STONEHAM, Mass. – For most of the 111 runners who took on either the 32- or 40-mile races at the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 2, the most difficult part of the event was the four or five laps they ran around the rocky, rooty, leaf-blanketed Skyline Trail at the Middlesex Fells Reservation.
For one of them, however, the toughest part was simply getting there. Continue reading Globe-Trotting Thompson Savors Homecoming Run at Fells Winter Ultra
STONEHAM, Mass. –Barely two minutes had passed since Michael Pulli finished the Fells Winter Ultra 32-miler on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation, and Pulli stood near the finish line applauding as his closest competitor blazed across the finish line.
“That guy was coming on strong!” Pulli said, praising the performance of Marek Telus. Continue reading Pulli Enjoys Hard-Earned Victory on Home Turf
STONEHAM, Mass. – Roos Karssemeijer planned to stay home on Saturday, Nov. 2, rather than running the 32-mile race at the Trail Animals Running Club’s annual Fells Winter Ultra.
The prior two weeks had been busy, between work and a cross-country trip to run an ultramarathon in California, so she was exhausted. Besides, the friend she’d signed up to run with had to cancel. Continue reading After Arm-Twisting, Karssemeijer Races, Wins Fells 32-Miler
STONEHAM, Mass. – Emily Rose had a few simple goals for the Fells Winter Ultra 40-miler, and none of them involved winning.
“Today I wanted to not get timed out; I didn’t want to DNF because of time,” she said. “My next goal was I didn’t want to need to have a headlamp, and I just wanted to not be hurting a lot – which I wasn’t. I actually felt really good!” Continue reading No Headlamp Necessary: Rose Outruns Darkness, Others in Fells 40-Mile Victory
STONEHAM, Mass. – Isaac Burleigh hasn’t lived in Massachusetts for very long – he moved to Somerville from Socorro, N.M., in September – but he spent his first two months in town exploring the trails of the Middlesex Fells Reservation.
Burleigh ultimately made the Fells his first trail race in Massachusetts. He joined 27 other runners in taking on the 40-mile race at the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 2. The Fells has dozens of miles of trails winding throughout the more than 2,200-acre reservation. The race consisted of five eight-mile loops of the Skyline Trail and took runners over the reservation’s biggest climbs and some of its most technical sections. Continue reading Burleigh Delivers Strong Performance in Massachusetts Debut, Wins Fells 40-Miler
The following are just a few of the nearly 200 photos we have from the 2017 Fells Winter Ultra. To view the full gallery on the MassUltra Facebook page, click here. Continue reading Photo Gallery: Fells Winter Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the Fells Winter Ultra 40-mile and 32-mile trail ultramarathons on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Sixteen runners finished the 40-mile race, and 66 finished the 32-mile race. Continue reading Results: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
STONEHAM, Mass. – For those unfamiliar with the Middlesex Fells Reservation, the course description for the Trail Animals Running Club’s sixth annual Fells Winter Ultra might come across as a race director’s attempt to tease runners with a tantalizing portrayal of trail conditions that couldn’t possibly be as daunting as described.
“A nightmarish course of rocks and roots with a bit of elevation thrown in,” the description says of the eight-mile loop of the Skyline Trail, which 32-mile competitors circle four times and 40-mile competitors get to enjoy a fifth time.
Still, the Middlesex Fells resides just six miles north of downtown Boston and is surrounded by suburbs. How tough could the course really be?
Plenty tough, actually. Continue reading Tough Trails, Tougher Runners at the Fells Winter Ultra
MassUltra 