The 2020 ultrarunning season is quickly coming to a close, but some of the sport’s speediest 100-mile and 24-hour runners capitalized on one final chance to log major mileage on Dec. 12-13 at the 11th annual Desert Solstice track race in Arizona. Among them was Scott Traer of Woburn, Mass., and his sizzling performance earned him a roundup all to himself this week.

A light weekend of ultrarunning was on tap in the United States on the final weekend before Thanksgiving, with just a handful of ultras across the country. One race dwarfed them all as the nation’s oldest ultra,the JFK 50, played host to around 1,000 runners in Maryland, including several from New England. Meanwhile, a few others headed West to Utah for the Dead Horse Ultras in Utah. Both races are covered in this week’s roundup.

A light weekend of ultramarathon racing took place on Nov. 14-15, with just a handful of races involving runners from New England. Most who chose to race opted to combine their miles with beers at the inaugural 8 Hours at the Brewery, while another headed to Georgia for a 24-hour track race. Both events are covered in this week’s roundup.

With three weeks to go until Thanksgiving, only a handful of in-person ultras remained on the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 race calendar. A few of them involved New England residents last weekend, including one race that involved a post-race positive test for COVID-19. From New Hampshire to Alabama and Arizona, runners from the region secured hard-earned ultramarathon finishes, and we have them covered in this week’s roundup.

A frightful 2020 ultrarunning year is nearing its conclusion, and one of the final major races that took place in-person – the annual Halloween party in Arizona known as the Javelina Jundred – took place with pandemic precautions in place from Oct. 29-31. A few runners from New England journeyed to the desert to race, and ultimately earned a trip across the finish line. We have them highlighted in this week’s roundup.

The pandemic-abbreviated in-person ultrarunning season is winding down in New England, but two ultras took place during the Oct. 24-25 weekend. Two Massachusetts residents – Lori Mitchener and Adam Ribeiro – brought home wins at the 24-Hour Trail Ultra Survival of the F.I.T.test in Rhode Island, while several runners from the region tackled tough Connecticut trails at the Pachaug 50K.

Fresh off of a busy weekend of ultramarathon racing in the Bay State that saw runners cross the state from north to south at the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail, the Oct. 17-18 weekend was relatively quiet for ultrarunners in Massachusetts. Two runners headed out-of-state to race, one across the country in Oregon and another in nearby Pennsylvania, and we have them covered in this week’s roundup.

After several weeks with trail ultramarathons in the New England region, the opening weekend of October was relatively quiet as many runners tapered for the upcoming Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile, 50-mile and 30-mile races. Still, a few dozen runners gathered in New Hampshire for the second running of Bubba’s Backyard Ultra, and that event gets this week’s roundup all to itself.

A quiet, pandemic-ravaged ultramarathon season continued to come back online with a handful of races in the final weekend of September, and some of them attracted New England residents to the starting lines. Two of them took place in Connecticut, while the biggest local performance happened in Virginia where Somerville resident Lance Doherty turned in another big effort, smashing his winning time from a year ago on the way to a second-place finish at the Yeti 100. His effort leads off this week’s roundup.

Following a dynamite 2019 season in which he won at least four ultramarathons and was the runner-up at three others, Brian Burke kicked off 2020 in strong fashion, placing second at both the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K and the Wild Florida 120-mile trail race in January. At the time, it seemed another big year was in store for him. What followed was a 7 1/2-month wait for Burke before he returned to another starting line thanks to the COVID-19 global pandemic. That return performance came Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Firebird Trail Race 50K in Maine, and Burke proved he hadn’t lost his speed during the time off from racing. He brought home the victory in course-record time, holding off a fellow Massachusetts resident in the final miles. The race was one of at least three out-of-state ultras for Bay State residents last weekend, and it leads off this week’s roundup alongside the Forgotten Forest 9-Hour Ultra in Connecticut and the Pawling Trail Running Festival in New York.