Mid-July meant lots of big mountain races for New England residents. That’s what this edition of the roundup is all about. Tahoe, Hardrock and Mt. Hood. Runners from the region threw down at all of them. Read on to learn how they did.

In Massachusetts, the July 7-9 weekend meant a packed course at Notchview Reservation in Windsor where the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the multi-day Notchview Ultra. We’ll have that covered in a separate story, but Notchview wasn’t the only popular draw for New England ultrarunners. Two other New England events – the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine and the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K in Vermont – also attracted strong turnouts and saw some big performances. Additionally, a few runners from the region ventured beyond New England to take on ultras in Maryland, Oregon and Colorado. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

With the July 4 holiday on the horizon, the June 30-July 2 weekend was largely quiet for New England ultrarunners with only two local ultras in the region and just a handful of folks heading beyond the region to race. Several runners took on six hours of loops in Ansonia, Conn., where Northampton’s Eric Ciocca raced to victory. Others headed to Vermont for the Mt. Sparta 24-Hour Challenge (results from that event are unavailable as of this posting). Additionally, a few New Englanders traveled north across the border to Canada for hard-earned finishes of various distances of the Quebec Mega-Trail ultras. We have them covered in this short edition of the roundup.

When Jenny Hoffman stepped to the starting line of her 24-hour race at Six Days in the Dome in Wisconsin, she was laser-focused on locking up a position on the United States 24-Hour National Team. By the time the clock expired, the resident of Cambridge, Mass., had turned in the race of her life, earned a victory and surged into one of the top qualifying positions for Team USA with one week remaining in the qualification period. While Hoffman’s big effort during the June 16-24 event was one of the most remarkable performances by a New England ultrarunner during the past week, she was far from the only one racing. We highlighted results from several events in the Northeast in a previous roundup, and this one showcases Hoffman’s effort in the Midwest as well as those by a handful of New England residents who took on tough races out west in Colorado, Oregon and Utah.

All eyes were on Western States during the June 24-25 weekend … well, not all eyes, but most of them in the ultrarunning world. There were plenty of other ultras taking place in both the west and here in the east. In fact, there were so many New England ultrarunners racing throughout the country that covering it all merited a two-roundup week – plus a separate writeup on Western States. In this first roundup we catch up on how runners from New England fared at ultras in the Northeast. That included a pair of Massachusetts residents reclaiming titles at the gnarly Manitou’s Revenge in New York. We also catch up on the Catamount 50K in Vermont, the Gunstock TrailFest in New Hampshire, and Midnight Squatchapalooza in New Jersey.

Western States week is upon us and several New England residents are preparing to take on the sport’s original 100-mile race through the mountains in California. But before the WSER hype hits its fever pitch, let’s look back at the June 16-18 weekend when several New England residents took on trail adventures throughout the country. A handful of runners from the region overcame the big climbs of Wyoming to complete the Bighorn 100, including Massachusetts resident Jason Baker and Vermont’s Felix Lawson who earned top-10 finishes. In New York, New Englanders’ swept the top three spots at the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra, and in Washington State a pair of Massachusetts women tackled their first ultra while others from New England completed the tough 46K mini-ultra at the Broken Arrow Skyrace. All of those are included in this edition of the roundup.