In Massachusetts, the July 7-9 weekend meant a packed course at Notchview Reservation in Windsor where the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the multi-day Notchview Ultra. We’ll have that covered in a separate story, but Notchview wasn’t the only popular draw for New England ultrarunners. Two other New England events – the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Maine and the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K in Vermont – also attracted strong turnouts and saw some big performances. Additionally, a few runners from the region ventured beyond New England to take on ultras in Maryland, Oregon and Colorado. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

With the July 4 holiday on the horizon, the June 30-July 2 weekend was largely quiet for New England ultrarunners with only two local ultras in the region and just a handful of folks heading beyond the region to race. Several runners took on six hours of loops in Ansonia, Conn., where Northampton’s Eric Ciocca raced to victory. Others headed to Vermont for the Mt. Sparta 24-Hour Challenge (results from that event are unavailable as of this posting). Additionally, a few New Englanders traveled north across the border to Canada for hard-earned finishes of various distances of the Quebec Mega-Trail ultras. We have them covered in this short edition of the roundup.

When Jenny Hoffman stepped to the starting line of her 24-hour race at Six Days in the Dome in Wisconsin, she was laser-focused on locking up a position on the United States 24-Hour National Team. By the time the clock expired, the resident of Cambridge, Mass., had turned in the race of her life, earned a victory and surged into one of the top qualifying positions for Team USA with one week remaining in the qualification period. While Hoffman’s big effort during the June 16-24 event was one of the most remarkable performances by a New England ultrarunner during the past week, she was far from the only one racing. We highlighted results from several events in the Northeast in a previous roundup, and this one showcases Hoffman’s effort in the Midwest as well as those by a handful of New England residents who took on tough races out west in Colorado, Oregon and Utah.

All eyes were on Western States during the June 24-25 weekend … well, not all eyes, but most of them in the ultrarunning world. There were plenty of other ultras taking place in both the west and here in the east. In fact, there were so many New England ultrarunners racing throughout the country that covering it all merited a two-roundup week – plus a separate writeup on Western States. In this first roundup we catch up on how runners from New England fared at ultras in the Northeast. That included a pair of Massachusetts residents reclaiming titles at the gnarly Manitou’s Revenge in New York. We also catch up on the Catamount 50K in Vermont, the Gunstock TrailFest in New Hampshire, and Midnight Squatchapalooza in New Jersey.

Western States week is upon us and several New England residents are preparing to take on the sport’s original 100-mile race through the mountains in California. But before the WSER hype hits its fever pitch, let’s look back at the June 16-18 weekend when several New England residents took on trail adventures throughout the country. A handful of runners from the region overcame the big climbs of Wyoming to complete the Bighorn 100, including Massachusetts resident Jason Baker and Vermont’s Felix Lawson who earned top-10 finishes. In New York, New Englanders’ swept the top three spots at the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra, and in Washington State a pair of Massachusetts women tackled their first ultra while others from New England completed the tough 46K mini-ultra at the Broken Arrow Skyrace. All of those are included in this edition of the roundup.

June 10-11 was a busy weekend for New England ultrarunners. Here in the region, runners took on the tough and technical Drummer Hill Trail Race in New Hampshire and the Centurion Ultra Trail Event in Connecticut. Additionally, a handful of runners in Rhode Island took on the Last Human Standing race. Results were unavailable as of this posting. Beyond the region, runners had big days racing on the West Coast at the SAMO 100, in the Midwest at Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin, as well as in Virginia at the Windsor Castle 10-hour. All of those events are included in this edition of the roundup.

The May ultrarunning calendar came to a close with a handful of New England events that attracted hundreds of runners for ultra and sub-ultra distances. That included the CT Trailmixers’ Spring Fling 600 in Connecticut, a 10-hour endurance challenge, as well as the popular Pineland Farms Trail Festival in Maine. Additionally, Infinitus offered an assortment of ultra-distance and multi-day options in Vermont. All three of these regional events are featured in this edition of the roundup.

May is winding down quickly and May 20-21 was a mostly quiet weekend of ultramarathon racing in New England. The Run Ragged Last One Standing was the lone race in the region, and runners traveled to a few other ultras along the East Coast. Most notably, nine New Englanders earned finishes at the Massanutten 100-miler in Virginia, including Fairhaven’s Kevin Mullen who completed the challenging race for the seventh time. Additionally, Marblehead’s Kate Cook successfully finished the 50-miler at the Dirty German Endurance Fest in her final tune-up before running Western States next month. Those efforts lead off this edition of the roundup.

Part I of our May 13-14 weekend roundup focused on ultras beyond New England. Here in Part II, we catch up on results from three New England ultras beyond the Bay State. Each saw some big performances by runners from the region. In Connecticut, Clorice Reinhardt and Jenny Hoffman turned in the top two women’s times in course history at the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health. In New Hampshire, the men’s and women’s course records fell at the Manchester 2 Monadnock 55-miler. And in Vermont, runners gutted out hard-earned finishes at 100 miles, 50 miles and 50K at the Blood Root Ultra. Read on to learn more about it.