Bandera, Texas, was the main attraction for North American ultrarunning during the Jan. 7-8 weekend, and a handful of New Englanders were there to join in the fun, including Vermont’s Kasie Enman and Massachusetts’ Elena Horton who secured top-10 finishes in the 100K. Additionally, Vermont’s Nigel Bates traveled to North Carolina and brought home a 50K victory, and New Hampshire’s Kerri Haskins kicked off the year with a 50K in Virginia. The 2023 season is off to a fast start, and we have it covered in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bandera, South Mountains, and Sandy Bottom
Results: 2023 G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
Gil’s Athletic Club played host to the 23rd running of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass. Around 200 runners took part in the event, including 37 who completed five loops of the course for 50K finishes.
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Photos: 2023 G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
The 2023 Massachusetts ultrarunning season officially opened on Saturday, Jan. 7, when Gil’s Athletic Club played host to the 23rd running of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass. Around 200 runners took part in the free, laid-back event, completing anywhere between one and five loops of the approximately 6.2-mile loop course. The following are a sample of the photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen, who also ran two loops of the course. A larger gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page here. Additionally, a much larger photo gallery courtesy of Patrick Caron can be viewed here.
Continue reading Photos: 2023 G.A.C. Fat Ass 50KMassUltra Roundup: Across the Years and Run Undead
The 2022 ultrarunning season is officially over and 2023 is under way. A handful of New Englanders seized one last opportunity to log a 2022 ultra or opened the new season in its earliest hours by taking on events between Dec. 28, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023. For Sudbury’s Seng-Lai Tan, that meant a trip to Alabama for 100K ultra in the final hours of the year. For several others, that meant a trip west to Arizona for the multi-day Across the Years Endurance Festival. We have both of those events covered as we close out 2022 and welcome in 2023 in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Across the Years and Run Undead
From the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the Silliness
For around 90 minutes, I perched halfway up the hill below Wright’s Tower and clicked away with my Nikon D90 camera as runners came toward me in both directions. Some danced down the hill, navigating its tangled web of tree roots while others dug deep and made the steep, rocky march upward.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the SillinessNewcomers Nab Victories as Seth’s Fat Ass 50K Returns to In-Person Racing
After two years as a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Seth’s Fat Ass 50K returned for its 10th in-person running and 12th edition on a cold Saturday morning in Springfield, Mass.
Continue reading Newcomers Nab Victories as Seth’s Fat Ass 50K Returns to In-Person Racing
Dog Bite Doesn’t Derail Ribeiro’s Title Defense at Fells 40-Miler
STONEHAM, Mass. – A year ago, Adam Ribeiro fended off a fierce challenge during the final miles before winning the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra 40-mile race by less than two minutes.
Ribeiro returned to defend his title on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Though the 31-year-old from Marlborough, Mass., once again faced a staunch challenge throughout the day, his biggest threat came from a four-legged trail-user who nearly upended Ribeiro’s race during the late miles.
Continue reading Dog Bite Doesn’t Derail Ribeiro’s Title Defense at Fells 40-Miler
Farnsworth Strikes it Big Twice at Fells 40 with Victory, WSER Lottery Selection
STONEHAM, Mass. – A year ago, Sophia Farnsworth closed out her ultra season with a victory at the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra in mid-November. That set the tone for 2022 and what would be the biggest season of her life.
Farnsworth opened the year by taking on her first 100-miler – the grueling Hellbender 100 in North Carolina – and earned a top-10 finish. She followed that up in August with a top-five performance at the Twisted Branch 100K in New York. The Fells Winter Ultra marked the final race of her season on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation and Farnsworth once again hoped to end with a win.
Continue reading Farnsworth Strikes it Big Twice at Fells 40 with Victory, WSER Lottery SelectionMassUltra Roundup: Hellgate, Freight Train, Hitchcock, and Blaze Pioneer
As the 2022 ultramarathon racing season nears its conclusion a handful of runners from New England squeezed in one last race during the Dec. 10-11 weekend. Their winter effort paid off in a big way for a few of them with finishes on or near the podium. That included New Hampshire’s Leah Nicholson who earned a runner-up finish at the Hellgate 100K in Virginia, as well as Boston’s Bridget Gormley who came within seconds of the podium at the Freight Train 50K in Virginia, and Maine’s Tyler Lupien who landed in the top five at his first 100-miler in Iowa. Those efforts and more are included in this edition of the roundup.
Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Hellgate, Freight Train, Hitchcock, and Blaze Pioneer
Richer, Wise Outrun the Rain to Win Fells Winter Ultra 32-Miler
STONEHAM, Mass. – In the days leading up to the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra, all eyes were on the forecast.
Continue reading Richer, Wise Outrun the Rain to Win Fells Winter Ultra 32-Miler
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