All posts by Chris Wristen

Founder and Editor of MassUltra.com

Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the eighth edition of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass. Runners had six hours to complete as many loops as they wanted on a 3.5-mile course that started and finished on the farm after traveling on the winding, technical trails of neighboring Whipple Hill.

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Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the eighth edition of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass. Runners took on a 3.5-mile loop course that started and ended on the farm and wound through the technical singletrack trails of neighboring Whipple Hill. The following are a small sample of photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full photo gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page.

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MassUltra Roundup: Bold Coast Bash and Roxbury Marathon 50K

In addition to the ultras in the Midwest and the West, New England ultrarunners were plenty busy racing throughout the region during the Nov. 8-10 weekend. Beast Coast Trail Running put on another epic Race for DFL in Massachusetts that will be featured in a separate story. Additionally, dozens of runners put up ultra mileage at the highly technical Bold Coast Bash in Maine and the paved Roxbury Marathon 50K in Connecticut. We have both of those events highlighted in this edition of the roundup.

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Results: Race for DFL

Beast Coast Trail Running and Race Director Amy Rusiecki played host to the fifth edition of the Race for DFL last person standing event on Nov. 9-10 at the Kenty Farm in Winchendon, Mass. Sixty-four runners took on a 4.17-mile course through the farm’s wooded trails, on a nearby rail trail, and on a rocky farm road until only one runner remained.

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MassUltra Roundup: Tunnel Hill, Rockledge Rumble, Red Rock Canyon, Pass Mountain, and Kessel Run

From the Race for DFL in Massachusetts, to the Bold Coast Bash in Maine and the Roxbury Marathon 50K in Connecticut, the Nov. 8-10 weekend was another hot one in New England – even with the cooler temperatures. We’ll have DFL covered and a separate story and Bold Coast and Roxbury will be featured in a second roundup, but here in Part I of this week’s roundup we catch up on New Englanders’ successes in the Midwest and the West. From Illinois to Texas, to Utah, Arizona and Colorado, New Englanders were active all over the place.

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Runners Flourish with Great Weather, Fast Times at Stone Cat Trail Festival

Hidden by the early-morning darkness, critters could be heard rustling around the soccer fields behind the Paul F. Doyon Memorial School in the wee hours of Saturday, Nov. 2, in Ipswich, Mass. The critters – Trail Animals, actually – were making their final preparations before the start of the Trail Animals Running Club’s (TARC) Stone Cat Trail Festival.

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MassUltra Roundup: RutFest, Hamsterwheel, 8 Hours at the Farm, and Fall Back Into the Trails

The Nov. 1-3 weekend was another busy one for New England ultrarunners, well beyond the massive TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival here in Massachusetts. In Part I of this week’s roundup we caught up on the results of New Englanders who raced outside of the Northeast. Here in Part II, we catch up on events from the region, beginning in Vermont at the largest RutFest ever, and then head to New Hampshire for the Hamsterwheel, before dropping into Connecticut for 8 Hours at the Farm. We then finish up in New York at the Fall Back into the Trails Series.

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MassUltra Roundup: Pinhoti, Rio Del Lago, Mountain Masochist, and Antelope Island

November opened with a flurry of ultramarathon activity, highlighted by the massive Stone Cat Trail Festival in Massachusetts, along with three more New England ultra: RutFest in Vermont, the Hamsterwheel in New Hampshire, and 8 Hours at the Farm in Connecticut. Stone Cat will be featured in a separate recap, and the other New England races will have their own separate roundup, but here in this edition we catch up on ultras outside of the Northeast. New Englanders collected hard-earned finishes at the Pinhoti 100 in Alabama, the Rio Del Lago 100 in California, the Mountain Masochist 50-miler in Virginia and the Antelope Island 50K in Utah. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

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Results: TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival

The 23rd edition of the Stone Cat Trail Race – and second addition of its reincarnation as the TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival – took place on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, Mass. Runners took on a variety of distances, from 100K and 50-mile ultramarathons, to marathon, half marathon and 10K sub-ultra distances and a free youth fun run. Runners enjoyed a dry course on a breezy day with temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

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