While most New England ultrarunners who toed a starting line on April 20-21 did so in Weston, Mass., at the ninth annual TARC Spring Classic, a handful ventured beyond the region to race. Kara Olivito built on her recent victory at the Cape Cod Trail Race 50K by traveling to Georgia for the Double Top 100K. Additionally, Boston’s Liz McHutcheon raced in northern California on the Mendocino Coast, and a former Woburn resident – Scott Traer – brought home a victory in Washington at the Yakima Skyline Rim 50K. We’ve got those covered.

Additionally, lost in the shuffle of double-digit out-of-state ultras last week, we missed the Breakneck Point heavy-marathon in New York, so we’ve rolled that into this week’s roundup as several Massachusetts residents were among the top performers on a day where multiple runners broke the course record. It’s lighter reading than last week, but dig in because there’s still plenty to read in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Double Top, Mendocino Coast, Yakima Skyline, and Breakneck Point →

Ultrarunners from Massachusetts had ample opportunities at home and away to tackle ultramarathons – and they took full advantage. While some headed to the Blue Hills Reservation to take part in the Trail Animals Running Club’s classic “Don’t Run Boston” 50K, dozens more headed to other parts of New England – Vermont and Connecticut, specifically – to take part in the Runamuck 50K, the Enchanted Forest 6-Hour Ultra and the Traprock 50K. Several others left New England altogether and competed in at least seven other ultramarathons ranging from 50K to 100 miles. Those non-New England ultras were captured in a previous roundup, so this one is focused on the ultras in Vermont and Connecticut. Don’t Run Boston will be covered in a separate story once results are available. Here’s round two of this week’s roundup – New England Edition. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup – New England Edition: Runamuck, Enchanted Forest, and Traprock →

There were at least 38 North American ultramarathons April 12-14, and it sure seemed like runners from Massachusetts were at almost all of them. Heck, FOUR of them took place in New England – the Trail Animals Running Club’s classic Don’t Run Boston 50K, as well as the Runamuck 50K in Vermont and the Traprock 50K and Enchanted Forest 6-Hour, which both were held in Connecticut. All of those will be included in separate writeups, so this roundup focuses on the races outside of the region; seven of them are included here. Two guys from the Bay State earned top-10 finishes at the Trail Mix 50K in Minnesota to lead us off. We’ve also got Kelly Manchester’s run at the Bull Run Run 50-miler in Virginia; Jonathan Clemente’s double-marathon in Virginia; and recaps of the Lake Sonoma 50 in California, the Oak Mountain 50K in Alabama, the Whiskey Basin Ultras in Arizona, and the Zion Ultras in Utah. Those races make up Round 1 of this week’s roundups. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup – Non-New England Edition: Trail Mix, Bull Run Run, Blue Ridge Double, Lake Sonoma, Oak Mountain, Whiskey Basin, and Zion →

Somerville resident Sarah Aponte delivered a dynamite performance and prevailed in a back-and-forth duel to win the Umstead 100-miler last weekend in North Carolina. Additionally, a handful of New England residents earned ultramarathon finishes at the New Jersey Ultra Trail Festival. Finally, Greg Soutiea – a former Quincy resident now running an inn in Maine – celebrated his birthday by grinding out a fastest known time on the Hills to Sea Trail. We’ve got all of these covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Umstead, New Jersey Festival, and a Hills to Sea Trail FKT →