A jam-packed opening weekend of May means another two-roundup week to highlight all of the action for the New England ultrarunning community. In Part 1 of our roundup of May 5-7 weekend ultras we focus on the events that took place right here in New England – the Riverlands 100 in Maine, the White Lake Ultras in New Hampshire, and the Blue2Blue Challenge in Connecticut.

A busy April came to a close with a typically busy final weekend courtesy of the historic Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultras in Connecticut which saw several runners from the region tackle 100K, 50-mile and 50K distances, and two women in the 100K turned in some of the finest performances in the event’s 48-year history. Plus, Vermont’s Arlee Hiskey picked up her first ultra victory at the Falling Water 100K in West Virginia, and two New England women secured spots on the podium at the Ultra Race of Champions in Virginia. We also have local results from the O24 24-hour race in Ohio and the Troublesome Hollow 50K in Virginia. Additionally, a handful of New England residents took on the C&O Canal 100-miler in Maryland, though official results aren’t yet available so we’ll catch up on that race next week.

Part One of the April 22-23 weekend roundup focused on ultras in the East. Here in Part Two, we catch up on New England residents’ performances in the West, from Oregon to California and Arizona, starting with Matthew Betten’s successful return to the West Coast to race the Orcas Island 50-miler.

With two trail ultramarathons in Massachusetts on Saturday, April 22 – the TARC Spring Classic in Weston and the inaugural Spring Fever 8-Hour in Hingham – hundreds of New Englanders were racing locally. That fact alone made it seem probable that the region’s runners would have minimal presence at starting lines at other races throughout the country. It turned out the exact opposite was true as runners from the region took on trails of at least seven other ultras scattered among both coasts. In fact, so many folks were racing that this week merits another two-roundup week. Here in Part One we focus on the out-of-state ultras in the East, from nearby Connecticut and the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour, to the Hyner View 50K in Pennsylvania and the Dunes 50K in Florida. In Part Two, we’ll round up the results from out West.