The Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual Fells Winter Ultra 40-mile and 32-mile trail ultramarathons on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. It was a cold, snow-packed event, and Jon McInerney and Jeff LeBlanc shared the following photos from the event. Continue reading Photos: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
After 8 Years, Morton and Slater’s Western States Wait is Over
Western States lottery day is cruel to most, and Tom Morton and Scott Slater know that feeling as well as anyone. Morton, 42, of Chicopee, Mass., and Slater, 41, of Guilford, Conn., were two of nine ultrarunners in the lottery for a record eighth consecutive year. Nobody has tried longer than them to gain a spot at the starting line of the Western States Endurance Run, the sport’s original 100-mile footrace. Continue reading After 8 Years, Morton and Slater’s Western States Wait is Over
Results: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual Fells Winter Ultra 40-mile and 32-mile trail ultramarathons on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Runners in the 40-mile race tackled five eight-mile loops of the Skyline Trail, while runners in the 32-mile race had to complete four loops. Continue reading Results: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
MassUltra Roundup: Delirium and Bosque Bigfoot
Thanksgiving weekend always features a light ultrarunning calendar in the United States with just a handful of ultras scattered around the country. Two of those events included New England representation, however, and one of them saw a Massachusetts man finish on the podium. Woburn’s Roy Van Buren secured a third-place overall finish in the 12-hour race at Delirium in South Carolina to highlight the weekend, while Cambridge’s Matthew Smith raced to a top-10 finish at the Bosque Bigfoot 50K in New Mexico. Those races provided for some light reading in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Delirium and Bosque Bigfoot
Western States Dreams to be Decided in Lottery for 165 Ultrarunners from New England
The 47th annual Western States Endurance Run won’t take place until June 27-28, 2020, when 369 runners will once again toe the starting line of ultrarunning’s original 100-miler in Squaw Valley, Calif., and journey through mountains and over singletrack trails to the finish line on the Placer High School track in Auburn, Calif. The first round of excitement for the race always cranks up seven months early, however, with the lottery that will determine the fates of thousands of Western States hopefuls.
Continue reading Western States Dreams to be Decided in Lottery for 165 Ultrarunners from New England
MassUltra Roundup: JFK, Dinosaur Valley, and Icarus UltraFest
With Thanksgiving just a few days away, several ultrarunners from New England sought out opportunities to burn a bunch of calories prior to the big holiday feast. Most headed to Maryland for the classic JFK, and two Massachusetts women, Somerville’s Sarah Aponte and Boston’s Kate Mingle earned top-10 finishes, as did Vermont’s Alexander Jinks. Additionally, Eric Despres of Gardner, Mass., earned his second straight podium finish at the Dinosaur Valley 100 in Texas, and Westminster’s Will Bradley tallied 200 miles in Florida at the Icarus UltraFest. All of those feats are highlighted in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: JFK, Dinosaur Valley, and Icarus UltraFest
Cold Takes a Toll on Runners, Coffee at TARCkey Trot
WINCHESTER, Mass. — Below-freezing temperatures took a toll on runners at the Trail Animals Running Club’s fourth annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Wright-Locke Farm, but the first casualty was the coffee. Continue reading Cold Takes a Toll on Runners, Coffee at TARCkey Trot
MassUltra Roundup: Chimera, TNFEC-San Francisco, and Dead Horse
While the TARCkey Trot (separate article) attracted the largest crowd of New England ultrarunners to Wright-Locke Farm in Massachusetts during the Nov. 16-17 weekend, a few runners from the region headed West to tackle new trails. None had a bigger day than Kara Olivito who won the Chimera 100K outright in California. Several others took part in the North Face Endurance Challenge championship races in California, while others raced the 50-miler or 50K at Dead Horse in Moab, Utah. Those races are included in this week’s brief roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Chimera, TNFEC-San Francisco, and Dead Horse
Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fourth-annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra and 5K on the trails of Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass., and neighboring Whipple Hill on Saturday, Nov. 16. The following are a small sample of photos from the day. A full gallery of 123 photos can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link. Continue reading Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fourth annual TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra and 5K trail races on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Mass., and the trails of neighboring Whipple Hill. Runners had six hours to complete a 3.1-mile loop as many times as they could, with only completed loops counting. Continue reading Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
MassUltra 