Two 100-mile ultramarathons challenged New England residents with opposing types of terrain – crushed gravel on a smooth rail-trail in Pennsylvania and rugged, steep mountains in Utah – and runners from the region handled both just fine on the Sept. 5-8 weekend. Lynnfield resident Lori Mitchener’s overall win at the Pine Creek Challenge 100 in Pennsylvania leads off this week’s roundup, and her performance is joined by the successful finish at Wasatch Front by five New England residents. Additionally, the Water Gap 50K in Pennsylvania, the McKenzie River Trail Run in Oregon, and the Yeti Snakebite 50K in Georgia are included in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Pine Creek, Wasatch Front, Water Gap, McKenzie River, and Yeti Snakebite →

With most of the ultrarunning world’s eyes on the European Alps last weekend for the self-proclaimed World Summit of Trail-Running at the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, the race schedule across the country was notably lighter during Labor Day weekend. A few runners from New England made the journey to Europe for UTMB and its associate races – we’ll have those covered in a separate roundup – but a few runners headed to nearby Vermont for a 33-mile ultra at the Jay Peak Trail Running Festival while others traveled to Idaho for the gnarly Run the Rut 50K. Both of those are covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Jay Peak and the Rut →

Even with two in-state ultramarathons on the Aug. 10-11 weekend, several runners headed beyond the Bay State to race. Six of those races are featured in this week’s roundup, led by Cambridge resident Jenny Hoffman’s overall victory at the Catskill Mountain 100K and the return of the Eastern States 100. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Catskill Mountain, Eastern States, Ragged, Beast of Burden, Green Lakes, and the Nifty Fifty →

Britta Clark continued her recent domination of New England ultras with her overall win at the Moosalamoo 36-miler on Saturday in Vermont, leading a large contingent of New England runners. Additionally, Dan Kelley of Lynnfield, Mass., made his 100-mile debut with a strong showing at Angeles Crest in California, Cambridge resident David Huang tackled the tough Volcanic 50K in Washington, and Medford’s Emily Holland made her ultramarathon debut at the high-alpine Sheep Mountain 50K in Colorado. Details from those four races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Moosalamoo, Angeles Crest, Volcanic, and Sheep Mountain →

The summer 100-miler season is in high gear, and New England ultrarunners took on some tough ones at the high-altitude High Lonesome 100 in Colorado and the hot and humid Burning River 100 in Ohio. Additionally, a few runners from the region took on the tough Never Summer 100K in Colorado and the classic Minnesota Voyageur 50-miler in Minnesota. We have all of those races covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: High Lonesome, Burning River, Never Summer, and Minnesota Voyageur →

Most New England runners who spent the July 20-21 weekend racing did so at the Vermont 100, one of the sport’s original 100-mile footraces. So many did so, in fact, that we’ll have it covered in a separate writeup. Meanwhile, a handful of runners from the region headed West to tackle two of the country’s more challenging trail ultras – the Speedgoat 50K in Utah and the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run in Nevada. Both of those races are covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Speedgoat and Tahoe 100 →

For New England ultrarunners, the July 13-14 weekend was the calm before the storm, so to speak. That’s because it was one week before the Vermont 100, the classic 100-mile footrace that draws hundreds of runners from the region to race on what is almost always one of the hottest weekends of the year. For those not taking on Vermont 100, however, there were a few races that attracted runners from the region. Most notably, several took on the fixed-time track race at the Ethan Allen 24 in Bennington, Vt. Additionally, others headed West to California, Oregon and Idaho for tough races. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Ethan Allen, Mt. Hood, Peak, and Beaverhead →

Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass., was the scene for most New England ultrarunners who spent Fourth of July weekend racing. That said, a handful headed beyond the Bay State to race, be it in nearby New York for the classic Finger Lakes 50s, the upper Midwest where Boston’s Lance Doherty earned a top-10 finish at the Afton Trail 50K in Minnesota, California at the Angeles National Forest, or Colorado where runners took on 50-milers in Leadville and Fairplay. We’ve got them all covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Afton, Finger Lakes, Silver Rush, ANF, and Last Call →