A massive snowstorm struck New England during the Jan. 24-25 weekend, but that didn’t stop a handful of runners from the region from escaping to warmer climates to earn early-season ultramarathon finishes in Arizona and Florida. Nobody had a better weekend than Connecticut resident Sarah Connor who raced to victory at the Pemberton Trail 50K, and her strong performance leads off this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Pemberton Trail, Monroe Cross, and This Ain’t Your Mother’sAll posts by Chris Wristen
MassUltra Roundup: Long Haul 100, St. Croix Scenic, and Coldwater Rumble
Several ultrarunners left frigid New England in search of major miles in warmer climates during the Jan. 17-18 weekend. They ran hard and secured hard-earned early-season ultra finishes in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Arizona. Lila Gaudrault sizzled with a second-place finish at the Long Haul 100, and Yong-Son Basta was victorious at the St. Croix Scenic 50K, highlighting this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Long Haul 100, St. Croix Scenic, and Coldwater Rumble
New Name, Same Spirit as 2026 Begins at TARC Yeti Trail Trot
The G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K played a central role in Matt Veiga’s trail- and ultrarunning career. The event, hosted by Gil’s Athletic Club in Topsfield, introduced him to the sport in 2005 when he attended his first Fat Ass 50K. Veiga took part in the event at least 10 times, and like hundreds of runners in New England, always looked forward to the free fun run in early January that served as the unofficial kickoff to the new trail- and ultrarunning season.
When Veiga learned in November that the event would not return after a 25-year run, he wanted to do something about it.
Continue reading New Name, Same Spirit as 2026 Begins at TARC Yeti Trail TrotMassUltra Roundup: No Hands Trail Run and Bandera
The new year of ultramarathon racing started strong for a current New England resident and a former one during the Jan. 10-11 weekend. Connecticut’s Lena Wirth raced to victory in her ultra debut at the No Hands Trail Run 50K in California, while former Boston resident Molly Seidel won the Bandera 50K in Texas outright in her inaugural ultra. We have both covered in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: No Hands Trail Run and BanderaResults: TARC Yeti Trail Trot
After a 25-year run as the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K, Gil’s Athletic Club handed off the reins for the classic New England ultrarunning kickoff event to the Trail Animals Running Club. The first offering of the annual fun run under its new name of the TARC Yeti Trail Trot took place on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Hamilton, Mass. Around 150 runners showed up on a cold morning to run or walk between one and five loops of snowy and icy trails. Thirty-one runners completed five loops and earned ultramarathon finishes, while another 11 runners completed four loops and an extra out-and-back for a marathon finish.
Continue reading Results: TARC Yeti Trail TrotMassUltra Roundup: West Rock Winter Extravaganza, Across the Years, Run Undead, and Great Scorpion
Jason Kaplan closed out the 2025 New England ultrarunning season with a winning effort at the West Rock Winter Fat Ass Extravaganza in Connecticut, and Cole Crosby ringed in the new year with a sizzling 200+-mile effort over 48 hours at Across the Years in Arizona. These are just a few of the highlights for New England ultrarunners from the final days of 2025 and first moments of 2026 that we have featured in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: West Rock Winter Extravaganza, Across the Years, Run Undead, and Great Scorpion
From the Editor’s Desk: 10 Years of Telling Stories
I’d lived in Massachusetts less than six months when I launched the MassUltra website in January 2016. I only knew a handful of people, a couple of local trails, and had yet to run a trail ultramarathon in the Commonwealth. I was the new guy in town and had so much to learn.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: 10 Years of Telling Stories
A Celebratory Seth’s Fat Ass 50K Closes Out 2025 Season
It would have been understandable if Wayne Ball turned his focus to next year the moment his name was selected in the Dec. 6 lottery for the 2026 Western States Endurance Run. After all, he waited eight years for his chance to participate in trail ultrarunning’s original 100-mile race from Olympic Valley to Auburn, Calif.
Continue reading A Celebratory Seth’s Fat Ass 50K Closes Out 2025 Season
G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K will Continue Under TARC Leadership
A New England trail- and ultrarunning classic event will return in 2026 after all.
Continue reading G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K will Continue Under TARC LeadershipMassUltra Roundup: Cave Creek Thriller, Lookout Mountain, Woodside Ramble, and Sleigh It
The second-to-last New England ultramarathon of 2025 took place on Saturday with the annual running of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K in Springfield, Mass. We’ll have that covered in a separate story, but here in this week’s roundup we catch up on how runners from the region fared at other ultras throughout the United States during the Dec. 20-22 weekend. Only a handful of runners traveled for pre-holiday ultras, but they turned in some strong performances. None were better than Vermont’s Eric LiPuma and Joanna Fortier who earned victories at the Cave Creek Thriller in Arizona. Their winning efforts lead off this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Cave Creek Thriller, Lookout Mountain, Woodside Ramble, and Sleigh It
MassUltra 