and 12-hour runs in Wrentham, Mass., to 8 Hours at the Farm in Brookfield, Conn. Results from RutFest and the Next Loop Challenge were not available at the time of publication, and neither were results from many of the other ultras in the Northeast and across the country where New Englanders toed the line. That makes this a light edition of reading about 8 Hours at the Farm and a rain-soaked Javelina Jundred in Arizona.
8 Hours at the Farm
Kara Cheetham delivered a dazzling ultramarathon debut at the sixth annual 8 Hours at the Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1, in Brookfield, Conn. Cheetham, 26, of Watertown, Conn., was one of 32 runners who took on the event’s 4-mile loop course with a mix of singletrack trails and rolling farm trails, and she hammered it hard. Despite having not raced an ultra distance previously, Cheetham ran near the front of the field throughout and gradually pulled away from almost everyone. By the time she was done, Cheetham had completed 10 loops of the course–the final coming with just 61 seconds to spare. The reward for her effort was a first-place finish in the female division and new female course record of 40 miles in 7:58:59. She also finished second overall, trailing only male division champion Matthew Barnett, 40, of East Hampton, Conn., who finished 40 miles in 7:29:33.
Erik Zukauskas, 46, of Bridgeport, Conn., and Alan Peck, 58, of Brookfield, Conn., were second and third in the male field with 36 miles apiece in 7:11:22 and 7:18:09 respectively. Joshua Hurley-Curran, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Brian Piccione, 41, of Springfield, N.J., also finished 36 miles in 7:26:29 and 7:50:18. In the female field, Cheetham was joined on the podium by runner-up Emberleigh Luce, 34, of Waterford, Conn., who logged 36 miles in 7:41:32, and Molly Fraher, 38, of Goshen, Conn., who finished third with 32 miles in 7:25:40.
Fourteen runners completed at least eight laps and 32 miles. An additional seven finished seven loops and 28 miles within the time limit.
Javelina Jundred
The challenge of running 100 miles in the desert draws hundreds of runners to Arizona each year for the Javelina Jundred. The 24th edition of the event took place on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in McDowell, Ariz., and it featured a most unexpected new twist: a downpour.
In a rare rain-soaked weekend in the Arizona desert, runners ran for hours in a steady rain and in at least one location had to ford water that was nearly knee deep while taking on the five-loop course on singletrack trails through the Sonoran Desert at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Ultimately, less than half the field finished. Of the 758 runners who started the race, just 375 finished within the 30-hour time limit. Nineteen New England residents were among that group to successfully complete the race.
Rob Molke, 35, of Minneapolis, Minn., and Heather Jackson, 42, of Bend, Ore., were the male and female champions in 12:11:31 and 13:48:29, respectively, but two New Englanders cracked the top 50 with speedy efforts. Thomas Hanlon, 28, of Waltham, Mass., finished 18th overall in 14:54:21, and Chase Smith, 34, of Stamford, Conn., finished 34th overall in 16:50:11.
The Top 198 finishers completed the race in less than 24 hours. In addition to Hanlon and Smith, seven more New Englanders achieved that standard. Will Swenson, 54, of Andover, Mass., placed 105th in 21:29:45. Swenson finished ninth in the male field at the event’s 100K race in 2025. Lisa McManus, 37, of New Canaan, Conn., finished 112th in 21:38:01 for her first 100-mile finish. Daniel Gorelik, 29, of Cambridge, Mass., finished 113th in 21:38:30. It was Gorelik’s first 100-mile finish. Mike Skluth, 31, of Ridgefield, Conn., finished 122nd in 22:07:50 for his first 100-mile finish. Ross Minkov, 54, of Whitinsville, Mass., placed 158th in 23:08:33. Kou Vang, 39, of Littleton, N.H., placed 175th in 23:28:03. Whitney Hanschka, 62, of Vineyard Haven, Mass., placed 189th in 23:42:21. He previously finished the race in 2019 in 25:37:01.
Additional New Englanders who completed the 100-miler were: Tom Golembeski, 52, of West Hartford, Conn., who finished 207th in 24:38:35; Kerrie-Ann Briguglio, 56, of Townsend, Mass., who finished 213th in 24:57:59; Colin Joyce, 39, of Greenwich, Conn., who finished 237th in 26:05:49 for his first 100-mile finish; Christopher Leforce, 48, of Colchester, Vt., who placed 238th in 26:07:55; Andrew Bostian, 46, of Natick, Mass., who was 269th in 27:20:27 for his first 100-mile finish; Jill Lizotte, 48, of Coventry, R.I., who placed 273rd in 27:23:53; Sam Goldman, 40, of Barrington, R.I., who placed 283rd in 27:35:00; and Kenny Turner, 37, of Pelham, N.H., who finished 290th in 27:42:30. Abigail Anderson, 51, and Marc Anderson, 52, both of Marblehead, Mass., ran and finished together in 277th and 278th place with Abigail finishing in 27:30:21 and Marc a second later in 27:30:22. They both ran and completed the event’s 100K race in 2025.
An additional 389 runners attempted the event’s 100K race and 301 ultimately finished, including six New England residents. Joseph Noonan, 58, of Saint Albans, Vt., led the way for the New England contingent, placing 37th overall in 11:45:42. Jes Parker, 47, of Westport, Conn., placed 55th overall and 25th in the female field in 13:02:24. Susan Collins-Pulick, 58, of Topsfield, Mass., finished 81st in 13:47:58, followed by 62-year-old Carrie Fenn of Charlotte, Vt., in 154th place in 15:35:25. Shari Bashaw, 65, of Saint Albans, Vt., was next in 15:46:28, placing 162nd, followed by Matthew Hoadley, 48, of Scituate, Mass., in 199th place in 17:07:36.
Cassandra De Winter, 33, of Lethbridge, Alberta, led all runners in 7:44:45 while top male Juan Rocha, 44, of San Diego, Calif., placed second overall in 7:50:33.
*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.
