Photos: Ghost Train Trail Race

The 15th edition of the Ghost Train Trail Race 30-hour ultra took place Oct. 19-20 in Brookline, N.H. Runners once again took on a 7.5-mile out-and-back rail trail between Brookline and Milford on a course decked out in fall foliage and Halloween decor. The following are a small sample of photos by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page.

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MassUltra Roundup: Angel’s Rest, Des Plaines, Sage Burner, Canyon de Chelly, and Cactus to Cloud

After kicking off this week’s roundup with a look at Northeast races from the Oct. 11-13 weekend, here in Part II we look to the Midwest and West where New Englanders raced in Oregon, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Included among those efforts were a podium finish for Maine’s Eli Nixon at the Angel’s Rest 50K, and a fourth-place showing for Boston’s Aadi Khasgiwala at the Des Plaines River Trail 50K to lead off Part II of this week’s roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Big Brad, Devil’s Den, and Tesla Hertz

The ever-popular Ghost Train Rail Trail Race looms next weekend, and the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail saw a huge field of runners during the Oct. 11-13 weekend in New England. Still, that didn’t mean it was a light weekend of ultramarathon racing at other venues for runners from the region. In fact, the scene was hot in the Northeast, with runners racing in at the Big Brad Ultras in Maine and Devil’s Den in Vermont, as well as at the Tesla Hertz Ultras on Long Island in New York. We have those events covered here in Part I of this week’s roundup. In Part II, we’ll head to the Midwest and West.

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MassUltra Roundup: Bubba’s Backyard, Forbidden Forest, NipMuck, Buck 50, Blues Cruise, Bull Mountain Epic, and Red Barn Challenge

Our jam-packed roundup from the Oct. 4-6 weekend continues here in Part II with ultras in the East, stretching from New England to Georgia. We start in New Hampshire, where Bubba’s Backyard Ultra crowned a new champion for the first time in its six-year history. We then swing through Connecticut to the Forbidden Forest 30-Hour Ultra and NipMuck Trail Marathon, which add to the highlights from another busy week.

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MassUltra Roundup: Cuyamaca, Perpetua Coast, Baker Lake, Saddles, Above the Clouds, Hennepin, and Arkansas Traveller

New Englanders took part in no fewer than 20 ultramarathons across the United States during the Oct. 4-6 weekend, with a few races in the region but most scattered throughout the country. We’ll have as many of them covered as we can during the course of two roundups. Here in Part I, we look to the West and Midwest, where runners raced everything from 50K to 100 miles. We start in California, where New Hampshire resident Kara Olivito earned her latest podium finish on the West Coast, and then head to Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and Arkansas.

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MetroWest Backyard Ultra Goes Big in Year 3

NEEDHAM, Mass. – When Kiko Bracker and Bill Gallagher first organized the MetroWest Backyard Ultra in 2022, they hoped to create an opportunity for runners in the greater Boston area to try out a unique format of racing that was growing in popularity.

In just three short years, they’ve built something special.

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MassUltra Roundup: Vermont 50, Farm to Farm, Tunxis, and Parallel of Latitude

New Englanders had an abundance of nearby ultramarathon options to close out September, and they took full advantage. In addition to the massive field that turned out for the MetroWest Backyard Ultra in Needham, Mass. (separate recap article), hundreds more raced in Vermont at a New England classic – the Vermont 50, as well as in Maine at the Farm to Farm Ultra, in Connecticut at the Tunxis Trail Ultra, and in nearby New York at the brand new Parallel of Latitude 8-Hour Ultra.

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MassUltra Roundup: The Bear, Crested Butte, Run the Red Desert, and Mt. Taylor

The Sept. 27-29 weekend was jam-packed with ultramarathon racing in New England, from the MetroWest Backyard Ultra in Massachusetts, to the classic Vermont 50, to additional ultras in Maine and Connecticut. We’ll have those events covered in Part 2 of this week’s roundup, but here in Part I we focus on the West where runners from the region raced in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico, highlighted by Maine’s Peter Troast successfully finishing the Rocky Mountain Slam.

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Results: MetroWest Backyard Ultra

The third annual MetroWest Backyard Ultra, organized by members of the Needham Running Club, took place Sept. 28-29 at the Needham Town Forest in Needham, Mass. The event began with 164 runners entered and 134 toeing the starting line, and it ended after 21 hours with just one runner remaining.

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Going beyond the marathon in Massachusetts