Tag Archives: trailrunning

MassUltra Roundup: Pirate’s Cove, Marin Ultra Challenge, Mesquite Canyon, Stump Jump, Conquer the Wall, and Mountains to Sea

Earlier this week we looked at the Northeast ultras from a jam-packed March 8-10 weekend of ultramarathon racing. Here in our second roundup of the week, we catch up on New Englanders who raced in the South and the West. We start in sunny San Diego, Calif., where 18-year-old Maine resident Jaxon Redmond kicked off his ultra career with a victory at Pirate’s Cove. Then we check out the Marin Ultra Challenge, where Vermont’s John Lavoie took on big vert in preparation for a tough upcoming 100-miler, while two Cambridge, Mass., residents returned to the scene of their first ultra. Beyond California, we catch up on results from Arizona, Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina in this edition of the roundup.

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MetroWest Backyard Ultra Returning for Third Year

When the Backyard Ultra craze began sweeping the country and the Boston metro area was left without its own event, the Needham Running Club stepped in to fill the void and launched the Needham Backyard Ultra in 2022. Twenty-six runners took part in that inaugural race that May with Daniel Leonard earning the victory after 12 hours and 50.04 miles of running. A year later, the event rebranded itself as the MetroWest Backyard Ultra, and moved to the fall. This time, Jason Kaplan was the victor after 17 hours and 70.89 miles.

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MassUltra Roundup: Squatchapple, Bel Monte, and USATF 50K Road Championship

New Englanders scattered throughout the country to take on a variety of ultras during the March 8-10 weekend, racing up and down the East Coast, across the South and all the way out West. We’ll catch up on southern and western results in a later edition, but in this edition of the roundup we catch up on results for New Englanders at ultras in the Northeast. Runners took on courses in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York, with New Hampshire’s Sara Tannenbaum bringing home a victory for 50 miles at Squatchapple. Her big effort leads off this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Old Pueblo, Delano Park, Long Play, and North Marin Ridge Run

The month of March began quietly for much of the New England ultrarunning community. There were no local races in the region, and just a handful of New Englanders scattered throughout the country to race. Those who did sought warmer climates in the South and West, with races in Florida, Alabama, Arizona and California. We have them covered in this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Orcas Island, Big Alta, and Moab Red Hot

Racing was hot in the West during the Feb. 23-25 weekend as several New England residents headed cross-country to explore new terrain and tackle new ultramarathons. In part one of this week’s roundup we focused on New Englanders’ ultra adventures in the South. Here in part two we catch up on all things West Coast, starting with Scituate, Mass., resident Matt Dibb’s successful run at the Orcas Island 100-miler in Washington. Then we head down to California where five New Englanders finished the inaugural Big Alta 50K, before closing it out in Utah where Maine’s Effie Drew opened her season on the slickrock trails of Moab.

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MassUltra Roundup: Space Pirate, Swamp, FarmDaze, and Mt. Cheaha

The Feb. 24-25 weekend was relatively quiet on the trails of New England, but several runners from the region scattered throughout the country to race in the South and the West. In a separate roundup we’ll catch up on New Englanders’ performances out West at the Orcas Island 100, the Big Alta 50K, and the Moab Red Hot Ultras, but in this edition we look at the races in the South. New Englanders raced in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, and three local runners secured spots on the podium while another returned to the place where his ultrarunning career began 18 years ago. We have it all in this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Cabin Fever, Jackpot, and Forgotten Florida

It’s been a few months since Brian Burke headed south to race, but that one worked out quite well for the Medford, Mass., resident when he won the No Business 100-miler in October. Burke made a last-minute decision to head south again, this time to West Virginia. The result was another big-time effort as he earned a spot on the podium at the Cabin Fever 50K. Burke wasn’t the only New England resident to race during the Feb. 16-18 weekend – though it was a quiet weekend overall for ultrarunners from the region – but his performance leads off this edition of the roundup.

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MassUltra Roundup: Last Skier Standing, Algonquin, Outlaw, Whispering Pines, and Black Canyon

The 2024 ultrarunning season has been under way for more than a month, but here in New England it’s not unusual to see many runners hang up their sneakers and grab their skis for ultra adventures on snow. That was the case for several runners from the region who headed to Rumford, Maine, and took part in the Last Skier Standing event on Black Mountain. After days of competing on a 2.8-mile loop, Justin Lagassey of Plymouth, N.H., edged William Reed of Somerville, Mass., and 147 other competitors with a whopping 212.8 miles and 85,500 feet of gain. Several other runners scattered to starting lines of ultras across the country during the Feb. 9-11 weekend, including in Maryland, Oklahoma, Florida and Arizona. We have them all covered in this edition of the roundup.

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Runners Capitalize on Conditions as Record Number of Buckles Earned at Frozen Yeti

WESTWOOD, Mass. – A few minutes into the pre-race briefing, TARCtic Frozen Yeti co-Race Director Surjeet Paintal turned the floor over to course-marking captain Chris Martin who had the honor of delivering the best news runners could hope for.

“The course is beautiful. You probably have the best conditions in the history of this race,” Martin told the nearly 100 runners gathered inside Powissett Lodge awaiting the start of the 30-hour ultramarathon at Hale Reservation.

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