Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Cape Cod

New Champions Crowned at Cape Cod 50K

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One thing was certain when runners gathered at the starting line for the Cape Cod Trail Race 50K on Sunday, April 8: the outcome would be different from any of the four prior editions of the race.

Rob Levy and Kara Spera – back-to-back winners in 2016 and 2017 – weren’t in the field this year. Neither were 2015 winners Jake Dissinger and Anne-Marie Monette nor 2014 winners Eric Ahern and Kelly Manchester. That cleared the path for new champions to be crowned. Continue reading New Champions Crowned at Cape Cod 50K →

TARC

Snow-Packed Trails Test Runners Again at To Hale and Back

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WESTWOOD, Mass. – The To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra was born of the best intentions. Specifically, those intentions were to avoid the snow.

Originally known as the Spring Thaw and held in mid-March, the Trail Animals Running Club’s season-opening event enjoyed a few years of seasonably good weather. In 2015, however, a late-winter snowstorm pummeled Massachusetts for weeks on end. When all was said and done, more than seven feet of snow had fallen, and runners at the Spring Thaw found themselves at times a foot or two above the actual trail because the snowpack was so thick. Following that year, the Trail Animals pushed the race back a few weeks, changed venues from Andover to Hale Reservation, and rebranded as To Hale and Back with hopes of benefitting from a legitimate thaw. Continue reading Snow-Packed Trails Test Runners Again at To Hale and Back →

Chesterfield Gorge

New 100-Mile Race Coming to Western Mass

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For ultrarunners seeking a 100-mile race in Massachusetts, 2017 was a lonely season.

The Bay State was home to a triple-digit solo distance run from 2013-2016 with the TARC 100, but the Trail Animals Running Club mothballed the event after struggling to attract sufficient interest. It seemed runners’ intensified focus on select races that serve as lottery qualifiers for some of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious 100s, combined with a surge of new 100-mile offerings nationwide, diluted interest in the event.

The website run100s.com maintains a listing of the 100-milers in North America. Currently, it lists 159 100-milers. Not included on that list is a new Massachusetts 100-miler that will make its debut in 2018 and has quietly garnered attention through social media. The inaugural Chesterfield Gorge Ultra will take place June 2-3 at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation in Chesterfield, Mass. Continue reading New 100-Mile Race Coming to Western Mass →

Cape Cod

No Freeze, but Plenty of Chill at the Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K

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BARNSTABLE, Mass. – The sun was already shining high above Cape Cod Bay when the cars started trickling into the parking lot at Sandy Neck Beach. It wasn’t long before the lot was nearly full of cars, many adorned with bumper stickers boasting of the long distances the drivers had run, races they’d conquered, or mountains they’d climbed.

On this day, however, they weren’t here to earn another sticker or shiny medal. Instead, they were in Barnstable to log some long miles, gauge their levels of toughness and grit, and enjoy a hearty supply of camaraderie. Continue reading No Freeze, but Plenty of Chill at the Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K →