October opened with a bang for New England ultrarunners. With cooler temperatures starting to settle in and a still jam-packed race calendar, the Oct. 1-3 weekend had to be broken into two roundups to capture everything. This first one starts with the eye-popping battle between Ed Clifford and Brian Burke at Bubba’s Backyard Ultra as the duo raced for nearly 48 hours before only one was left standing.

In yet another sign that some semblance of normalcy is returning to New England – and the ultrarunning community more specifically, September came to a close with the running of the Vermont 50. Yes, the 2020 race was canceled due to the pandemic, but the popular event and New England classic returned on Sept. 26. More than 250 runners finished either the 50-mile or 50K distance, with winners and podium finishers coming from some of the local runners, so the Vermont 50 leads off this edition of the roundup.

A jam-packed final weekend of summer racing took place in New England during the Sept. 17-19 weekend. While a few runners headed out of the region to race the Grindstone 100 in Virginia and Run Rabbit Run 100 in Colorado (see separate roundup), many stayed closer to home and took on ultras in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine. All of those races are included in this edition of the roundup.

The final weekend of summer racing was a busy one for ultrarunners from Massachusetts and greater New England, with runners tackling races throughout the region and beyond during the Sept. 17-19 weekend. Five out-of-state ultras took place throughout New England; we’ll highlight all of those in the second of two roundups from the weekend. But in this first one, we recap the accomplishments of a pack of New England residents who tackled the 101.85-mile Grindstone 100 in Virginia, as well as a few others who conquered the mountains of Colorado at the Run Rabbit Run 100-miler.

Mid-September presented the busiest weekend of ultramarathon racing this year, with dozens of runners from Massachusetts and greater New England branching out beyond the Bay State to race throughout the country. This second of two roundups aims to recap results from the Sept. 10-12 weekend, with the top highlight coming from Cambridge resident Jenny Hoffman who threw down a women’s course record and the third-fastest time of anybody in history at the Pine Creek Challenge 100-miler in Pennsylvania.

Mid-September presented the busiest weekend of ultramarathon racing this year, with dozens of runners from Massachusetts and greater New England branching out beyond the Bay State to race throughout the country. This first of two roundups aims to recap results from the Sept. 10-12 weekend, with the top highlight coming from Cambridge resident Simon Guerard who successfully completed the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning with his finish at the Wasatch Front 100.

This week’s roundup is a bit of a catch-all, between out-of-state races during the Sept. 5-6 weekend, the late posting of August results from Twisted Branch, and the massive pile of results to sift through from the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. We’ve tracked them down, though, and have them included in this week’s roundup.

As the summer ultramarathon racing season nears its final weeks, New England runners traveled from coast to coast to take part in a mix of new events and long-time classics. From top-25 finishes at the high-altitude Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado, to the Bigfoot 200 in the Cascade Mountains of Washington, to the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra in nearby New York, and more, there’s plenty to read in this week’s roundup. Additionally, several local runners also raced the Twisted Branch 100K in New York, though results from that race aren’t yet available. 

The Eastern States 100 and Anchor Down Ultra were just two of the hundreds of ultramarathons nationwide that were forced to cancel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only to make strong returns in 2021. Both events welcomed back runners – including several New England residents – during the Aug. 13-14 weekend, and both saw runners from the region bring home impressive victories. Those races, as well as the 6-Hours on Lover’s Lane Ultra in Vermont, are featured in this week’s roundup.

With the return on in-person racing for the Trail Animals Running Club on Saturday, Aug. 7, the majority of Massachusetts ultrarunners who raced during the Aug. 6-8 weekend did so at the TARC Summer Classic. Several others headed north to New Hampshire, though, and joined a mix of New England and national runners to take part in the solo 50K or the three-day stage race at the Ragged 75. Additionally, a few more New Englanders headed West to Colorado for some high-altitude racing at the Silverton Ultra Dirty endurance races. The Summer Classic will be covered in a separate story, but the Ragged 75 and Silverton races are featured in this week’s roundup.