All eyes were on the Western States Endurance Run last weekend – well, almost all eyes. Some were focused on the trail of Roosevelt Forest in Stratford, Conn., where 68 runners took part in the 30-Hour Forbidden Forest Ultra, including 12 runners who finished more than 100 miles. In addition to that race, we also recap two out-of-state ultras from June 22-23 – the Great New York 100-Mile Running Exposition where Sheffield, Mass., resident John Kemp finished on the podium, and the inaugural Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra in New York. That makes for some light reading as we’ve recapped the performances of New England runners at Western States in a separate write-up. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Forbidden Forest, TGNY, and the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra →

While more than 130 runners were taking on the trails of Pittsfield State Forest in western Massachusetts for the 50K and 25K races at the BURCS’ Vegan Power Trail Races, several more runners headed out-of-state to race. Some headed to neighboring New York, where Westborough’s Ben Nephew brought home a win and Woburn’s Samantha LeBlanc earned a second-place finish; others went north to Vermont for the popular Catamount 50K. Others, like Pittsfield’s Kehr Davis, took on the grueling Broken Arrow Sky Race in California, while a few more raced the Many on the Genny 50K in New York and the 50-mile race at Oregon’s Old Cascadia. Those five races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Manitou’s Revenge, Catamount, Broken Arrow, Many on the Genny, and Old Cascadia →

Will Swenson of Andover, Mass., made a successful debut at the Drummer Hill 50K in New Hampshire, taking top honors in the men’s field, while Mont Vernon, N.H., resident Yuki Chorney improved on her runner-up effort a year ago by bringing home the women’s win on Saturday. Additionally, plenty of runners from the region took part in Connecticut’s first last-person-standing race, and a handful of others traveled to Wyoming to take part in the Big Horn Trail Race ultras. We’ve got all three races covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Drummer Hill, Run Ragged, and Bighorn →

While most New England ultrarunners racing on June 8-9 did so at Wachusett Mountain at The North Face Endurance Challenge-Massachusetts, a few were recovering from the previous week’s assortment of ultra distances at Infinitus in Vermont and a few more traveled to North Carolina for the Black Mountain Monster. With heavy in-state racing last weekend, it’s a light week for this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Infinitus and Black Mountain Monster →

West Tisbury’s Stacia Broderick earned a tough 100K victory on the grueling trails of Worlds End State Park in Pennsylvania on Saturday, and Amherst’s Liam Cregan made his ultramarathon debut with a podium finish at the Cayuga Trails 50-miler in New York. We also highlight Virginia’s Old Dominion 100-miler, Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine 100, and Colorado’s North Fork 50 in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Worlds End, Cayuga, Old Dominion, Kettle Moraine, and the North Fork 50 →

The Memorial Day weekend is typically light on trail ultras, but plenty of runners from New England still found their way to starting lines. Most headed to Maine for the popular Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival, while others went to New Mexico and raced at Jemez Mountain. Additionally, we dug back into mid-May to bring your results from 3 Days at the Fair in New Jersey for this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Pineland Farms, Jemez Mountain, and 3 Days at the Fair →

Lori Mitchener’s 100-mile debut was a dandy as the Lynnfield resident brought home a first-place finish from the Florida Keys. A half-dozen more New England residents endured the grueling Cruel Jewel 100-miler in Georgia, and six runners from the Bay State brought home finisher’s buckles from the Massanutten 100-miler in Virginia. In addition to those races, we have Manchester 2 Monadnock in New Hampshire and the Mind the Ducks 12-Hour Ultra from New York covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Keys, Cruel Jewel, Massanutten, Manchester 2 Monadnock, and Mind the Ducks →

A handful of Massachusetts residents secured hard-earned finishes at the Riverlands 100 last weekend in Maine, including Andover’s Nate Combs who became one of just two runners to be three-time finishers of the race. Additionally, Cambridge resident Padraig Mullins brought home a victory in the 50K at Dawn to Dusk to Dawn in Tennessee; and another Massachusetts resident completed his first ultra at the Thunderbunny 50K in Ohio. All three races are included in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Riverlands, Dawn to Dusk to Dawn, and Thunderbunny →

From Patrick Caron’s 50-mile win on his birthday at The North Face Endurance Challenge’s event at Bear Mountain in New York, to Shannon Plesh’s first-place finish in the women’s field at the White Lake Ultras in New Hampshire, to Sarah Aponte’s winning effort at Strolling Jim in Tennessee, it was a weekend of big performances by Massachusetts ultrarunners at out-of-state races. This week’s roundup includes races in New York, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oregon and Virginia. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bear Mountain, White Lake, Strolling Jim, Spring Fling, McDonald Forest, Grayson Highlands, and Chompawamsic Challenge →

April was a jam-packed month for trail ultramarathons in Massachusetts, and with the month coming to a close several runners fit out-of-state ultras into their schedules. Most made the easy drive to neighboring Connecticut for the 45th annual Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultras, where Boston’s Joe McConaughy threw down a sizzling 50-mile performance to bring home the win. A few others traveled to Sterling, Va., for The North Face Endurance Challenge’s Washington, D.C., event, including Falmouth’s Jimmy Stavlo who won the 50-miler and Boston’s Palo Cvik who took fifth in the 50K. Other runners scattered to Florida, New Mexico, California, Oregon and Pennsylvania for ultras, and we have them all covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Jack Bristol, TNFEC-DC, The Dunes, Cedro Peak, Canyons, Tillamook, and Ironmasters Challenge →