The 2024 ultrarunning season came to a close in Massachusetts during the Dec. 14-15 weekend with the 14th running of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K in Springfield. While a few dozen New Englanders logged miles on the road at Seth’s, several others ventured beyond the Bay State to squeeze in late-season ultras. Around 60 runners logged miles at the Jingle My Frosty Balls Fat Ass in New Hampshire, though results were unavailable. Additionally, a few others traveled farther to run. From Virginia to Washington, and Arizona to Pennsylvania, New Englanders tackled tough and scenic courses across the country. Some, like Brian Burke, put up most of those miles in the dark, while others, like Isabel Lane, soaked up the sights while racing to victory. Read all about it in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Deception Pass, Hellgate, Desert Solstice, and Naked NickResults: Seth’s Fat Ass 50K
The 14th annual running of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K took place on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Springfield, Mass. Runners once again took on a 5K paved loop course in Forest Park that had to be completed 10 times within 7 hours.
Continue reading Results: Seth’s Fat Ass 50K
Grip Dominant, Needham Smashes Record at TARC Winter Classic
Running loops of the Skyline Trail at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass., is a New England trail-running tradition that outdates the creation of the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Trail Series.
Continue reading Grip Dominant, Needham Smashes Record at TARC Winter Classic
Results: TARC Winter Classic
The 14th season of the TARC Trail Series came to a close with the annual TARC Winter Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. It was the 15th running of the event overall, 13th edition under the TARC umbrella, and second year with the new Winter Classic format with 32-mile and 8-mile distances on the Skyline Trail. Check out a full photo gallery from the race courtesy of Chris Arson Photography.
Continue reading Results: TARC Winter ClassicMassUltra Roundup: Last Chance, Colossal-Vail, Festivus, Cloudland Canyon, and McDowell Mountain Frenzy
Ice and snow covered some of the trails in New England and – along with cold temperatures – provided appropriate seasonal challenges for runners in the region as they raced in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. We have those events covered separately, including in Part I of this week’s roundup, but here in Part II we catch up on how New Englanders did at ultras beyond the region during the Dec. 6-8 weekend. They did mighty well, racing from South Carolina to Arizona, and from Georgia to Florida. Zach Medeiros kicks things off with a victory at the Last Chance 50K.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Last Chance, Colossal-Vail, Festivus, Cloudland Canyon, and McDowell Mountain FrenzyMassUltra Roundup: Tower Tag and Krampuslauf
The TARC Winter Classic was the place to be for ultrarunners in Massachusetts during the Dec. 6-8 weekend, but there was plenty of ultra action throughout New England with tough ultras and lots of climbing. The inaugural Tower Tag Challenge in Connecticut and the Krampuslauf 9-hour in New Hampshire take the spotlight in Part I of this week’s roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Tower Tag and Krampuslauf
Lottery Luck Sends 7 New Englanders Into Hardrock 100 Starting Field
The Hardrock 100 Endurance Run lottery gods smiled on Denise Klatt a year ago, and she took full advantage of the opportunity by completing the rugged high-altitude ultramarathon on her first attempt. The lottery gods were once again good to Klatt – along with six other New Englanders – whose names were selected for the starting field of the 2025 race during the Hardrock lottery on Saturday, Dec. 7. Eight more were selected for the waitlist.
Continue reading Lottery Luck Sends 7 New Englanders Into Hardrock 100 Starting Field
6 New Englanders Selected for Starting Field in Western States Lottery
The 2025 Western States Endurance Run isn’t until June 28, but the journey to the starting line of the 49th running of the historic 100-miler began Saturday, Dec. 7, for six New England residents whose names were drawn in the Western States lottery.
Joseph D’Alessio, Patrick McEnaney, Lance Doherty and Christopher Lay of Massachusetts, Austin Black of New Hampshire, and Yuichiro Hidaka of Rhode Island were among the lucky few selected for one of ultrarunning’s most exclusive events.
Continue reading 6 New Englanders Selected for Starting Field in Western States LotteryMassUltra Roundup: Squatchy Leftovers and Quad Dipsea
All was quiet on the ultrarunning scene in New England during the post-Thanksgiving weekend, save for personal ambitions to log big miles after enjoying a feast. Two runners from the region ventured outside New England to toe the starting line of ultramarathons, though, with one on each coast. Those efforts make for some light reading in the Nov. 29-Dec. 1 weekend roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Squatchy Leftovers and Quad Dipsea
MassUltra Roundup: JFK 50, Fall Fling 400, and Fat Ox
It was a head-spinning Nov. 22-24 weekend at the historic JFK 50, and a New Englander was at the heart of it all. Vermont’s David Sinclair smashed the course record by a large margin, while fellow Vermonter Britta Clark notched a top-five finish in the women’s field. Beyond and its 1,100-plus field of runners, New Englanders took to the trails at the CT Trailmixers’ Fall Fling 400 in nearby Connecticut, and a few others logged big miles in Arizona at the Fat Ox. Read on for more in this pre-Thanksgiving appetizer edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: JFK 50, Fall Fling 400, and Fat Ox
MassUltra 