Though the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back Trail Races officially offer 50-mile and 21.5-mile events, runners are offered the option of signing up for the 50-miler but stopping after 43. That somewhat unofficial race distance represents the successful completion of a full out-and-back of the Wapack Trail, so it is a significant feat. In fact, the last time runners toed the starting line at Wapack and Back, the most dazzling performances were delivered in that most unusual of race distances.
Continue reading Trail Animals’ Wapack and Back Set to Return in MayTag Archives: Trail Animals
From the Editor’s Desk: Log Off and Lace Up to Reconnect in 2022
One of the true privileges I’ve enjoyed during my dozen years as a trail-runner has been the opportunity to share the trails with so many wonderful people. It began with my earliest runs on the dirt in Kansas City, a know-nothing newbie weaving through the trees and hopping over rocks and roots alongside far more experienced runners who chatted away about the 50-mile and 100-mile races at Rocky Raccoon that they were training for. In the weeks and months that followed, they educated me on all sorts of things, from hydration systems to consider, to which week it would grow dark enough that I should start bringing a headlamp, to other trails in the area I should explore.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Log Off and Lace Up to Reconnect in 2022
TARC Fells Winter Ultra Returns with Spirited Racing
The Trail Animals Running Club typically has evaded early-winter hibernation with the annual running of the Fells Winter Ultra during the first weekend of December at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. That wasn’t the case in 2020, however; the club was forced to cancel the event as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the trail ultrarunning schedule locally and globally.
The Fells Winter Ultra made its return on Saturday, Dec. 4, as runners once again flocked to the trailhead in Stoneham, Mass., to tackle four or five loops of the reservation’s rocky and rugged Skyline Trail in 32- and 40-mile races.
Continue reading TARC Fells Winter Ultra Returns with Spirited RacingResults: TARC Fells Winter Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to its annual running of the Fells Winter Ultra on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. Runners tackled either four or five 8-mile loops of the Skyline Trail in 32-mile and 40-mile trail ultramarathons.
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Back to Hale: After 2-Year Hiatus, To Hale and Back Registration Opens
In March of 2020, the To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 5K became the first Massachusetts trail ultramarathon to be a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just seven weeks earlier, the Trail Animals Running Club had played host to the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on some of the same trails at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., in the first of what was supposed to be a 10-race season for the TARC Trail Series.
Continue reading Back to Hale: After 2-Year Hiatus, To Hale and Back Registration Opens
McInerney, Farnsworth Prevail at Spirited TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
WINCHESTER, Mass. — Less than 24 hours before the start of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra, Race Director Jeff LeBlanc found himself inundated with rain. He was marking the 3.1-mile loop course through Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill when a heavy thunderstorm moved over Winchester, soaking him within seconds and blasting him with heavy wind. As fast as the rain fell, leaves dropped from the trees all around him almost as quickly, expediting their autumn transition and hiding many of the course’s network of rocks and twisting tree roots.
Continue reading McInerney, Farnsworth Prevail at Spirited TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the fifth running of the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. The following are a small sample of photos from the day. A full gallery from the race can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page at this link. All photos by Chris Wristen/MassUltra.
Continue reading Photos: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
The fifth running of the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra took place Saturday, Nov. 13, at Wright-Locke Farm and Whipple Hill in Winchester, Mass. Eighty-seven runners took part in the race on the 3.1-mile loop course. Only loops completed during the time limit counted.
Continue reading Results: TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra
Ghost Train Returns: A Celebration of Spirit and All Things Spooky
BROOKLINE, N.H. — Technically, the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race declared itself back with the sound of a train whistle blown by co-Race Director Theresa Berna at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, Oct. 16. While that moment on the grounds of Camp Tevya signified the official start of the 30-hour ultramarathon, in reality the event’s return was truly felt in the weeks and final days leading up to it.
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Results: 2021 TARC Ghost Train Rail Trail Races
Following a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TARC Ghost Train Rail Trail Race returned for its 12th running on Oct. 16-17 on the Milford and Brookline Rail Trail in Brookline, N.H. The event offered its traditional 30-hour ultra, as well as a Sunday 15-mile race. This year’s race threw a little bit of everything at the runners, from an unseasonably warm Saturday where the temperature climbed into the upper-70s, to heavy rain overnight.
Continue reading Results: 2021 TARC Ghost Train Rail Trail Races
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