WESTWOOD, Mass. – Trail-runners in Massachusetts just endured the coldest winter of the past decade in the Commonwealth, but they were welcomed into spring with an absolutely delightful day in the woods at the eighth running of the Trail Animals Running Club’s To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, March 22, at Hale Reservation.

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the eighth running of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners took part in a 3.5-mile single-loop race, as well as a 6-hour race where they completed the same loop as many times as they wanted.

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the eighth edition of the To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 3.5-mile trail race on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners in the ultra had six hours to complete as many laps of the 3.5-mile course as they wanted. Runners enjoyed temperatures that ranged from 35 degrees at the start to 60 at the finish, with sunny skies and mostly dry trails. The following are a small sample of photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen. A full gallery of 212 photos can be viewed on the MassUltra Flickr page.

WESTWOOD, Mass. – Tension was high on the back deck of Powissett Lodge as race director Melissa Arnold, official timer Norm Sheppard, and about a dozen runners and volunteers peered out into the woods. Two runners were approaching, but would they make it in time?

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the seventh edition of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 3.5-mile trail race on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. The following are a small sample of photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen at the race; a full gallery of 72 photos can be viewed here. Additionally, professional wedding photographer Chris Arson was on the scene and captured images from the day with a full gallery available here.

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the seventh running of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 3.5-mile trail race on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners took on a 3.5-mile loop course on mostly singletrack trails on a cold, rainy early-spring day where temperatures ranged from 33 degrees at the start to the low 40s at the high. It rained for the duration of the event, and runners encountered plenty of mud along the way.

WESTWOOD, Mass. – When the Trail Animals gathered at Hale Reservation in early February, it was an unforgettably frigid affair as a historic cold snap plunged temperatures well below zero for the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. Seven weeks later, the Trail Animals returned to Hale on Saturday, March 25, for the sixth running of the club’s To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra, and the runners encountered a completely different experience.

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the sixth running of the TARC To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and “heavy” 5K on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners took on a 3.5-mile loop course on mostly singletrack trails, and they were treated to some of the best weather conditions in the event’s history with dry trail conditions and temperatures in the mid-30s to low 40s with just a few sprinkles and some sleet near the end. This gallery includes a small sample of photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen during the event. A full gallery of 83 photos can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page.

The sixth running of the Trail Animals Running Club’s To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and “heavy” 5K took place on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass. Runners raced on a 3.5-mile trail loop, either once for the “heavy” 5K or multiple times for the 6-hour event.

WESTWOOD, Mass. – On paper, Robert Lynch’s decision to go back out for one more loop seemed like wishful thinking.

Lynch already had seven loops and 24.5 miles on his legs. His previous three trips through the 3.5-mile course had taken the 46-year-old from Sharon, Mass., 47, 48 and 54 minutes, respectively. If he wanted to complete one more and have it count, he had to do it in less than 46 minutes.