For some runners, the idea sparked dreams and wonder. For others, it likely caused nightmares. For all who signed up, the moment of truth arrived during the Aug. 18-20 weekend with the inaugural running of the Jigger Johnson 100-miler in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and second edition of the 100K and 50-mile. One of the hardest 100-milers in the United States made its long awaited debut in New England, and it proved to be as brutal as advertised. There were several other ultras that attracted New England ultrarunners during the Aug. 18-20 weekend – including the annual TARC Summer Classic in Massachusetts (see separate recap story – but top billing in this edition of the roundup goes to the Jigger Johnson Ultras.

The August 11-13 weekend saw dozens of ultrarunners flock to western Massachusetts for the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s popular Sweltering Summer Ultra, but it was also a big weekend for other ultras in New England and beyond as runners from the region took on a wide variety of races. Sweltering Summer will have its own separate recap, but in this edition of the roundup we look to Rhode Island and numerous big performances at the Anchor Down Ultra, as well as Vermont for the third edition of Lover’s Lane. We also turn to New York and the annual Beast of Burden Summer Edition, as well as to the West where runners from New England took on the Bigfoot 200 and Fat Dog 120.

Ultrarunners from across the country flocked to New England during the Aug. 4-6 weekend for the USATF 50K Trail National Championship as part of the Ragged 75 Stage Race event in New Hampshire, highlighting a big weekend for ultrarunners in the region. Both the men’s and women’s championships came home to Massachusetts thanks to Boston’s Philip Royer and Hannah Rowe who hammered the tough, rugged course. But Ragged wasn’t the lone race in the region during the weekend. Several other runners ventured to Maine for the inaugural Blue Hill Mountain Trail Fest. Additionally, many runners headed south to Virginia our West To Oregon, Washington and Hawaii for other races. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

A busy July ultrarunning slate came to a close for New England ultrarunners during the July 28-30 weekend with many runners racing locally and several venturing outside the region. Local ultras included the Jug End Loop Ultra in Massachusetts (separate recap to follow), as well as the popular Moosalamoo 36-miler in Vermont and the close-knit SoapstoneSix in Connecticut where runners put up fast times and big mileage numbers. Additionally, several runners ventured beyond New England to take on mountain races in the West. That included the Pikes Peak Ultra and Never Summer Ultras in Colorado and the Tushars Mountain Races in Utah, where runners from the region had strong showings. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

The summer miles are piling up as New England ultrarunners conquer the busy summer racing season. Included among those miles has been plenty of vert, especially for those who traveled to Colorado during the July 21-23 weekend to tackle the high-altitude High Lonesome and Ouray 100-milers. Those big mountain races lead of this edition of the roundup.

Mid-July meant lots of big mountain races for New England residents. That’s what this edition of the roundup is all about. Tahoe, Hardrock and Mt. Hood. Runners from the region threw down at all of them. Read on to learn how they did.

In Massachusetts, the July 7-9 weekend meant a packed course at Notchview Reservation in Windsor where the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the multi-day Notchview Ultra. We’ll have that covered in a separate story, but Notchview wasn’t the only popular draw for New England ultrarunners. Two other New England events – the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine and the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K in Vermont – also attracted strong turnouts and saw some big performances. Additionally, a few runners from the region ventured beyond New England to take on ultras in Maryland, Oregon and Colorado. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

With the July 4 holiday on the horizon, the June 30-July 2 weekend was largely quiet for New England ultrarunners with only two local ultras in the region and just a handful of folks heading beyond the region to race. Several runners took on six hours of loops in Ansonia, Conn., where Northampton’s Eric Ciocca raced to victory. Others headed to Vermont for the Mt. Sparta 24-Hour Challenge (results from that event are unavailable as of this posting). Additionally, a few New Englanders traveled north across the border to Canada for hard-earned finishes of various distances of the Quebec Mega-Trail ultras. We have them covered in this short edition of the roundup.

When Jenny Hoffman stepped to the starting line of her 24-hour race at Six Days in the Dome in Wisconsin, she was laser-focused on locking up a position on the United States 24-Hour National Team. By the time the clock expired, the resident of Cambridge, Mass., had turned in the race of her life, earned a victory and surged into one of the top qualifying positions for Team USA with one week remaining in the qualification period. While Hoffman’s big effort during the June 16-24 event was one of the most remarkable performances by a New England ultrarunner during the past week, she was far from the only one racing. We highlighted results from several events in the Northeast in a previous roundup, and this one showcases Hoffman’s effort in the Midwest as well as those by a handful of New England residents who took on tough races out west in Colorado, Oregon and Utah.

All eyes were on Western States during the June 24-25 weekend … well, not all eyes, but most of them in the ultrarunning world. There were plenty of other ultras taking place in both the west and here in the east. In fact, there were so many New England ultrarunners racing throughout the country that covering it all merited a two-roundup week – plus a separate writeup on Western States. In this first roundup we catch up on how runners from New England fared at ultras in the Northeast. That included a pair of Massachusetts residents reclaiming titles at the gnarly Manitou’s Revenge in New York. We also catch up on the Catamount 50K in Vermont, the Gunstock TrailFest in New Hampshire, and Midnight Squatchapalooza in New Jersey.