For ultrarunners seeking a 100-mile race in Massachusetts, 2017 was a lonely season.
The Bay State was home to a triple-digit solo distance run from 2013-2016 with the TARC 100, but the Trail Animals Running Club mothballed the event after struggling to attract sufficient interest. It seemed runners’ intensified focus on select races that serve as lottery qualifiers for some of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious 100s, combined with a surge of new 100-mile offerings nationwide, diluted interest in the event.
The website run100s.com maintains a listing of the 100-milers in North America. Currently, it lists 159 100-milers. Not included on that list is a new Massachusetts 100-miler that will make its debut in 2018 and has quietly garnered attention through social media. The inaugural Chesterfield Gorge Ultra will take place June 2-3 at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation in Chesterfield, Mass.Continue reading New 100-Mile Race Coming to Western Mass→
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→
After a quiet start to 2018, the Massachusetts ultrarunning season kicked into high gear Feb. 17-18 as local runners traveled to eight ultras across the country. In doing so, they took on diverse, scenic terrain, and many turned in impressive performances. From fast times in Arizona, New Jersey and Virginia, to the scenic slickrock of Moab and jungle of the Everglades, runners scattered to six states for eight distinctly different races. In doing so, this week’s roundup is a novel. Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable – there’s a lot to read this week. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Black Canyon, Feebapple, Holiday Lake, Moab, Winter Beast, Virginia Beach, Dawn to Dusk, and Everglades→
Lisa Rising gets this week’s roundup all to herself. The Cambridge resident made her 100-mile debut on a beastly course at the Orcas Island 100 in Washington, and she conquered the climbing and the cold along the way to crossing the finish line. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Orcas Island 100→
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→
BARNSTABLE, Mass. – The sun was already shining high above Cape Cod Bay when the cars started trickling into the parking lot at Sandy Neck Beach. It wasn’t long before the lot was nearly full of cars, many adorned with bumper stickers boasting of the long distances the drivers had run, races they’d conquered, or mountains they’d climbed.
The 12th annual Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K took place on Saturday, Jan. 27, at Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, Mass. In addition to the 50K distance, runners also had the option of running a 25K. Seventy runners took part in the event. Continue reading Results: Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K→
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→
The 12th annual Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K took place on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, on Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, Mass. The Cape Cod Ultrarunning Society played host to 70 runners who took on either the 50K or 25K distance. The following are just a sample of the photos from the race. A full gallery with more than 130 photos can be found on the MassUltra facebook page. Continue reading Photos: Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K→
Acton’s Andrea Baum traveled to sunny Florida to run her first ultramarathon. Meanwhile, Waban’s Dima Feinhaus had a polar opposite experience in the United Kingdom – with an emphasis on polar. Baum’s race at the Clearwater Distance Classic and Feinhaus’ epic experience at The Montane Spine Race are this week’s featured races. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: The Spine Race and the Clearwater Classic→
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