Boston resident Laura Ricci headed west to Washington state to have a family reunion run at the Chuckanut 50K. Meanwhile, former Boston resident Joe McConaughy journeyed from Seattle back east to Tennessee where the FKT phenom made his debut appearance at the notorious Barkley Marathons. Additionally, New England ultrarunners represented at ultras in North Carolina and California during the March 18-19 weekend, and we have them all included in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Chuckanut, Barkley, Cape Fear, Sycamore Canyon, and MST →

From desert trails to sandy coastal dunes, to wooded trails just outside of big cities, several New England ultrarunners found scenic places to race during the March 10-12 weekend. A few of them returned home with podium finishes added to their ultra resumes. That included a 50-mile victory by Massachusetts’ Matthew Geary and a runner-up finish by Connecticut’s Caitlin Roston at the Squatchapple Trail Races in nearby New Jersey, as well as a third-place finish by Rhode Island’s Samantha Jorgensen at the Old West Trails 50K in California in her ultra debut. Those speedy performances lead off this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Squatchapple, Old West, Griffith Park, Antelope Canyon, and Siuslaw Dunes →

As March arrived in New England, a new round of cold weather swept the region. Several ultrarunners avoided the colder temperatures, opting for warmer weather destinations to race during the March 3-5 weekend. From Nevada and the Jackpot Ultra Festival, to Delano Park in Alabama, to Arizona’s Old Pueblo Endurance Runs and the women-only No Man’s 50K in Virginia, we have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Jackpot, Delano Park, Old Pueblo, and No Man’s 50K →

February is traditionally one of the quietest months of the ultrarunning calendar, especially here in New England. Sure, several folks were willing to endure the sub-zero conditions of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra, but many of them were decked out in ski gear to combat the temperature. That made sense since … well … it’s still ski season. More than 100 New Englanders took that to heart during the Feb. 10-11 weekend when they took part in the fourth edition of the Last Skier Standing ultra ski race in Rumford, Maine. Additionally, several New Englanders took part in the Snow Devil Snowshoe Ultra 100-miler and 100K on Feb. 10-11 in Vermont and the Endurance Society’s Frigus Snowshoe Festival 30-Hour Ultra on Feb. 17-18 in New York, though results were unavailable for either event as of this posting. Not content to stick around the Northeast for winter ultra action, a number of New Englanders headed to Arizona on Feb. 18-19 to take on the trails of the Sonoran Desert at the Black Canyon Ultras. A bit of cold weather action and some warm weather fun are featured in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Last Skier Standing and Black Canyon Ultras →

February is traditionally one of the quietest months of the ultrarunning calendar, especially here in New England. Sure, several folks were willing to endure the sub-zero conditions of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra, but beyond that the ultrarunning calendar is mighty quiet. Still, while folks were battling the cold at the Frozen Yeti, there were several New Englanders who opted for warmer climates to race during the Feb. 4-5 weekend. A handful of New Englanders raced the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in Texas and another competed at a 50K in California’s Bay Area. We have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Rocky Raccoon and Golden Gate →

Ultramarathon racing in New England has been relatively quiet thus far in 2023, but it has already been a busy year for runners from the region who are willing to travel. January closed out with a busy weekend for ultrarunners from the region as they traveled to nearby New York, far-away California and Utah, and a handful of other destinations throughout the country to race. We may have missed a few, but we have several of them covered in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Fort Ord, Beast of Burden, Sean O’Brien, AZT Oracle Rumble, Angela Ivory, and Arches Ultra →

Snow has started making its way into New England, and a handful of ultrarunners from the region headed for warmer climates to race during the Jan. 14-15 weekend. A few headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands, including Maine’s Nikolas Franks who capped the trip with a course-record performance. Others traveled south to Florida for the Long Haul 100, while a few more traveled to Hawaii and Arizona for 100-mile ultras, including Rhode Island’s Justin Hetherington who raced to a podium finish at the Coldwater Rumble. Those warmer weather races produced some feel-good results for New Englanders, and we have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: St. Croix Scenic, Coldwater Rumble, HURT, and Long Haul →

Bandera, Texas, was the main attraction for North American ultrarunning during the Jan. 7-8 weekend, and a handful of New Englanders were there to join in the fun, including Vermont’s Kasie Enman and Massachusetts’ Elena Horton who secured top-10 finishes in the 100K. Additionally, Vermont’s Nigel Bates traveled to North Carolina and brought home a 50K victory, and New Hampshire’s Kerri Haskins kicked off the year with a 50K in Virginia. The 2023 season is off to a fast start, and we have it covered in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Bandera, South Mountains, and Sandy Bottom →

The 2022 ultrarunning season is officially over and 2023 is under way. A handful of New Englanders seized one last opportunity to log a 2022 ultra or opened the new season in its earliest hours by taking on events between Dec. 28, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023. For Sudbury’s Seng-Lai Tan, that meant a trip to Alabama for 100K ultra in the final hours of the year. For several others, that meant a trip west to Arizona for the multi-day Across the Years Endurance Festival. We have both of those events covered as we close out 2022 and welcome in 2023 in this edition of the roundup.

