March opened with a flurry as Massachusetts ultrarunners took on courses as close as New York and as far away as Florida and California. Included among the notable performances were Dartmouth resident Brian Tjersland’s effort at the Dunes 100 where he was one of just seven finishers, and Boston resident Robert Lafranee’s top-five finish at the USATF 50K championships in New York. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: The Dunes, Caumsett, Griffith Park, Naked Bavarian, and Way Too Cool →

February came to a close for Massachusetts ultrarunners with races in North Carolina, Arizona, Texas and California, and a pair of local runners delivered particularly strong performances during their out-of-state races. Nick Curelop of Housatonic delivered a dandy of an effort at the difficult Mt. Mitchell Challenge and secured a top-five finish. Meanwhile, Rockland’s Michelle Ladonne pounded the pavement in Texas and earned a podium finish. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Mt. Mitchell, Cowtown, Antelope Canyon, and Sycamore Canyon →

Feb. 3-4 marked the first weekend of multiple major national ultramarathons for 2018, and Massachusetts was well represented at both the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in Texas and the Sean O’Brien 100K in California. The former served as the USATF Trail 100-Mile National Championship, while the latter was a Western States Endurance Run Golden Ticket race. Local runners had big days at both events, led by Ted MacMahon of North Andover who earned a Men’s Masters Division championship at Rocky. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Rocky Raccoon and Sean O’Brien →

While the Cape Cod Frozen Fatass 50K ushered in the 2018 ultramarathon season in Massachusetts (separate article coming soon), scenic trails at more running-friendly winter destinations lured runners away from the Bay State for the final weeks of January. They traveled to the slick rock of Moab, the singletrack of Alabama, and a ghost town in California, and fast times were turned in along the way – none moreso than at the Arches Ultra in Utah where former Massachusetts resident Kyle Pietari and current residents Sean Haggerty and Molly Karp threw down speedy runs. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Arches, Mountain Mist, and Calico Trail →

A quiet second weekend of January on the ultramarathon racing scene meant Dan Kelley of Lynnfield, Mass., gets this week’s roundup all to himself – and he earned the spotlight with a victory in California. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: San Diego 50 →

The 2017 ultramarathon season closed out and 2018 was ushered in at the 34^th annual Across the Years Ultrarunning Festival in Arizona where Mattapoisett resident Clifford Lange lodged perhaps the final ultra finish of the year for a Massachusetts resident, and then Cambridge’s Julien Klaudt-Moreau and Boylston’s Neil Feldman opened the 2018 season with strong showings in Arizona and Texas.

Klaudt-Moreau’s top-three finish at the San Tan Scramble, Feldman’s negative-split 100K, and Lange’s 48-hour run kick off the first MassUltra Roundup of the new year. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: San Tan Scramble, Bandera, and Across the Years →