A quick glance at Jessie Diggins’ athletic resume delivers some eye-popping accomplishments: four-time Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing, including a gold medal in 2018; seven World Championship medals, including two golds; eight World Cup titles; and seven gold medals at the US national championships.

Diggins retired from competitive cross-country skiing following the 2025-2026 season, but her resume continues to grow–albeit now as a trail- and ultrarunner. Diggins has run trails since she was a youth growing up in Afton, Minn., but she ventured into competitive trail-running in 2024 when she took part in multiple events, including a 46K mini-ultra with massive climbing at the Broken Arrow Sky Race in California. She returned to Broken Arrow again in 2025 and 2026. In September, she earned her first ultra victory, winning the Superior 100-miler in Minnesota in her first crack at the distance.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, she added another honor to her resume: TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival 50-mile champion.

In addition to being Diggins’ first time racing the 50-mile distance, it was also the first time the 35-year-old resident of Wakefield, Mass., has run a Trail Animals Running Club event. She picked a particularly challenging day to make her local debut.

Stone Cat offers several distances, including 100K and 50-mile ultras, a marathon, a half marathon, a 10K and a free youth fun run, all on the rolling trails of Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, Mass. The event has treated runners to gorgeous, sunny fall days, as well as below-freezing temperatures and heavy downpours through the years. The 25th edition was a soggy, sloppy affair. It rained extensively the day before the race, all through the night and into race morning, soaking the course and convincing about 200 of the nearly 650 entrants to stay home.

For Diggins, who is used to competing on slippery surfaces with her skis, the weather wasn’t a deterrent. The muddy course presented a challenge that she was ready for. She completed her first of four loops just in time to meet up with her husband, Wade Poplawski, who was running the half marathon. They ran Diggins’ second loop together, and then the Olympic champion pushed on solo for the final two trips through the soggy course, splashing through puddles and squishing through mud along the way.

Of the 81 runners who started the 50-miler, just 42 finished within 14 hours–barely half the field. Diggins, 35, of Wakefield, Mass., finished sixth overall and was the first-place female finisher in 9:14:08, missing the course record by just three minutes. She was joined on the podium by Rachel Hurley, 25, of Worcester, Mass., and Charlotte Tagupa, 22, of Brookline, Mass., who followed in 9:44:20 and 9:48:13, respectively. Isabel Nakisher, 28, of Milton, Mass., was a close fourth in 9:50:05. In the male field, a speedy trio dueled for the win, but ultimately 24-year-old Quinn Brussel of Providence, R.I., pulled away and secured the victory in 7:14:28. Daniel Allen, 24, of Boston, Mass., and Zack Beavin, 32, of Newton, Mass., followed in 7:37:43 and 7:46:48, respectively.

Although barely half of the 50-mile field ultimately finished, the finisher rate was even lower in the event’s longest and most grueling race: the 100K. Nine runners started and just one finished within the time limit. David McGrath, 42, of West Hartford, Conn., was the lone finisher and winner in 12:41:35. Three more runners completed 50 miles of their race before running out of time; Brian Tinger, 49 of Hamilton, Mass., did so in 10:22:23; Duong Thi Nguyen, 36, of Milton, Mass., did so in 11:16:25; and Eric Matta, 45, of Acton, Mass., hit the mark in 12:19:20.

The 50-mile race was one of the original distances at Stone Cat when the event was first created by Gil’s Athletic Club, which turned the event over to TARC following the 2022 edition. The other original distance at Stone Cat was the marathon. It remains a popular offering, with 93 runners starting and 85 finishing it this year. Seth Richardson, 28, of Wolfeboro, N.H., pulled away for the overall win in 3:39:22, followed by Benjamin Sawyer, 42, of Beverly, Mass., in 3:53:07, and Brett Jutras, 28, of East Bridgewater, Mass., in 3:55:27. Longtime Stone Cat regular George Aponte Clarke, 58, of Portland, Maine, finished fourth in 4:10:55. The battle for first place in the female field came down to a strong push at the end. Ultimately, Elise Papazian earned the victory by less than a minute. The 28-year-old from Cambridge, Mass., crossed the finish line in first in 4:18:22, just 52 seconds ahead of runner-up Polly Geddes, 19, of Stockbridge, Mass., who finished in 4:19:15. They were joined on the podium by Stone Cat veteran Jessica Finocchiaro, 31, of Watertown, Mass., who placed third in 4:32:38.

In the half marathon, none of the 157 runners had a better day than Emma Walter. The 26-year-old from Somerville, Mass., finished third overall and first in the female field. She also etched her name into the history books by setting a new female course record with her 1:43:56 performance. Only top men Natty Montoya and Carter Tracy were faster. Montoya, 38, of Manchester, Mass., led all runners in 1:39:03, and Tracy, 25, of Lebanon, N.H., followed in 1:43:13. Weston Lane, 43, of Arlington, Mass., completed the male podium in 1:45:54. Walter was joined on the female podium by runner-up Julia Huffman, 41, of Manchester, N.H., who finished in 1:55:03, and third-place Katharine Heffernan, 33, of Ipswich, Mass., who followed in 1:57:54.

An additional 117 runners completed the event’s 10K race, including the top 23 who finished in less than 1 hour. Tom Arie led all runners in 43:40, and the 37-year-old from Brookline, Mass., missed the male course record by 93 seconds. Todd Callaghan, 57, of Beverly, Mass., edged 15-year-old Aaron Cook of Ipswich, Mass., in a tight race for second, with Callaghan finishing in 47:08 and Cook 12 seconds later in 47:20. Dave Long, 52, of Beverly, Mass., was fourth in 49:38. A close race in the female field came down to the wire between Abigail Postlewaite and Elizabeth Santorella, but Postlewaite ultimately prevailed by nine seconds with the 27-year-old from Madison, Wisc., finishing 55:01. Santorella, 35, of Medford, Mass., was the runner-up in 55:10, and 45-year-old Elin Anderson of North Andover, Mass., completed the podium in 59:51.

Up Next in the TARC Trail Series: The TARC Trail Series continues on Saturday, Nov. 14, with the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass. Runners will take on a 3.5-mile loop course on the trails of the farm and neighboring Whipple Hill. After that, the season concludes in early December with the TARC Winter Classic at the Middlesex Fells Reservation.