The final days of the year are typically pretty quiet for ultramarathon racing, save for a handful of events. The biggest may be the Across the Years multi-day ultras in Arizona, which included two Massachusetts residents and two more New Englanders. Additionally, new Massachusetts resident Shalisa Davis threw down a runner-up performance at the River Loop Ultra 12-hour race in North Carolina. Both races are featured as we close out 2018 and kick off 2019 with this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Across the Years and the River Loop Ultra →

A busy year of racing is quietly coming to a close for the Massachusetts ultrarunning community. The 2018 slate of races in the Bay State is finished, and only a handful of ultras nationwide remain between now and the new year. That doesn’t mean all has been quiet for Massachusetts ultrarunners, however. Quincy’s Greg Soutiea recently raced at the invitation-only Desert Solstice 24-hour race in Arizona, and Boston’s Jorge Gonzalez turned in a strong performance last weekend in Texas at the Houston Running Festival. Both of those races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Houston Running Festival and Desert Solstice →

The 2018 Massachusetts ultrarunning calendar wound down on Saturday with the annual Fells Winter Ultra in Stoneham, but a handful of runners from the Bay State ventured south to tackle out-of-state trails at the Chattanooga 100 and Devil Dog Ultras. We’ve got them covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Chattanooga and Devil Dog →

Fresh off of the Thanksgiving holiday, a light slate of ultramarathon races were on the docket in the United States. Many Massachusetts runners took to the local trails to log some miles, but the Bay State was only represented at the finish line of one race during the Nov. 24-25 weekend: the Quad Dipsea 28.4-mile ultra on Saturday, Nov. 24, in Mill Valley, Calif. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Quad Dipsea →

Nov. 10-11 was a light weekend for ultramarathon racing, but a handful of Massachusetts residents still found courses to tackle. Wendell’s Kelsey Allen took her talents out west and did battle at the competitive Run the Rock 50-miler in Oregon, while Allston’s Caroline Tangoren earned her first ultramarathon finish in North Carolina. Both Run the Rock and the Lake Norman State Park 50K are featured in this roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Nov. 10-11 Races →

The always-popular Stone Cat Trail Races in Ipswich, Mass., were once again a major draw on Saturday, Nov. 3, as more than 250 runners took part in the 50-mile and marathon races, but there was still a large contingent of ultrarunners from the Bay State who took to the road and the air to travel for out-of-state ultras on Nov. 3-4. In fact, runners from Massachusetts took part in at least seven races beyond the Bay State at destinations as close as New Jersey and as far away as New Mexico and California. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Nov. 3-4 Races →

While hundreds of ultrarunners from New England were recovering from Ghost Train, a handful of Massachusetts runners spent Oct. 27-28 tackling the trails across the country. A few logged their first 100-milers, first ultramarathons, or turned in personal records. Benjamin Simanski returned to Kansas for a second crack at the Kansas Rails-to-Trails 100-miler, and he returned with a PR and a podium finish. Additionally, runners from the Bay State competed at ultras in Vermont, Arizona, Colorado and Mississippi, and we’ve got them all covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Kansas Rails-to-Trails, Norwitch, Javelina, Sage Burner, and Way’s Bluff →

The Ghost Train Trail Races may have attracted hundreds of ultrarunners from Massachusetts and greater New England on Oct. 20-21, but it wasn’t the only race that lured runners from the Bay State. Adrian Will-Orrego and Daniel Coppersmith hit the road to Pennsylvania for the Sinnemahone Ultra – the first ultramarathon for both men – while Padraig Mullins and Alicia Rich earned a small piece of the sport’s biggest spotlight event of the weekend when they traveled to Bell Buckle, Tenn., and took part in the last-person-standing Big Backyard Ultra. Those races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Big Backyard Ultra and Sinnemahone →

Out-of-state ultramarathons attracted runners from the Bay State to the trails of Virginia, Maine, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Arizona during the Oct. 13-14 weekend, and Salem’s Kristen Smith and Medford’s Kara Olivito highlighted the weekend races with their 103-mile journey together on the tough trails of Virginia, climbing more than 26,000 feet on their way to finishing the notoriously tough Cloudsplitter 100. That race, as well as the Big Brad Ultras, Water Gap 50K, Indian Creek Fifties, and the Canyon De Chelly 55K are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Cloudsplitter, Big Brad, Water Gap, Indian Creek, and Canyon De Chelly →