The Ghost Train Rail Trail Race was the main draw for New England ultrarunners during the Oct. 15-17 weekend, but a handful of runners from the region opted to race elsewhere. The second-biggest draw in the region for the weekend was the popular Runamuck 50K in Vermont, which offered races on both Saturday and Sunday, giving runners scheduling flexibility as well as a bit of extra space as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A few others tackled a new vertical challenge event in Vermont, while one Massachusetts man made his ultra debut out West on the Pony Express Trail. Ghost Train will have its own separate writeup, but everything else is captured in this edition of the roundup.

The weekend before the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race is typically pretty quiet in New England as hundreds of ultrarunners rest and make final preparations for the 30-hour event. A handful always race, however, and that was certainly the case this year as runners scattered to multiple races during the Oct. 8-10 weekend. Some headed north to Maine for the popular Big Brad Ultras, while others ventured to nearby New York and Pennsylvania for the CanLake Ultras and the Green Monster Challenge. Additionally, a dozen runners from the region successfully finished the most grueling race of all in North America that weekend — the Moab 240 in Utah — and that leads off this edition of the roundup.

The most spellbinding race of the Oct. 1-3 weekend was the duel between Brian Burke and Ed Clifford at Bubba’s Backyard Ultra, but it was far from the only race that attracted ultrarunners from New England. Bubba’s and three other ultras were featured in Part 1 of the Oct. 1-3 roundup, but there was so much racing that weekend that it merited a second. Here in Part 2, we feature the New England classic: the NipMuck Trail Marathon, which extends ever so slightly into ultra territory, and we also highlight the Flagstaff Sky Peaks 50K, Yeti Snakebite Ultra, and the Blues Cruise 50K. The late-summer race schedule was jam-packed, and now the fall is off to a hectic start. Read on.

October opened with a bang for New England ultrarunners. With cooler temperatures starting to settle in and a still jam-packed race calendar, the Oct. 1-3 weekend had to be broken into two roundups to capture everything. This first one starts with the eye-popping battle between Ed Clifford and Brian Burke at Bubba’s Backyard Ultra as the duo raced for nearly 48 hours before only one was left standing.