All posts by Chris Wristen

Founder and Editor of MassUltra.com

MassUltra Roundup: Black Canyon, Holiday Lake, The Ranch, and SURF

Arizona was the hottest place to be for trail ultrarunning during the Feb. 14-15 weekend. Four dozen New England residents took on the 100K and 50K distances at the Black Canyon Ultras, but it was a former Boston resident – 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel – who turned in the biggest highlight. After making her ultra debut in January with a 50K victory at Bandera, Seidel secured a Golden Ticket into Western States with a sizzling 100K debut. In addition to Black Canyon, we also catch up on how New Englanders did at races in Virginia, California and Florida in this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Last Skier Standing, Algonquin, and The DUC

In Part I of this week’s roundup of ultramarathon results from the Feb. 6-8 weekend we caught up with New Englanders who raced in the West. Here in Part II, we return to the East Coast. We begin in Maine, where Lukas Janulaitis successfully defended his title as the Last Skier Standing. Then we head to Maryland, where runners took on a two-headed monster of sorts and earned podium finishes at the Algonquin 50K and The DUC 100K. Additionally, the CT Trailmixers played host to their first event of the year, the Frozen Heart 900, a 15-hour event, though results were unavailable at the time of publication.

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MassUltra Roundup: Rocky Raccoon, Alamo City, Fort Ord, and Elephant Mountain

There was plenty of frozen, snowy fun on the trails in New England during the Feb. 6-8 weekend. Nowhere was it busier than Westwood, Mass., where the Trail Animals Running Club played host to the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. We will have that event covered in a separate recap, and we will have other East Coast ultras from the weekend included in a second roundup. Here in Part I of this week’s roundup we head west where New Englanders earned ultra finishes in Texas, California, and Arizona. Nobody had a better weekend than Massachusetts resident Crystal Ross who earned a 100-mile PR and a podium finish at the Rocky Raccoon 100, so she leads off this edition of the roundup.

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Results: TARCtic Frozen Yeti

The Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) played host to the seventh running of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra and 15-mile night race on Feb. 7-8, 2026, at Hale Education in Westwood, Mass. Runners encountered challenging conditions with excessive snow that fell prior to, and during, the race, as well as temperatures well below freezing and wind chills as low as -15F.

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Photos: TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the seventh running of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra and 15-mile night race on Feb. 7-8, 2026, at Hale Education in Westwood, Mass.  The following are a small sample of photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full photo gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Flickr page.

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MassUltra Roundup: Forgotten Florida, Arches, Coo-Wah-Chobee, Bootleg Boogie, AZT Oracle Rumble, and Devil’s Shadow

While snow continues to blanket all of New England, runners from the region ventured beyond to take on trail ultramarathons during the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 weekend. Most ventured west to Arizona, Nevada and Utah, while one went south to Florida and another opted to run in the snow in nearby New York. Several New Englanders had strong showings, with a few making speedy ultra debuts, while Maine’s Tara Allen highlighted the weekend with a podium finish at the Forgotten Florida 50-miler. We have it all covered in this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Pemberton Trail, Monroe Cross, and This Ain’t Your Mother’s

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.

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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.

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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.

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MassUltra 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.

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