The holidays are nearly upon us, and the ultrarunning calendar was accommodating with a pretty light load of races across North America during the Dec. 20-22 weekend. One New England resident took time to take on a course out West. Maggie Swanson made her ultrarunning debut, and she gets this edition of the roundup all to herself.

The 2024 ultrarunning season came to a close in Massachusetts during the Dec. 14-15 weekend with the 14th running of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K in Springfield. While a few dozen New Englanders logged miles on the road at Seth’s, several others ventured beyond the Bay State to squeeze in late-season ultras. Around 60 runners logged miles at the Jingle My Frosty Balls Fat Ass in New Hampshire, though results were unavailable. Additionally, a few others traveled farther to run. From Virginia to Washington, and Arizona to Pennsylvania, New Englanders tackled tough and scenic courses across the country. Some, like Brian Burke, put up most of those miles in the dark, while others, like Isabel Lane, soaked up the sights while racing to victory. Read all about it in this edition of the roundup.

Ice and snow covered some of the trails in New England and – along with cold temperatures – provided appropriate seasonal challenges for runners in the region as they raced in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. We have those events covered separately, including in Part I of this week’s roundup, but here in Part II we catch up on how New Englanders did at ultras beyond the region during the Dec. 6-8 weekend. They did mighty well, racing from South Carolina to Arizona, and from Georgia to Florida. Zach Medeiros kicks things off with a victory at the Last Chance 50K.

The TARC Winter Classic was the place to be for ultrarunners in Massachusetts during the Dec. 6-8 weekend, but there was plenty of ultra action throughout New England with tough ultras and lots of climbing. The inaugural Tower Tag Challenge in Connecticut and the Krampuslauf 9-hour in New Hampshire take the spotlight in Part I of this week’s roundup.

All was quiet on the ultrarunning scene in New England during the post-Thanksgiving weekend, save for personal ambitions to log big miles after enjoying a feast. Two runners from the region ventured outside New England to toe the starting line of ultramarathons, though, with one on each coast. Those efforts make for some light reading in the Nov. 29-Dec. 1 weekend roundup.

It isn’t yet Thanksgiving, but New England ultrarunners spent the Nov. 15-17 weekend preparing for the big feast by banging out plenty of miles. More than 100 did so at the Trail Animals Running Club’s annual TARCkey Trot 6-hour ultra in Massachusetts, but several more runners from the region opted for other events. A few in Connecticut packed on the calories at the CT Donut Run 31.5-miler, though results from that delicious event were unavailable at the time of publication. Others raced ultras in New York, Utah, California and Georgia. We have highlights from those events in this edition of the roundup.