With two trail ultramarathons in Massachusetts on Saturday, April 22 – the TARC Spring Classic in Weston and the inaugural Spring Fever 8-Hour in Hingham – hundreds of New Englanders were racing locally. That fact alone made it seem probable that the region’s runners would have minimal presence at starting lines at other races throughout the country. It turned out the exact opposite was true as runners from the region took on trails of at least seven other ultras scattered among both coasts. In fact, so many folks were racing that this week merits another two-roundup week. Here in Part One we focus on the out-of-state ultras in the East, from nearby Connecticut and the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour, to the Hyner View 50K in Pennsylvania and the Dunes 50K in Florida. In Part Two, we’ll round up the results from out West.

The April 15-16 weekend was so busy for New England ultrarunners that it merited two roundups. Yesterday’s roundup featured notable performances at the Traprock 50K in Connecticut and the Runamuck 50K in Vermont. Today’s roundup highlights New England ultrarunners’ performances at ultras beyond the region, from Virginia to Arizona, and New York to Alabama, with Westfield, Mass., resident Zach Medeiros’ podium finish at the James River Trail Runs leading off.

It’s mid-April and not only is the weather heating up, but so is the ultrarunning calendar. For New England ultrarunners, that meant April 15-16 was a jam-packed weekend – so busy, in fact, that it merits two roundups. Here in part one we highlight the races that took place here in the region, where Massachusetts residents Matt Pacheco and Kehr Davis earned victories at the grueling Traprock 50K in Connecticut and Bay Stater Mead Binhammer and Vermont’s Dylan Broderick earned victories at the Runamuck 50K in Vermont.

The Massachusetts ultrarunning schedule began its April ramp-up during the April 8-9 weekend as Amy Rusiecki’s Beast Coast Trail Running Series kicked off with the annual Mt. Toby 50K Ultra and 24K trail races. More than 150 runners took part in the two distances. Still, several New England ultrarunners ventured beyond the Bay State to race during the weekend – including a pair who made their ultra debuts out west. Sam Randall of Amherst, Mass., burst onto the ultra scene with a top-10 performance at the Diablo Trails Challenge 50K in California, and Uyenphuong Nguyen of Cambridge, Mass., battled for a hard-earned finish at the scenic and tough Smith Rock Ascent 50K in Oregon. Additionally, a number of other runners from the region flocked to Bear Mountain, N.Y., for the second annual Big Bear Squatch North. We’ve got them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

April opened with a bang for several New England ultrarunners with trips to events throughout the country. No race was a more popular draw than the Gorge Waterfalls Ultras in Oregon where several runners from the region took on either the 100K or 50K distances on singletrack trails through the spectacular Columbia River Gorge. Also out west, Maine’s Gordon Collins reunited with old friends and took in the warm weather and smooth singletrack of California at the Placer Trail Running Festival. And in the heartland, Tiffany Woodger of Granville, Mass., earned her first 100-mile finish at Vernal Equinox. Those efforts and more are included in this edition of the roundup.

There was a popular local attraction for New England ultrarunners during the March 25-26 weekend as the Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra. Still, the allure of options beyond New England was alluring for several runners from the region. Several local runners earned podium finishes at the Spring On the Trails Endurance Runs in New York, with Massachusetts residents Matt Pacheco and Brenda Fortin earning victories. In Arizona, Woburn’s Scott Traer dashed to victory at the Crown King Scramble. Also out west, Rhode Island’s Cole Crosby delivered an eye-popping performance with his 346-mile run from Los Angeles, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., at The Speed Project. All of those efforts, along with the Behind the Rocks Ultra in Utah and the Georgia Death Race, are featured in this edition of the roundup.

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.

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.

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.

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.