December is upon us, and with it comes the final few weeks of the 2022 ultramarathon season. Races are becoming fewer across the country, but New England residents are still finding places to compete. Locally, the Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual Fells Winter Ultra, which was the most popular attraction for regional ultrarunners. A handful headed elsewhere to race on Dec. 3-4, led by Rhode Island’s Ben Quatromoni who competed for a Salomon professional sponsorship in Arizona. A few others traveled to Georgia and Texas to take on new trails. All of those races are featured in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: McDowell Mountain Frenzy, Cloudland Canyon, and Brazos BendAll posts by Chris Wristen
New Englanders Strike it Big in Western States, Hardrock Lotteries
The first Saturday of December always ranks among the most drama-filled days in North American ultrarunning thanks to the annual Western States Endurance Run and Hardrock 100-mile lotteries. Selection Saturday was worth the wait for several current and former New England ultrarunners this year as they came up big and were selected for two of the United States’ most hyped and high-profile events.
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Results: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual running of the Fells Winter Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Runners tackled either four or five 8-mile loops of the Skyline Trail in 32-mile and 40-mile trail ultramarathons.
Continue reading Results: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
Burke Overcomes Frigid Temps, 72 Other Runners to be DFL Champion
WINCHENDON, Mass. – Two times Brian Burke tried his luck at Bubba’s Backyard Ultra, a last-person-standing event in New Hampshire. Twice he finished second to a master of the format, Ed Clifford, the event’s four-time champion and a winner of at least a half-dozen backyard ultras in his career.
Continue reading Burke Overcomes Frigid Temps, 72 Other Runners to be DFL ChampionMassUltra Roundup: Squatchy Leftovers
Thanksgiving week was heavy on eating and light on ultramarathon racing throughout the United States. Still, for one Massachusetts man the holiday week included being thankful for finishing his first ultra. Milford’s Alex Kovner finished the Squatchy Leftovers 50K in New Jersey, and he gets this edition of the roundup all to himself.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Squatchy LeftoversMassUltra Roundup: JFK 50 and Dead Horse
After months of heavy racing, the Nov. 19-20 weekend was relatively light in anticipation of upcoming Thanksgiving feasts. The most notable ultra in the country was among the few that took place, with 50 New England residents earning finishes at the 60th edition of the JFK 50 in Maryland. Additionally, a handful of runners headed West to Moab to race the Dead Horse Ultras. Both of those races make for some light pre-holiday reading in this edition of the roundup.
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Photos: Race for DFL
Beast Coast Trail Running’s third edition of the “Race for DFL” Last Person Standing event took place Nov. 19-20, 2022, at a farm in Winchendon, Mass. Seventy-three runners took part in the event, which used a mixed-terrain 4.1666-mile loop course. A new race started on the hour, every hour, until only one runner remained. The race lasted for 30 hours, most of it in below-freezing temperatures. The following are a small sample of photos from the event by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery can be found at this link.
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Results: Race for DFL
The third edition of Race Director Amy Rusiecki’s Race for DFL last-person-standing event took place Nov. 19-20, 2022, in Winchendon, Mass. Runners took on a 4.1666-mile loop course, starting a new loop on the hour, every hour, until one runner remained. Seventy-three runners took part in this year’s event, and two runners surpassed the 100-mile mark.
Continue reading Results: Race for DFL
Patient Pellerin Wins First Ultra On New TARCkey Trot Course
WINCHESTER, Mass. – Though she’s been running with Northeast Trail Crew for the past year, Rebecca Pellerin waited until October to make her trail-racing debut when she took on the 15-miler at the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race.
Continue reading Patient Pellerin Wins First Ultra On New TARCkey Trot CourseMassUltra Roundup: Bold Coast Bash, Mt. Tam, Tunnel Hill, RutFest, and Cowboy 200
Fall is finally asserting its grip on New England with overnight temperatures plummeting into the 20s. Even a bit of snow has dusted parts of the region, signaling that the 2022 ultrarunning season is nearing its conclusion. We’re not there yet, however. There are still a handful of ultras remaining here in Massachusetts and throughout the region before we close the book on 2022. There are even more ultras remaining across the country that continue to entice runners from the region. A couple of those regional and national races happened during the Nov. 12-13 weekend, including the Bold Coast Bash 50K in Maine. Additionally, we caught up on RutFest and the Cowboy 200 from a week earlier. Read on to learn more about them in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bold Coast Bash, Mt. Tam, Tunnel Hill, RutFest, and Cowboy 200
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