Across the Years

Seven New England residents closed out 2022 and welcomed in 2023 with successful races in a variety of the distance and time-based offerings at the Across the Years Endurance Festival from Dec. 28, 2022 – Jan. 3, 2023, at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Ariz.

The pioneering fixed-time, multi-day ultramarathon running event has been held annually since 1983, with the exception of two years ago when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 38th edition offered 6-day, 72-hour, 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour, 6-hour, 100-mile, marathon and last person standing races, all of them on a 1.686219-kilometer dirt path.

New Englanders competed in the 6-day, 100-mile, last person standing, 24-hour and 12-hour races, and a few of them were among the top performers.

Eojin Kim of Somerville, Mass., had the biggest performance of the New England contingent. The 24-year-old was among 67 participants in the 6-day race, and he finished fifth overall with 348.902 miles. Two runners surpassed the 400-mile mark with 40-year-old Budjargal Byambaa of Bellevue, Wash., topping the men’s field with 463.108 miles and 50-year-old Annabel Hepworth of Sydney, Australia, leading the women with 403.386 miles. For Kim, it was the final big performance in a year where he also completed the Silverheels 100 in Colorado, the Rio Del Lago 100-miler in California and the Bigfoot 200-miler. Kim is entered in the Triple Crown of 200s for 2023.

Joining Kim in the 6-day race was 66-year-old Scott Perrapato of South Burlington, Vt., who finished 29th overall with 201.169 miles.

Two other big performances from New Englanders came in the last person standing and 12-hour races where the women’s champions hailed from the region. Liz Derstine, 37, of Melrose, Mass., finished fourth overall out of 20 runners in the last person standing race and led the women’s field with 108.96 miles. It was her first time racing the last person standing format and first time achieving the 100-mile mark. Five runners surpassed 100 miles, led by 51-year-old Paul Nielsen of Wellington, Colo., with 140.39 miles.

In the 12-hour race, 24-year-old Krista Fasciano of Berlin, Conn., was the women’s winner and third overall finisher out of 23 runners with 55.531 miles. Mark Hammond, 37, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, led all runners with 74.290 miles.

In the 100-mile race, 52-year-old Gregory Legier of Biddeford, Maine, finished 15th out of 33 runners in 30:57:19. Additionally, two New England residents were among the 154 participants in the 24-hour race with 44-year-old Mike Kendra of Cranston, R.I., finishing 57.626 miles and 71-year-old Gordon Smith of East Winthrop, Maine, completing 32.48 miles. 

Run Undead Ultra Trail Party

Seng-Lai Tan closed out 2022 in style with one final ultramarathon in the closing hours of the year. Tan, 51, of Sudbury, Mass., took part in the inaugural Run Undead Ultra Trail Party on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, in Pelham, Ala. The event – which billed itself as an “All Night Rave in Guise of a Trail Race!” –  offered 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile and 50K ultra distances on a flat 5-mile loop course through Oak Mountain State Park.

Tan was the lone New England resident in the field. He was one of three 100K finishers, completing the distance in 17:49:00. Yuri Force, 39, Newnan, Ga., led the way in 13:29:50, followed by 25-year-old Emily White of Grovetown, Ga., in 14:39:20.

Another 16 runners completed 100 miles, 16 finished 50 miles, and an additional 17 completed the 50K.

*Editor’s Note: Results are found on a variety of sites, including ultrasignup.com, UltraRunning Magazine, and official race websites. We do the best we can to find as many results as possible to report on and recognize the local ultrarunning community.

As the 2022 ultramarathon racing season nears its conclusion a handful of runners from New England squeezed in one last race during the Dec. 10-11 weekend. Their winter effort paid off in a big way for a few of them with finishes on or near the podium. That included New Hampshire’s Leah Nicholson who earned a runner-up finish at the Hellgate 100K in Virginia, as well as Boston’s Bridget Gormley who came within seconds of the podium at the Freight Train 50K in Virginia, and Maine’s Tyler Lupien who landed in the top five at his first 100-miler in Iowa. Those efforts and more are included in this edition of the roundup.

Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Hellgate, Freight Train, Hitchcock, and Blaze Pioneer →