The G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K played a central role in Matt Veiga’s trail- and ultrarunning career. The event, hosted by Gil’s Athletic Club in Topsfield, introduced him to the sport in 2005 when he attended his first Fat Ass 50K. Veiga took part in the event at least 10 times, and like hundreds of runners in New England, always looked forward to the free fun run in early January that served as the unofficial kickoff to the new trail- and ultrarunning season.
When Veiga learned in November that the event would not return after a 25-year run, he wanted to do something about it.
After a 25-year run as the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K, Gil’s Athletic Club handed off the reins for the classic New England ultrarunning kickoff event to the Trail Animals Running Club. The first offering of the annual fun run under its new name of the TARC Yeti Trail Trot took place on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Hamilton, Mass. Around 150 runners showed up on a cold morning to run or walk between one and five loops of snowy and icy trails. Thirty-one runners completed five loops and earned ultramarathon finishes, while another 11 runners completed four loops and an extra out-and-back for a marathon finish.
As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. To put that theory to the test, the Trail Animals Running Club brought back a popular distance at the TARC Winter Classic to close out the 15th edition of the TARC Trail Series on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham.
The 15th season of the TARC Trail Series concluded with the annual TARC Winter Classic on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. It was the 16th running of the event overall, 14th edition under the TARC umbrella, and third year with the new Winter Classic format that offered an 8-mile single-loop race on the Skyline Trail alongside a 32-mile, four-loop race. Additionally, after two years without it, the event’s other traditional ultra distance – the five-loop 40-miler – returned to the lineup.
WINCHESTER, Mass. – Two weeks before Thanksgiving, the Trail Animals Running Club kicked off the holiday season with the ninth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Wright-Locke Farm. Nobody savored the trail-running feast more than Donal Reynolds.
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the ninth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass. A field of 106 runners had six hours to complete as many 3.5-mile loops as they wanted on the trails of the farm and neighboring Whipple Hill.
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the ninth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass. A field of 106 runners had six hours to complete as many 3.5-mile loops as they wanted on the trails of the farm and neighboring Whipple Hill. The following are a small sample of photos from the day by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Flickr page.
When the Trail Animals Running Club revived the Stone Cat Trail Race in 2023 and restored the event’s original 50-mile and marathon distances, a few new distances were added to improve access to those seeking to run fewer miles–and one was added to entice runners to go even farther. That latter distance, the 100K, has rewarded and–mostly–punished those who dared attempt it during the three editions. The most recent offering came at the 24th edition of the Stone Cat Trail Race – and third addition of its reincarnation as the TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival–on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, Mass.
The 24th edition of the Stone Cat Trail Race – and third addition of its reincarnation as the TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival – took place on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, Mass. A gathering of 478 runners took on a variety of distances, including 100K and 50-mile ultramarathons, marathon, half marathon and 10K sub-ultra distances, as well as free youth fun run.
MassUltra 