The Fourth of July weekend was relatively quiet on the North America ultrarunning scene, with just a handful of races for runners to choose from. One of those was in Vermont, where the Richmond Trail Running Club honored a local legend when it played host to the third edition of the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K. Additionally, several New Englanders headed north to Canada and took on a variety of distances at the rugged Quebec Mega-Trail, while a few more headed West to Colorado for some high-altitude fun at the Silver Rush 50 in Leadville. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.
Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K
The Richmond Trail Running Club played host to the third annual Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K on Saturday, July 6, in Richmond, Vt. Runners took on a mix of roads and trails through Huntington, Starksboro, Hinesburg and Richmond, starting at Brewster-Pierce Elementary School in Huntington and finishing at Cochran’s Ski and Bike Ara in Richmond.
Twenty-four runners started the race, and 20 finished within the 10-hour time limit – including 22-year-old Aidan Connolly of Emmaus, Pa., who set a new men’s course record with his winning time of 4:52:22. It was Connolly’s second ultra. Derek Taylor, 34, of Bolton, Valley, Vt., was second in 5:22:23 as part of his build-up to the Fat Dog 120 100K in British Columbia in August. Blake Ressler, 41, and William Wright, 23, both of Winooski, Vt., were third and fourth in 5:28:12 and 5:54:07, respectively. Bertram Johnson, 51, of Burlington, Vt., rounded out the top five in 6:02:21.
In the women’s race, 26-year-old Richmond local Claudia Sacks earned the win in 6:05:23. It was her third ultra and first win. She placed third at the Big Brad Ultras 50K in Maine in October 2023. Jenn Cadorette, 33, of West Bolton, Vt., was second in 7:04:00. It was a 32-minute improvement for Cadorette, who was third in 2023. Rachel Balinski, 30, of Bristol, Vt., was the third female finisher in 7:11:36.
Another 37 runners completed the 26K race on a course consisting of three miles of road and 13 miles of trail. Nick Underwood, 31, of Queensbury, N.Y., led the men’s field in 2:31:31 and the event’s namesake – 44-year-old Aliza Lapierre of Richmond, Vt. – topped the women’s field in 2:57:56.
Quebec Mega-Trail
No matter the ultramarathon distance attempted, big climbs and gnarly trails greeted all of the runners in the 100-mile, 110K, 80K and 50K ultras at the Quebec Mega-Trail festival on July 4-7 in Beaupre, Quebec. Big and burly, the trails from Baie-Saint-Paul to Mont Saint-Anne battered the runners and forced hundreds to withdraw early, regardless of the distance. By the time the weekend was done, the Canadian runners had dominated the podium in their home country – but two Americans escaped with victories. One was Ryan Sullivan of Grand Junction, Colo, who was victorious in the 80K. The other was a New Englander: Eric LiPuma.
LiPuma, of Richmond, Vt., earned the most dramatic finish of the weekend when he outkicked Canadian Marcus Ribi to the finish line of the 50K race after battling for 52 kilometers and more than 7,500 feet of climbing against a field of more than 500 runners. LiPuma’s winning time of 4:50:35 surpassed Ribi by 22 seconds and also set a new course record. In the women’s race, Canadian Alex Castonguay won in 6:16:25 and also set a course record. Joanna Fortier of Richmond, Vt., also had a big day, placing seventh in the women’s field in 6:38:50. Three more New Englanders also earned 50K finishes. Laura Neal of Middlebury, Conn., was the 58th female finisher in 9:18:27. Jonathan Uribe of Biddeford, Maine, placed 112th in the men’s field in 7:46:01, and Sam Brockelbank of Portland, Maine, was 148th in 8:19:14.
In the 80K, Sullivan topped the men’s field in 8:23:49 and Canadian Genevieve Asselin-Demers was the women’s champion in 9:35:21 on a course with around 11,000 feet of climbing. Nick Downs of Windham, Maine, was the only New Englander to finish in the men’s field, placing 108th in 14:55:09. Three Maine women also were among the 80K finishers. Biddeford’s Jana Kenney placed 25th in 15:33:06, while Rockport’s Lindsay Power and Lincolnville’s Ramona Larsen finished together in 16:20:13.
The 110K race tested runners with 15,000 feet of climbing on technical terrain. Though a pair of Canadians swept the podium – David Savard-Gagnon led the men in 12:29:23 and Dania Belisle was the first female in 16:03:29 – Samantha Stimac came within minutes of becoming the third American champion at the event. Stimac, of Wells River, Vt., was the women’s runner-up in 16:05:40 – just two minutes behind.
Two New England men finished the 110K race, and both had strong showings. Ryan Williams of Concord, Mass., placed 13th in 15:49:50, and Chris Coughlin of Paxton, Mass., finished 38th in 20:13:32.
Just 99 runners finished the 100-mile race and its 21,000+ feet of climbing, including multiple trips to the summit of Mont-Saint-Anne. Just five finished sub-24. Canadians Jean-Francois CAuchon and Anne Champagne were the men’s and women’s winners in 19:01:28 and 24:28:27, respectively, and both set course records. Two New England men also conquered the brutal course, with Michael Yanchuk of Chepachet, R.I., placing 17th in the men’s field in 29:40:22, and Timothy Lock of Hope, Maine, placing 30th in 31:30:45.
Leadville Silver Rush 50
Fifty miles at altitude – nearly all of it above 10,000 feet – lured hundreds of runners to the latest edition of the Silver Rush 50-miler on Sunday, July 7, in Leadville, Colo. Runners took on an out-and-back course with several big climbs, including multiple trips above 12,000 feet, along the way to finishing.
David Roche, 36, of Boulder, Colo., and Mary Denholm, 37, of Erie, Colo., finished 1-4 overall and won the men’s and women’s races in 6:18:26 and 7:04:51, respectively. They were among the 497 finishers within the 14-hour time limit, a group that included eight New Englanders.
Timothy Faulkner, 26, of Stratham, N.H., was the fastest runner from the region. He finished 145th overall in 10:33:04. Michael McLaughlin, 62, of Needham, Mass., was next, finishing 266th in 11:44:44. Kellie Brown, 54, of Bridgepart, Conn., and Cory Powell, 35, of Nashua, N.H., were 332nd and 341st overall in 12:17:03 and 12:21:00, respectively. Russ Mitchell, 61, of Fairfield, Conn., Trish Higgins, 38, of Cumberland Foreside, Maine, and Charles Spiess, 54, of Old Greenwich, Conn., finished moments apart, with Mitchell placing 417th in 13:06:10, Higgins 420th in 13:07:19, and Spiess 427th in 13:11:00. Olivia Carrick, 49, of Westwood, Mass., earned a Golden Hour finish, beating the cutoff by a few minutes as the 486th finisher in 13:53:25.
*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.
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