The third annual Womp Romp 10-miler and second edition of the 50K took place on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, Mass. Runners took on a 10.5-mile loop course on a mixture of surfaces – singletrack trails, doubletrack, fire roads, cross country grass, and pavement – either one or three times depending on the distance. Temperatures in the upper 50s made for comfortable running despite a light drizzle falling for the first four hours that eventually transitioned to a steady rain.
Continue reading Results: Womp RompTag Archives: Massachusetts
Rain Ravages Runners at Grueling Midstate Massive
The Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile race course is daunting during the best of conditions. It is front-loaded with climbing, the majority of it on rugged, technical singletrack trails where the footing is tricky and progress is often slow. The back half has several miles of road, so runners who’ve made it that far can try to pick up the pace, only to then be smacked with even more technical trails during the late miles in Douglas State Forest.
The event earned its reputation during mostly dry conditions through its first four years. The fifth edition of the race – which took place Oct. 7-8 – took course conditions to a diabolical new level as rain drenched the course, making rocks extra slippery and turning portions of the trail into rivers.
Continue reading Rain Ravages Runners at Grueling Midstate MassiveResults: Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail
The fifth annual Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile trail races took place Oct. 7-8, 2023, on point-to-point courses starting in New Ipswich, N.H., as well as Rutland and Spencer, Mass., with all three distances finishing at Douglas State Forest in Douglas, Mass.
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Runners Conquer Revamped Course at Free to Run Trail Races
A few new surprises were in store for runners at the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) Free to Run Trail Races this year.
The event still raises funds to support Free to Run, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to enable women and girls in conflict regions to engage in physical and outdoor activities. That part of the event was unchanged.
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Kaplan Outlasts Everyone for Victory at MetroWest Backyard Ultra
NEEDHAM, Mass. – At its core, the format of the backyard ultra is rooted in simplicity: a set distance, a set time, repeated over and over again.
For runners at the second annual MetroWest Backyard Ultra, that simplicity may have been summed up best by the official race timepiece. There was no fancy digital clock next to a blow-up arch. Instead, there was a classic plastic circular clock with hands on it to track the hours, minutes and seconds.
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Photos: MetroWest Backyard Ultra
he Needham Running Club played host to the second annual MetroWest Backyard Ultra on Sept. 16-17 at the Needham Town Forest in Needham, Mass. A full gallery by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen can be viewed here. An additional photo gallery by Adam Hoffman can be viewed here.
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Results: MetroWest Backyard Ultra
The Needham Running Club played host to the second annual MetroWest Backyard Ultra – known in 2022 as the Needham Backyard Ultra – on Sept. 16-17 at the Needham Town Forest in Needham, Mass. Despite weather warnings due to a hurricane, race conditions were mild and comfortable as 30 runners took on a 4.17-mile loop course with a new loop starting on the hour, every hour, until one runner remained.
Continue reading Results: MetroWest Backyard UltraResults: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
The eighth edition of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) Free to Run Trail Races took place Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. This year’s event included a redesigned course and new distances. The traditional 50-miler remained, but the marathon and half marathons were replaced with 50K, 25K and 15K distances.
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Storm Delay Doesn’t Dampen TARC Fall Classic
CARLISLE, Mass. – Thunderstorms and fallen branches forced a delayed start to the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Fall Classic as wind gusts littered the trail in debris and knocked down power lines that blocked roads to the trailhead.
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Photos: TARC Fall Classic
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the 11th edition of the TARC Fall Classic on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle, Mass. The following are a small sample of photos from the day taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery of 325 photos can be viewed here.
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