The 2017 edition of the Vermont 50 was an unseasonable scorcher, but normal conditions returned for the 2018 version of the race on Sunday, Sept. 30, with the 26th running of the race at Ascutney Mountain Resort in Brownsville, Vt. Continue reading Smolarova Leads MA 50-Milers, Six Men Crack Top 10 in 50K at VT 50 →

The final week of September was massive for Massachusetts ultrarunners, most notably with the annual TARC Fall Classic and Vermont 50 ultras that attracted hundreds of runners throughout the region. Both of those races are featured in other reports due to their size. Beyond the biggest local races, however, a handful of runners tackled other pursuits – many of them at 100-mile distances or beyond. That included Boston resident Will Holets earning his first 100-mile finish at the Beebe Farm 48 in Vermont, a trio of Bay State men securing hard-earned finishes at the Bear 100 out West, and Kyle Robidoux blazing to his first sub-24-hour 100-miler at the Yeti 100 in Virginia. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Beebe Farm, the Bear, and the Yeti →

Padraig Mullins earned a runner-up finish at the USATF 24-hour running national championship and Jenny Hoffman and John Brown earned victories at the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra, highlighting a weekend of strong out-of-state ultrarunning by Massachusetts residents on Sept. 22-23. In addition to the 24-hour and 9-hour events, the Georgia Jewel 100-miler, Mountain Lakes 100-miler, and Baker’s Revenge 50K are featured in this week’s roundup.

NorthCoast 24

Padraig Mullins threw down a personal-record for mileage in 24 hours and secured a second-place finish at the USATF 24-hour national championship with his effort at the 10^th annual NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run at Edgewater Park on Sept. 22-23 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mullins, 36, of Cambridge, Mass., has taken part in numerous time-based events, but this one may have been his finest. He took advantage of comfortable conditions with temperatures in the 50s and low 60s, and a talented field around him to feed off of.

Virginia resident Oliver LeBlond brought home the national title with 160.497, and he was the only runner to surpass Mullins’ mileage total. Women’s national champion and third overall finisher Megan Alvarado, 30, of Virginia, tallied 140.514 miles.

There were 126 runners who took part in the event, and 28 surpassed the 100-mile distance.

Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra

The third annual Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra featured a pair of winners from Massachusetts on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Roosevelt Forest in Stratford, Conn.

Runners had nine hours to complete the double-loop (3.5-mile loop and 2.7-mile loop) course as many times as possible, and Cambridge resident Jenny Hoffman and Northbridge resident John Brown logged more miles than anyone while bringing first-place finishes back to the Bay State.

Hoffman, 40, was the overall winner. In doing so, she smashed the women’s course record and tied the men’s course record with her winning mark of 53.27 miles. Brown, 60, was the second overall finisher and first-place male with 49.76 miles. Brown’s performance tied his 2016 effort for the third position on the men’s record board.

Notably, women’s runner-up Morgan Fowler, 33, of East Haven, Conn., joined Brown in running 49.76 miles and tied the previous women’s course record with her performance. No other runner came within six miles of Hoffman, Brown and Fowler for total mileage at this year’s event.

Thirty-four runners ran beyond the marathon distance, including three other Massachusetts residents. Sherry Brown, 56, of Uxbridge, and Alison Buchter, 39, of Tolland, both posted 34.61 miles, while 61-year-old Hollis Graham of Longmeadow logged 28.39 miles.

Additionally, 31-year-olds David and Katie Todd of Bedford, Mass., both completed 18.66 miles.

Forty-six runners took part in the event and completed at least 15.95 miles.

Georgia Jewel 100

Mark Leuner might call Brookline, Mass., home, but the 41-year-old has also spent plenty of time making himself at home on the trails of Georgia.

Leuner finished second at the Running Dead 100-miler in Senoia, Ga., in 2015, and then returned to Georgia for another 100-miler – this time the Double Top 100 – in 2017 when he finished fourth overall. Leuner made another trip in 2018 when he took part in the eighth annual Georgia Jewel 100 in Sept. 22-23 in Dalton, Ga. Of the 72 runners to start the race, Leuner was one of just 28 who reached the finish line within 33 hours.

Leuner finished 15^th overall in 30:01:47.

Meg Landymore, 32, of Passadena, Md., was the overall winner by more than three hours – and she smashed the women’s course record by more than three hours, too – winning in 21:03:34. The men’s winner and second overall finisher was Alex Espinal, 48, of Rock Hill, S.C., in 24:40:20.

Mountain Lakes 100

Greg Watson was the lone Massachusetts resident to finish this year’s Mountain Lakes 100-miler, and the 47-year-old from Boston did so with a strong performance.

Of the 160 runners who started the fifth annual race on Sept. 22 at Olallie Lake Resort in Olallie Lake, Ore., Watson was among the 121 to cross the finish line within the 30-hour time limit. He also was one of the first to do so.

The race took runners past 25 scenic mountain lakes – which combine to give the race its name – and they also covered 60 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail as part of their journey while earning around 10,000 feet of vertical gain along the way. Watson wasn’t with the immediate front-runners, but he was well ahead of most of the field. In fact, he crossed the finish line 15^th overall and 13^th among the men in a speedy time of 21:40:55. He was one of 45 runners to finish in less than 24 hours.

