While the eyes of the ultrarunning world were on the World Summit of Trail-Running – more commonly known as the UTMB – last week in Europe, there were still a few ultramarathons back in the United States. Runners from Massachusetts took part in a few of them, hitting the road to neighboring Vermont and flying to the West Coast to tackle tough trails in California and Montana. The UTMB recap is separate, so a trio of out-of-state US races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: The Rut, Jay Peak, and the SLO Ultra →

August closed out with plenty of out-of-state races as runners from the Bay State traveled to nearby Vermont, Connecticut and New York, while some flew as far away as California to take on the trails. South Deerfield’s Brian Rusiecki and Great Barrington’s Kehr Davis highlighted the weekend with their podium finishes at the Under Armour Killington 50K in Vermont, while Matthew Perkins of Cambridge hammered his way to a runner-up finish at the Tunxis Trail 60K.

Additionally, we tracked down the results of Maine’s Great Cranberry 100 from Aug. 17-18 where Billerica’s Bryan O’Keefe was among the half-dozen finishers. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Killington, Tunxis, Lost Cat, Tamalpa Headlands, Green Lakes, and Great Cranberry →

August 18 was all about the 100Ks. After a few busy weekends of in-state races, ultrarunners from Massachusetts headed beyond the state borders to tackle a trio of 100K races – two out west and one in neighboring New York. Additionally, numerous runners hit the road for Rhode Island for the Anchor Down Ultras. Results from Anchor Down are still being updated, so we’ll include them next week. That means this week’s roundup is all about the 100Ks. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Twisted Branch, Castle Peak, and Waldo →

Two in-state ultramarathons kept many of the Massachusetts ultrarunning community busy during the Aug. 11-12 weekend, but a few made a short drive to neighboring New Hampshire to take part in the Ragged 75 Stage Race and 50K in Danbury, N.H. The 50K race served as the USATF 50K Trail National Championship. Both the 50K and the Stage Race share this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Ragged 75 Stage Race and 50K →

August opened with a lighter slate of national ultramarathons. That meant that just a handful of Massachusetts residents headed out-of-state to race, while a few others stayed close to home to tackle the East End Trail Races in Easton, Mass. (to be addressed in a separate article). Those who went beyond the Bay State didn’t venture too far. Neighboring Vermont and New York provided regional challenges – including an electrifying ultramarathon debut by Medford’s Gabriel Miller. The Moosalamoo 36-miler and the summer edition of Beast of Burden are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Moosalamoo and the Summer Beast of Burden →

Eighty-five runners stuck to the trails of Massachusetts to race during the July 28-29 weekend at the Jug End Loop Ultra in Egremont, but a handful of others ventured beyond the Bay State to tackle ultras on unfamiliar terrain. Christopher Russell was among them as the Littleton resident headed to Ohio for his first 100-miler. Meanwhile, Lakeville’s Shaun Daylor headed to Colorado, and a few others hit the road for a race in Pennsylvania. All are captured in this week’s roundup.

Burning River 100

Christopher Russell left the rugged terrain of New England to take on his first 100-mile race in the Rust Belt. Russell, 55, of Littleton, Mass., took part in the 12th annual Burning River 100 on July 28-29 in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.

The point-to-point race started at the North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills, connected to the South Chagrin Reservation, and then took runners through the Bedford Reservation on their way to the Ohio Canal Corridor Towpath Trail before winding through multiple other reservations on their way to the HiHo Brewing Company in Cuyahoga Falls. Russell successfully navigated the course and crossed the finish line in 26:44:52, good for 75th place out of 160 finishers within the 30-hour time limit. Ohio resident Jeremy Pope, 32, defended his home turf for the win in 17:13:08. He was followed closely by 29-year-old Shaun Pope of Black Mountain, N.C., in 17:15:25.

Never Summer 100K

The fourth annual Never Summer 100K took place Saturday, July 28, in Gould, Colo., taking runners on a journey between the Never Summer Mountains and the Medicine Bow Mountains. Runners crested multiple peaks on the scenic course with much of the race taking place in alpine regions. It also tossed a mixture of technicality at the runners, sometimes offering smooth dirt singletrack and other times rugged rocky sections.

The 2018 edition saw 263 runners complete the course within 24 hours, one finish just past the time limit, and another 77 whose race ended early. The one Massachusetts resident who took on the challenge earned a trip across the finish line. Lakeville resident Shaun Daylor, 39, finished in the top half of the field, placing 118th overall in 19:26:19.

The top overall spot went to 31-year-old Mark Marzen of Denver, Colo., who established a new course record with his winning time of 11:47:16. Runner-up Frank Pipp, 41, of Longmont, Colo., finished 24 minutes later. Longmont resident Addie Bracy, 31, was the women’s winner and fifth overall finisher in 13:10:39.

Viaduct Trail Ultramarathons

The 12th annual Viaduct Trail Ultramarathon took place July 28-29 in Lanesboro, Pa. Runners faced took on an out-and-back course that stretched 12.5 miles one way along a portion of the D&H Rail Trail. The race challenged runners to tackle four out-and-backs for 100 miles or two trips through the course for 50 miles.

Twenty runners took on the 100-mile distance, and 11 ultimately finished the race. One of them hailed from the Bay State. Kaylo Littlejohn, a 21-year-old Boston resident, finished the 100-miler in 30:12. The win went to 40-year-old Tsutomu Bessho, 40, of Glen Ridge, N.J., in 18:05, followed by 23-year-old Dimitri Kaliakin of Landenberg, Pa., in 19:41.

In addition to the 100-miler, 22 runners completed the 50-mile race, led by overall winner Laura Garcia Marshall, 22, of Barrington, R.I., in 9:19. She was followed by men’s champion Mike Randall, 50, of Towanda, Pa., in 10:09. A pair of Massachusetts men were among the finishers as 36-year-old Russell McAfee of New Bedford finished in 17:22 and 27-year-old Craig Fox of Woburn finished in 18:02.

*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.