When the Trail Animals Running Club announced the cancellation of the 2021 TARCtic Frozen Yeti, it was done with a promise.
“FROZEN YETI 2022 PROMISES TO BE AWESOME!” wrote Josh Katzman, who co-directs the race with Surjeet Paintal and Carolyn Shreck.
Continue reading TARCtic Frozen Yeti has Thawed, will Return in 2022The past two weeks have brought encouraging news regarding two COVID-19 vaccines potentially becoming available starting sometime in December for the most vulnerable of the population, with wider availability to the general public possibly by April 2021. Those same two weeks have also brought devastating news that the pandemic is taking its firmest grip yet on the United States with parts of the Bay State beginning to lock back down for the winter.
Continue reading Frozen Yeti is First 2021 Ultra Canceled Due to COVID-19WESTWOOD, Mass. – As the minutes ticked down before the 8 a.m. start of the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-hour ultra on Feb. 1-2, a crowd of 115 runners made their way from the cozy confines of Powisset Lodge to the starting line just a few yards away.
The starting line was no fancy blow-up arch, just a temporary marking from a foot-drag along the frost-covered ground. Within a few hours, the line would disappear, lost to the warming temperature and the footsteps of runners passing by on multiple trips through the three mini loops that made up the 15-mile clover-leaf course on Hale Reservation’s winding trail system. Continue reading Runners Enjoy Mild Weather, Big Miles at the Frozen Yeti
WESTWOOD, Mass. – The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on Feb. 1-2, 2020, at Hale Reservation. The following are a representative sample of photos from the race taken by MassUltra editor Chris Wristen. A full photo gallery with more than 200 pictures can be found on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link. Continue reading Photos: TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra and 15-mile trail races on Feb. 1-2 at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Continue reading Results: TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra
In the more than a month that has passed since the inaugural running of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti, the snow and ice on the trails has melted, disappeared, refallen and refrozen, and is in the process of melting once again.
Winter is beginning to release its grip on New England, so we’re taking one last look back at a first-year event that lived up to its name. Continue reading Reflections on the Frozen Yeti: Low on Heat, High on Heart
WESTWOOD, Mass. — Brian Burke strode through the door of Powissett Lodge, checked in with the timekeepers, and was about to grab a snack when he spotted a familiar face: William McElroy Jr.
It was early Saturday evening, Feb. 2, and both Burke and McElroy had already run 50 miles apiece — most of them solo — during the past 11 hours at the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra at Hale Reservation. The trail was covered in ice and snow, and the temperature hadn’t reached 30 degrees all day. Those 50 miles had been grueling.
This chance meeting in the event’s aid station was a game-changer. It was also uniquely appropriate. Continue reading Chance Meeting Sparks Friendship, 100-Mile Finishes for Burke, McElroy
WESTWOOD, Mass. – Shannon Obey can’t help but chuckle as she reflects on the early days of Hale Reservation’s relationship with the Trail Animals Running Club.
The Trail Animals had played host to their inaugural TARC 100 in June 2013. That year’s race took place in Weston, and it has lovingly gone down in TARC history as “the Mud-Fest.” The course took runners through a floodplain, and true to the word, the course flooded. Those who finished endured four 25-mile loops of post-holing in the mud and tromping through knee-deep water in some places.
Worried they’d wear out their welcome in Weston, the Trail Animals went looking for a new home for the race. Continue reading After Years of Intrigue, Hale Reservation Staff Embraces Its Inner Trail Animal
WESTWOOD, Mass. – A smile glowed on Carolyn Harper’s face and she raised her hands in the air as she ran the final strides toward Powissett Lodge. Friends cheered for her as she rounded the corner of the building, strode up the stairs and stepped through the door to check in.
One hundred miles were done. But was she? Continue reading Harper Victorious at Frozen Yeti with Help from Her Trail Animal Friends
Editor’s Note: This is the first of multiple follow-up stories from the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. Several additional stories are in the works and will be posted in the next few days.
WESTWOOD, Mass. – As registrations for the inaugural TARCtic Frozen Yeti began rolling in months ago and the ultramarathon sold out, entrants were cautioned that they should prepare for bitterly cold New England temperatures and snow. A mandatory gear list straight out of the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc was established.
To put it bluntly, runners knew what they were signing up for. Continue reading Runners Counter Ice, Cold with Spirit, Grit at Inaugural Frozen Yeti