A sizzling battle unfolded for the overall win as 35-year-old Ryan Shephard of Abbostford, B.C., edged 36-year-old Jesse Booi of Squamish, B.C., by two minutes. Shephard’s winning time was 17:15:16 while Booi followed in 17:17:32. Third-place finisher James Holk, 33, of Portland, Ore., followed in 17:26:49.

Lindsey Hagen, 34, of Bend, Ore., was the first-place woman in 20:33:05.

Baker’s Revenge

Karen Birdsall earned her third ultramarathon finish of the year at he second annual Baker’s Revenge 50K on Saturday, Sept. 22, in Mountainside, N.J.

A resident of Topsfield, Mass., Birdsall previously finished the Antelope Canyon 55K in February in Arizona and the Lighthouse 50-miler in Michigan in June. The 59-year-old added a third state to her list of ultramarathon finishes this year when she traveled to New Jersey and raced three 10-mile loops on the Sierra Trail at Watchung Reservation. Birdsall finished 36^th overall in 8:06:05.

Sam Harris, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa., brought home the overall win in 4:20:07, while 44-year-old Jodi Zielinski of Montclair, N.J., won the women’s race in 6:08:32.

Forty-seven runners finished the race within the 10-hour time limit.

*Editor’s Note: Results are found on a variety of sites, including ultrasignup.com, UltraRunning Magazine, and official race websites. We do the best we can to find as many results as possible to report on and recognize the local ultrarunning community.

From the mountains of New Hampshire to the mountains of Colorado, and the mountains of New York, California and Oregon – as well as a dirt trail in Vermont – there’s plenty of reading in this week’s roundup. Massachusetts runners took on numerous out-of-state ultras last weekend, including the Pisgah Mountain 50K, the Run Rabbit Run 100, the SRT 30-miler and the Northeast Kingdom 24-hour race. Additionally, we tracked down prior results from two epic races out west: the Tahoe 200 and the Pine to Palm 100. Collectively, it made for a jam-packed roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Pisgah, Run Rabbit Run, Northeast Kingdom, SRT, Tahoe 200, and Pine to Palm →

The inaugural Kilkenny Ridge 50-miler lived up to its reputation on Sept. 8 … and into the early hours of Sept. 9 … as the newest ultra in New Hampshire enticed runners from the Bay State to head north for a burly challenge in the White Mountains. That race, which was won by former Boston resident Rob Rives and current Cambridge resident Lisa Rising, highlights this week’s roundup. Additionally, Salem’s William Jackson notched his fourth straight Hardrock qualifier by finishing the Wasatch Front 100 in Utah, and Revere resident Michael Condella finished the Pine Creek Challenge 100 for the fourth year in a row. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Kilkenny Ridge, Wasatch Front, and Pine Creek Challenge →

While the eyes of the ultrarunning world were on the World Summit of Trail-Running – more commonly known as the UTMB – last week in Europe, there were still a few ultramarathons back in the United States. Runners from Massachusetts took part in a few of them, hitting the road to neighboring Vermont and flying to the West Coast to tackle tough trails in California and Montana. The UTMB recap is separate, so a trio of out-of-state US races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: The Rut, Jay Peak, and the SLO Ultra →

August closed out with plenty of out-of-state races as runners from the Bay State traveled to nearby Vermont, Connecticut and New York, while some flew as far away as California to take on the trails. South Deerfield’s Brian Rusiecki and Great Barrington’s Kehr Davis highlighted the weekend with their podium finishes at the Under Armour Killington 50K in Vermont, while Matthew Perkins of Cambridge hammered his way to a runner-up finish at the Tunxis Trail 60K.

Additionally, we tracked down the results of Maine’s Great Cranberry 100 from Aug. 17-18 where Billerica’s Bryan O’Keefe was among the half-dozen finishers. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Killington, Tunxis, Lost Cat, Tamalpa Headlands, Green Lakes, and Great Cranberry →

August 18 was all about the 100Ks. After a few busy weekends of in-state races, ultrarunners from Massachusetts headed beyond the state borders to tackle a trio of 100K races – two out west and one in neighboring New York. Additionally, numerous runners hit the road for Rhode Island for the Anchor Down Ultras. Results from Anchor Down are still being updated, so we’ll include them next week. That means this week’s roundup is all about the 100Ks. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Twisted Branch, Castle Peak, and Waldo →

Two in-state ultramarathons kept many of the Massachusetts ultrarunning community busy during the Aug. 11-12 weekend, but a few made a short drive to neighboring New Hampshire to take part in the Ragged 75 Stage Race and 50K in Danbury, N.H. The 50K race served as the USATF 50K Trail National Championship. Both the 50K and the Stage Race share this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Ragged 75 Stage Race and 50K →

August opened with a lighter slate of national ultramarathons. That meant that just a handful of Massachusetts residents headed out-of-state to race, while a few others stayed close to home to tackle the East End Trail Races in Easton, Mass. (to be addressed in a separate article). Those who went beyond the Bay State didn’t venture too far. Neighboring Vermont and New York provided regional challenges – including an electrifying ultramarathon debut by Medford’s Gabriel Miller. The Moosalamoo 36-miler and the summer edition of Beast of Burden are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Moosalamoo and the Summer Beast of Burden →