The Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour was New England’s biggest ultrarunning event during the March 21-23 weekend, but it was far from the only place New Englanders threw down ultramarathon efforts. The busiest weekend of racing so far in 2025 saw runners from the region travel to at least a dozen other events across the country – with a few returning home with hard-earned victories. Here in Part I of this week’s roundup we catch up on ultra results from the West, and nobody had a bigger performance than Connecticut’s Eric Blake who took on Arizona trails and emerged victorious.

Rhode Island only plays host to a handful of ultramarathons throughout the year, but it was the only location in New England with a race during the March 14-16 weekend. The F.I.T. Rock 12-hour saw Takai Takafumi of Cambridge, Mass., earn the victory with a 60-mile outing on a 5-mile loop course. Beyond Rhode Island, New Englanders scattered to other parts of the country to tackle the trails and earn ultra finishes in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Ohio. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Part I of the March 7-9 weekend focused on New Englanders’ efforts at ultramarathons on the East Coast, with a heavy focus on New Jersey events. Here in Part II we journey West to Arizona, California, Oregon and Texas where runners took on diverse and challenging terrain and turned in some stellar performances. No New Englander had a bigger weekend than Eric LiPuma. The Vermonter toppled a long-standing course record at the Mesquite Canyon 50K while chasing world-class runner Jim Walmsley. Though Walmsley took the win, LiPuma delivered a dandy of a performance and leads off this edition of the roundup.

The March 7-9 weekend represented not just a break from frigid conditions with some early signs of spring in New England, but also the beginning of the busier part of the 2025 ultrarunning season. Though the ultra scene in New England was quiet – the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra still loomed two weeks away – runners from the region scattered to starting lines across the country. In fact, so many did so that the weekend merited the first two-part roundup of the year. Here in Part I we stay in the East, where several New Englanders traveled to nearby New Jersey for a trio of races, and then we go to Florida where two runners from the region tackled a time-based event.

Spots on the podium and impressive finishes at early-season ultramarathons were among the highlights for New Englanders during the Feb. 28-March 2 weekend. A pair of women from Maine led the way, with Annie Seekins of Searsport earning a runner-up finish at the Old Pueblo 50 in Arizona, while Paula Lunt of Tenants Harbor secured a second-place finish at the Long Play Trail Run in Florida. We have those events, as well as others in Pennsylvania and Mississippi highlighted in this edition of the roundup.

Snow and ice covered many of the trails throughout New England during the Feb. 22-23 weekend, but several ultrarunners from the region ventured to warmer climates to race. Runners scattered from Florida to California, and points in between, and collected hard-earned finishes. Nobody had a bigger weekend than John Finnigan. The newcomer from Connecticut earned his first 100-mile finish and a spot on the podium at the Space Pirate 100, and he leads off a jam-packed edition of the roundup.

The Feb. 15-16 weekend was cold and snowy in New England, and the freeze kept some ultrarunners from the region from traveling to ultras throughout the country. That made for a light weekend of racing, but there were still a few runners who made it to the starting line – and ultimately the finish line. That includes the FarmDaze 24 in Georgia, the Jackpot Ultras in Nevada, and the Sylamore 50K in Arkansas. We have them all covered with some light reading in this edition of the roundup.

The eyes of the ultrarunning world were on Arizona during the Feb. 8-9 weekend where more than 1,000 runners took on the 100K or 50K options at the Black Canyon Ultras. That included more than a dozen New Englanders, as well as former Boston resident Joe McConaughy who earned one of the event’s biggest prizes. From there, we head to Maryland where four New Englanders completed the Algonquin 50K. Finally, we turn our attention to an ultra of a different kind – on skis – with a look at the multi-day Last Skier Standing race in Maine.

The TARCtic Frozen Yeti was the place to be in New England for ultrarunning during the Feb. 1-2 weekend as runners took on a 15-mile snow- and ice-coated course at Hale Reservation in Massachusetts. A handful of runners from the region ventured elsewhere to race, however. Several headed to Texas for the Rocky Raccoon 100, a few headed to Florida, while others traveled to Arizona. One even ventured to Missouri to race. We’ll have the Frozen Yeti featured in a separate story, but we have the events from beyond the region covered in this edition of the roundup.

It was cold and quiet on the trails of New England during the January 24-26 weekend, but the racing was hot for runners from the region who headed to the South or out West. New Englanders raced ultras in Florida and North Carolina, as well as Arizona and Utah, but nobody had a better weekend than New Hampshire’s Peter Christopher who won the 50K race at the Monroe Cross Trail Ultra in Florida. His victory leads off this week’s edition of the roundup.