The rain came in waves, fluctuating from light sprinkles to a steady downpour during the Race for DFL, but the mud and miles were a persistent obstacle that runners could only escape by stopping. That was the game they played at the seventh edition of the last person standing event from Beast Coast Trail Running on Nov. 7-8 at the Kenty Farm in Winchendon, Mass. Runners took on a 4.17-mile loop course through the farm’s wooded trails, a nearby rail trail, and rocky farm road until only one runner remained.
When James Boeding ran the 2025 edition of the event, he got to know the loop quite well–but the course was dry on a mostly sunny weekend. This time, the route was the same but the experience was dramatically different for the 34-year-old from West Hartford, Conn. The course had standing water in some places, and the trails were a Slip ‘N Slide of sloppy mud that became an increasingly difficult obstacle with each passing hour as the trail was chewed up by runners’ feet.
Despite challenging conditions from the start, all 81 participants completed at least three yards and 12.5 miles before the field began to whittle down. Seventy-one runners lasted at least six yards and 25 miles, and 36 made it at least 12 hours and 50 miles before stopping.
Twenty runners continued past the half-day mark, but the field quickly dwindled again. Yard 13 was the last one for Tom Page, 59, of York, Maine; Sean Simmons, 40, of Barboursville, Va.; Anthony Holcomb, 36, of Burlington, Mass.; and Hayden Gray, 28, of East Boston, Mass., who each ended their run after 54.167 miles. Yard 14 saw 49-year-old Chris Townsley of Spring City, Pa., stop after 58.333 miles of competing. Five more runners topped after Yard 15 and 62.5 miles, giving Nathan Robison, 25, of Pottsville, Pa.; Nolan Griffin, 20, of East Longmeadow, Mass.; Charlie Leightheiser, 24, of Somerville, Mass.; Jonathan Smith, 35, of Uxbridge, Mass.; and Sarah Nelson a solid 100K effort but no victory. Nelson, 50, of Florence, Mass., was the final female in the competition.
Ten runners returned to the starting corral and began Yard 16. The group included a mix of first-timers and Race for DFL veterans. All had been tested mightily by the course and the conditions up to this point, and several more soon stepped aside. Eric Schmidt, 39, of Denville, N.J., lasted one final lap and ended his day after 66.667 miles. Dave Champoux, 62, of Florence, Mass., and Connor Fisher, 21, of Bomoseen, Vt., both stopped after Yard 17 and 70.883 miles. The trio of Baldomero Salinas, 31, of Conway, Mass.; Shikhar Singh, 21, of Belmont, Mass.; and Nicholas Menice, 28, of Richmond, Maine, were the next to step aside, ending their efforts after 18 hours and 75 miles. One lap later, 19-year-old Ian Wall of Wilbraham, Mass., stopped after 79.167 miles. For Wall, it closed out an impressive Race for DFL debut that included a personal distance record.
After a steady trickle of runners stopping over several hours, the field was down to three–and all three had been in this position before and planned on sticking around for a while. Boeding was the runner-up at the 2025 Race for DFL, earning the assist with 120.843 miles. Conor Sleith, 40, of Waltham, Mass., earned the assist at the 2025 MetroWest Backyard Ultra with a 100-mile performance. And Jason Bigonia, 49, of Walpole, Maine, is no stranger to backyard ultra events, having taken part in nearly 20 races in that format, including several appearances at Big’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee; three wins at the Last Man Standing Ultramarathon in New Gloucester, Maine; a victory at the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Portland, Maine, in 2024, and an assist in 2025.
The trio of runners shared many miles together during the overnight hours, chatting while navigating the slippery mud by the glow of headlamps. They saw the sun rise, returned to the starting corral and kept going. They hit the 24-hour mark, surpassed the 100-mile mark, and continued onward.
For Sleith, each additional step was a new distance PR. He lasted for two more hours before stopping after 26 Yards and 108.333 miles. That left Boeding and Bigonia to duel for the win, and both had plenty of miles left on their legs. Six more hours passed as they pushed themselves to keep going, maintain nutrition, take care of their feet, and stay focused. Eventually, they matched the Race for DFL distance record of 30 Yards and 125 miles that was set by Brian Burke in 2022 and matched by Anthony Bauer in 2025. With the record tied, they returned to the starting corral and made new history.
Both Boeding and Bigonia completed Yard 31 and Yard 32, advancing the event distance record to 133.333 miles. For Bigonia, that was the stopping point. Boeding was the lone runner to return to the starting corral for Yard 33, and he had to complete it in less than an hour to earn the victory. That turned out to not be a problem. Boeding saved his fastest loop for last, hammering out sub-8-minute miles and completing his final trip through the course in 31:18.
