The Aug. 23-25 weekend wasn’t just jam-packed in the Northeast, it was also busy in the Midwest and West as New Englanders traveled great lengths to run great lengths at a variety of challenging races. We begin in Kansas, where John Sherback conquered the hot Heartland heat for a strong finish at the Hell Creek 50K. Then we swing through Ohio where Maine’s Beth Beaulieu earned her first 100-mile finish. From there, we head to Colorado for the Telluride Mountain Run 40-miler, and on to Oregon for the Oregon Cascades 100-miler. Additionally, a few New Englanders raced the Continental Divide 50K in Colorado and the Ute 100 in Utah; results from those races were unavailable at the time of publication.

Ultramarathons were aplenty in the Northeast during the Aug. 23-25 weekend, and we have them covered here in Part I of this week’s roundup. In Massachusetts, the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the ninth edition of the Jug End Loop Ultra 6-hour race, which will be covered in a separate recap. Beyond the Bay State, runners took on 50-mile and 50K distances at the Firebird Trail Races in Maine, several others hit the trails at a trio of ultras in New York, and a few more raced in New Jersey. Additionally, results are still coming in from about a half-dozen ultras in the Midwest and West where New Englanders toed the starting line, and we’ll have them covered in Part II.

The New England presence was strong at ultramarathons in the West during the Aug. 16-18 weekend. Here in Part II of this week’s roundup, we catch up on how New Englanders did at seven races out West, from Colorado to California, Oregon and Washington, to Wisconsin and Alberta. Plenty of reading awaits in this edition of the roundup.

The summertime ultramarathon calendar was hot during the Aug. 16-18 weekend as New Englanders took on trails from coast to coast. The main event in New England was the TARC Summer Classic where more than 100 runners took on 40-mile and 50K ultras or a 10-mile race on the trails of Noon Hill Reservation in Medfield, Mass. The Summer Classic has its own separate story, but so many runners scattered the country to race that we have all the rest captured in a two-part roundup. Part II will take us out West, but here in Part I we stay in the East, where runners took on the Fabulous Fahnestock 50K in New York and the MD Heat Trail Race 50K in Maryland.

Severe weather forced the cancellation of the Lover’s Lane Ultra in Vermont, but the running was undeterred in Rhode Island and Massachusetts during the August 9-11 weekend with the annual Anchor Down Ultra and the BURCS Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra. We’ll have Sweltering Summer covered in a separate story, but Anchor Down leads off this edition of the roundup, and we also catch up on runners from the region who had successes at several other ultras across the country.

New Hampshire and Maine were where the action was as the New England ultrarunning season rolled into August. Both states offered tough ultra challenges during the Aug. 2-4 weekend, with dozens of runners taking on one hard day of racing – or opting for all three – at the Ragged 75 Stage Race and 50K in New Hampshire. In Maine, Blue Hill took center stage with its second annual trail festival. Additionally, a few runners from the region headed to New Jersey and Louisiana to race. We have them all in this edition of the roundup.

A jam-packed July of ultrarunning came to a close during the July 26-28 weekend as New Englanders took on tough ultras from coast to coast and experienced a bit of everything – smooth singletrack, mud, technical rocks and roots, big climbs, heat, humidity, and high altitude. We begin in Vermont, where Samantha Stimac delivered her latest dominant performance at the Moosalamoo Ultra. Then we head to Ohio, where John Sherback earned 100-mile redemption at the Burning River 100. From there, we head to Colorado, where Patrick Boyle earned a podium finish at Grand Mesa, Tom Flummerfelt and Jeff Miner had big days at the Pikes Peak Ultra, and a handful of New Englanders raced at the Never Summer Ultras. Then we finish up further West where New Englanders finished the Crazy Mountain 100 in Montana and the Lost Sierra Ultras in California. Additionally, New Englanders took on the Magnificent Bastards Challenge in Vermont and the Wakely Dam Ultra in New York; results from those events were not available at the time of publication, but there’s still plenty to read in this edition of the roundup.

Hundreds of ultrarunners were busy racing locally in New England during the July 19-21 weekend, including at the Vermont 100, Jigger Johnson Ultras, and Spaulding Woods 50K. We had those events covered in Part I of this week’s roundup, along with Many on the Genny in New York. Here in Part II, we turn to the West where New Englanders tackled at least a half-dozen additional ultras. Most were mountain races, such as the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs in California, the Cascade Crest 100 in Washington, and the Ouray and High Lonesome 100s in Colorado, but runners also raced in Idaho and Arizona. We have them all covered here in Part II, beginning with a podium finish at Tahoe for South Deerfield’s Greg Tew.

July is typically quiet on the ultrarunning scene in Massachusetts, with just one in-state ultra on the calendar. But the Bay State goes big during that lone weekend, as was the case July 12-15 when the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to hundreds of ultrarunners for the multi-day Notchview Ultra in Windsor (separate recap article coming). Still, Notchview wasn’t the only event that attracted New Englanders. Runners scattered from coast to coast to tackle a wide range of ultras, and we’ve caught up with as many as possible in this edition of the roundup. Around 120 runners took part in the third annual Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine, though results from Back Cove are not yet available (perhaps they’re still running?). So we’ll start in nearby New York where a handful of runners from the region tackled the Great Hill Ultra. Then we’ll work our West, stopping in Colorado to catch up on New Englanders at the iconic Hardrock 100, before making it to the coast for a pair of races in Oregon and another in California. There’s plenty to read in this edition of the roundup.