December is typically a quiet month of racing for Massachusetts ultrarunners as cold weather rolls into New England and the holiday season cuts into the running travel schedule. A large crop of local runners spent the first weekend of the month in-state at the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra at the Middlesex Fells Reservation (separate story in development), and just one race earned a spot in this week’s roundup. New Bedford’s Lynn Poyant opened December with a 100-mile finish at the Devil Dog Ultras. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Devil Dog 100 →

Massachusetts residents eased into Thanksgiving week with a pair of in-state ultramarathons to burn pre-Turkey Day calories at the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra and the Village Ultra 10-Hour Run. That made for a quiet Nov. 18-19 weekend for Bay State runners at out-of-state ultras – but there were a few. Runners headed as far away as Utah, and stayed as close as Maryland and New York City to log some big mileage before the holiday weekend. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Dead Horse, JFK 50, and NYC 60K →

Kelsey Allen is speedy at all distances, and she highlights this week’s roundup with a victory at the Mt. Tam 50K in California. Another West Coast race – the Run the Rock 50 – and an East Coast race in New Jersey also are included in this week’s roundup of the Nov. 11-12 racing weekend beyond the Bay State.

Mt. Tam 50K

No matter the distance – short or far – Kelsey Allen has had a mighty successful 2017 racing season. Allen, 34, of Wendell, Mass., has already been the women’s champion at the Seven Sisters 12-mile race, the fourth-place female at the Cayuga Trails 50-miler, and the overall champion of the Monroe Dunbar Brook 10 1/2-Mile Trail Race this year. On Saturday, Nov. 11, Allen added another victory to her resume as she earned first-place female honors and placed seventh overall at the Mt. Tam 50K in Stinson Beach, Calif.

The course challenged Allen and the other 75 finishers to race to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and back down while taking on extensive singletrack trail with 6,800 feet of climbing along the way.

Runners had eight and a half hours to complete the race. The top three overall runners finished in less than five hours, led by 36-year-old Bradley Schoultz of Seaside, Calif., who claimed the outright victory in 4:45:34. Allen was seventh overall and five minutes out of the top five while placing first among the ladies in a speedy 5:10:23.

Allen wasn’t the lone Massachusetts resident to take on Mt. Tam. Boston resident Rachel Schneider, 31, was the 11^th-place female in 6:46:41.

Run the Rock 50

Claire Wallace made her first ultra of 2017 a good one. The 33-year-old resident of Somerville, Mass., traveled west to Terrebonne, Ore., and took on the 50K distance at the Run the Rock 50 on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Smith Rock State Park and the Crooked River National Grasslands.

Wallace successfully navigated the course’s singletrack and doubletrack trails, dirt roads, and 4,500 feet of climbing while spending her day among the faster runners in the field. She placed 14^th overall and was the fifth-place female finisher in 5:18:49 – just 10 minutes away from earning a spot on the ladies’ podium.

Gretchen Hurlbutt, 39, of Boise, Idaho, earned the top spot among the ladies and fifth overall in 4:40:12. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Justin Barth of Bozeman, Mont., earned the overall victory by a 24-minute cushion in 4:10:36.

Additionally, 37 runners completed the 50-mile race. None were from Massachusetts.

New Jersey Trail Series – One Day

Mei-Ling Smith has been a regular at the New Jersey Trail Series – One Day event during the past few years. She made her third straight appearance and fourth overall at the event on Nov. 11-12 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, N.J., and this year she recorded her most miles ever.

Smith, a 40-year-old resident of Boston, Mass., completed 52 laps of the flat, one-mile loop for 52 miles. That was good for 38^th place overall and 11^th-place female honors. Her previous most miles at the event was 50 in 2015.

Sixty-six runners took part in the 24-hour race led by 52-year-old Serge Arbona of Parkville, Md., who logged 132 miles. He was one of eight runners to log at least 100 miles. The first-place female, 54-year-old Connie Gardner of Akron, Ohio, finished with 106 miles.

Runners also could choose to run a 12-hour, 6-hour or 50K ultramarathon. No Massachusetts residents took part in those events.

In addition to the ultramarathon distances, the event also offered a marathon. The top two overall finishers of that race were Massachusetts residents who also swept the men’s and women’s titles. Beverly resident Alen Yen, 46, was the overall marathon winner in 3:44:00, while Sudbury resident Mairi Burfoot, 48, finished second overall and was the women’s marathon champion in 3:49:53.

*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.

A trio of Massachusetts ultrarunners snagged last-minute Western States qualifiers at Rio Del Lago, Mark Leuner outlasted most of the field at a tough 100-miler in Texas, James Gawle defended his 24-hour title at the Hamsterwheel in New Hampshire, and Samantha LeBlanc threw down a tough 50-miler in Virginia at Mountain Masochist. Strong late-season ultramarathon performances abounded Nov. 3-5 beyond the Bay State borders, and we’ve got them covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Rio Del Lago, Dinosaur Valley, Hamsterwheel, and Mountain Masochist →

From the desert heat of Arizona, to the finally arriving New England fall in Rhode Island, to the plains of Kansas and the lakefront in Chicago, ultrarunners from Massachusetts took on diverse climates and courses beyond the Bay State on Oct. 29-30. This week’s roundup takes you to the Javelina Jundred, the Rhode Island 6-Hour Ultra, the Kansas Rails-to-Trails Fall Classic, and the Chicago Lakefront 50-miler. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Javelina, Rhode Island 6-Hour, Kansas Fall Classic, and Chicago Lakefront →

Not every ultrarunner in Massachusetts took on the Ghost Train Rail Trail Ultras Oct. 21-22 in New Hampshire. A few journeyed to Connecticut, New Jersey, and Tennessee to take on distances ranging from 50K to 100 miles. Those out-of-state races – the Bimblers Bluff 50K, the Wawayanda Wonderful Wonhundred, and the Big Backyard Ultra – are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bimblers Bluff, Wawayanda Wonderful, and the Big Backyard Ultra →

A large portion of New England ultrarunners have had their sights set on this weekend’s Ghost Train Ultras; more than 300 will take on the multiple out-and-back course in Brookline, N.H. Not everyone has been focused on Ghost Train, however. Runners have traveled beyond Massachusetts to tackle a variety of ultras across the United States. This includes races in Maine, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Utah and Canada in recent weekends. No performance was longer than the 238-mile journey that Norton’s Christopher Cappellini delivered at the inaugural Moab 240, and his effort leads off this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Moab 240, Big Brad, Bromont, No Business, Oil Creek, and Farm to Farm →