The Trail Animals Running Club typically has evaded early-winter hibernation with the annual running of the Fells Winter Ultra during the first weekend of December at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. That wasn’t the case in 2020, however; the club was forced to cancel the event as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the trail ultrarunning schedule locally and globally.
The Fells Winter Ultra made its return on Saturday, Dec. 4, as runners once again flocked to the trailhead in Stoneham, Mass., to tackle four or five loops of the reservation’s rocky and rugged Skyline Trail in 32- and 40-mile races.
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual running of the Fells Winter Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Runners tackled either four or five 8-mile loops of the Skyline Trail in 32-mile and 40-mile trail ultramarathons.
In March of 2020, the To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 5K became the first Massachusetts trail ultramarathon to be a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just seven weeks earlier, the Trail Animals Running Club had played host to the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on some of the same trails at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., in the first of what was supposed to be a 10-race season for the TARC Trail Series.
WINCHESTER, Mass. — Less than 24 hours before the start of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra, Race Director Jeff LeBlanc found himself inundated with rain. He was marking the 3.1-mile loop course through Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill when a heavy thunderstorm moved over Winchester, soaking him within seconds and blasting him with heavy wind. As fast as the rain fell, leaves dropped from the trees all around him almost as quickly, expediting their autumn transition and hiding many of the course’s network of rocks and twisting tree roots.
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fifth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. The following are a small sample of photos from the day. A full gallery from the race can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link. All photos by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.
The fifth running of the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra took place Saturday, Nov. 13, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. Eighty-seven runners took part in the race on the 3.1-mile loop course. Only loops completed during the time limit counted.
BROOKLINE, N.H. — Technically, the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race declared itself back with the sound of a train whistle blown by co-Race Director Theresa Berna at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, Oct. 16. While that moment on the grounds of Camp Tevya signified the official start of the 30-hour ultramarathon, in reality the event’s return was truly felt in the weeks and final days leading up to it.
Following a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TARC Ghost Train Rail Trail Race returned for its 12th running on Oct. 16-17 on the Milford and Brookline Rail Trail in Brookline, N.H. The event offered its traditional 30-hour ultra, as well as a Sunday 15-mile race. This year’s race threw a little bit of everything at the runners, from an unseasonably warm Saturday where the temperature climbed into the upper-70s, to heavy rain overnight.
After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trail Animals Running Club’s Ghost Train Rail Trail Race returned on Oct. 16-17, 2021, for 30 hours of racing on the Milford and Brookline Rail Trail in Brookline, N.H. The following are just a sample of the photos taken at the race by MassUltra editor Chris Wristen. A full photo gallery of more than 300 pictures can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link.
Ghost Train co-Race Director Theresa Berna addresses the runners prior to the start of the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Mike Villeux of Weare, N.H., cruises through the early miles of the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Linnea Laverty of Waltham, Mass., topped the women’s field in the 30-mile race at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail races, winning in 4:43:02. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Dylan Schultze of Goffstown, N.H., on his way to a sub-4-hour finish and overall win in the 30-mile race at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Karen Thibodeau of Whitinsville, Mass., was feeling good on her way to a 30-mile finish at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Brian Butterworth of Southborough, Mass., raced to the top spot in the 45-mile race at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.David Sutherland of Coventry, Conn., on his way to a 45-mile finish at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Harsh Walia (left) and Ravi Pattabhi (right), both of Acton, Mass., shared three laps of the Ghost Train course together and finished their 45-mile race side-by-side. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Abby McKie of Boxford, Mass., cruises through her second of three loops of the Ghost Train course for a 45-mile finish on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Brian Duffey of South Hadley, Mass., glides down the trail on his way to a 45-mile finish at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. It was Duffey’s fourth time racing Ghost Train and second time running the 45-miler. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Jennifer Kenty of Medford, Mass., earned the overall win in the 100-mile race at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races in a speedy 17:41:05. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Victor Pereira of Foxboro, Mass., on his way to a 100-mile finish at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. Photo by Chris Wristen.A pack of runners stick together during the early miles of the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Races. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.Nick Geron of Boston, Mass., is surrounded by a whirlwind of blowing leaves during his 60-mile run at the 2021 Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. Photo by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.
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