Ryan Hunter couldn’t have asked for better conditions to make his 100-mile debut. The Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100 is difficult under the best of conditions, with the bulk of its climbing and technicality in the burly front half. The mountains of southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts end many a runner’s day early, before they ever make it to the more friendly footing of roads and trails in the back half of the race to Massachusetts’ southern border.

There were a few things you could always count on during the first five years of the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons. The course would be challenging, the fall foliage would be spectacular, and both Dane LeBlanc and Joe Loureiro would be on the starting line for the 100-miler.

The sixth annual Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons took place Oct. 12-13, 2024, beginning at the Windblown Cross Country Ski Area in New Ipswich, N.H., and finishing at Douglas State Forest in Massachusetts.

The Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile race course is daunting during the best of conditions. It is front-loaded with climbing, the majority of it on rugged, technical singletrack trails where the footing is tricky and progress is often slow. The back half has several miles of road, so runners who’ve made it that far can try to pick up the pace, only to then be smacked with even more technical trails during the late miles in Douglas State Forest.

The event earned its reputation during mostly dry conditions through its first four years. The fifth edition of the race – which took place Oct. 7-8 – took course conditions to a diabolical new level as rain drenched the course, making rocks extra slippery and turning portions of the trail into rivers.

The fourth annual Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons took place Oct. 8-9, taking runners on a journey from New Ipswich, N.H., to Douglas, Mass., or shorter variations along the Midstate Trail that crossed Massachusetts from north to south.

The fourth annual Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons took place Oct. 8-9, 2022. Runners in the 100-miler started at the Windblown Cross Country Ski Area in New Ipswich, N.H., traveled across Massachusetts from north to south on the Midstate Trail, crossed into Connecticut and Rhode Island and then traveled to the finish line at Douglas State Forest in Douglas, Mass. The following are a select few photos from the race. A full photo gallery with 142 photos can be found on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link.

After months of preparation and anticipation, the third annual Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile ultramarathons are set to take place Oct. 9-10 and runners will once again attempt to traverse the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from north to south.