One of the biggest early-season ultras in the United States – Bandera – welcomed hundreds of runners to Texas, including several ultrarunners from New England. One of them – Colleen Chase of Princeton, Mass. – came home with a victory while eight others from the region also earned finisher’s buckles in the 100K race. Beyond Bandera, New Englanders also conquered ultras in frigid Missouri and sunny St. Croix, USVI, during the Jan. 12-14 weekend. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

The 2024 ultrarunning season officially opened on Saturday, Jan. 6, in traditional fashion with the 24th edition of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K in Topsfield, Mass. Around 250 runners took part in that classic event, and it will be featured in a separate recap. Still, a handful of New Englanders ventured outside the region to take on ultras during the Jan. 5-7 weekend, with some heading to nearby New York for the Frozen Flamingo 50K and Recover From the Holidays 50K, and others heading southwest to Arizona to race the San Tan Scramble 50K. We have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

The final miles of 2023 and first miles of 2024 were turned in by hundreds of runners on a 1.05-mile loop in Arizona at the 39th annual Across the Years endurance festival. A handful of New England residents were among those who logged last-minute ultras in 2023 or secured some of the first ultra finishes in the country of the new year. We have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

The 2023 ultrarunning season is quickly nearing its conclusion. Ultras are fewer to find throughout the United States, and especially in New England. Just a handful of runners from the region raced during the Dec. 9-10 weekend, but we have them covered. One runner you can always count on to be racing in early December is Jerry Turk. The Connecticut resident was back at the Hellgate 100K for the 21st straight year, and his consistent effort landed him in the lead-off position for this edition of the roundup.

The first weekend of December saw ultrarunners from New England go global, with two runners from Massachusetts taking on the IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Taiwan, while many others toed starting lines throughout the United States. We featured several of those events from the Dec. 1-2 weekend in a separate roundup, but this one catches up with the New England residents who tackled three separate courses in California. Welcome to the West Coast in this edition of the roundup.

It was a strong start to December for ultrarunners from New England. Runners took part in at least 10 ultra events, most in the United States but one all the way in Taiwan. Massachusetts resident Jenny Hoffman – fresh off of her transcontinental world record run – represented Team USA at the IAU 24-Hour World Championships, as did Bay State native Scott Traer. We lead off with their efforts before returning closer to home at the Krampuslauf 9-Hour Ultra in New Hampshire, and then head to Virginia, North Carolina and New York for more results from the Dec. 1-2 weekend. Additionally, several runners from the region headed west to California and took part in a trio of ultras. We’ll have those captured in a separate roundup tomorrow.

Thanksgiving weekend was primarily reserved for turkey trots and limited ultramarathon racing, but one New England resident found his way to the start of an ultra. Michael Pereiro of Shelton, Conn., took on the Fountain City 5 50K in Georgia for the second straight year and had another speedy performance. He gets this edition of the roundup all to himself.