New England ushered in March with its first ultramarathon of the month on Sunday, March 1, at the Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra 50K in Rupert, Vt. The event, which made its debut in 2019, challenged competitors with a four-loop course, more than 8,500 feet of vertical gain and numerous steep descents – all of it on snowy singletrack and doubletrack trails in the northern Taconic Mountains. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra →

The spring ultramarathon season isn’t yet upon us, so recent weeks have been light on racing for runners in New England. Leap Day was busy for a few runners from the region, however, with one making a long-awaited return to ultrarunning, one making an ultra debut, another setting a personal record for distance, and one making an annual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania for a popular race. From Louisiana to New Mexico, from Florida to Pennsylvania, we’re closing our February in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Red Dirt, Sierra Vista, Save the Daylight, and Naked Bavarian →

February has been relatively quiet on the Massachusetts ultrarunning scene, save for the month’s opening weekend when more than 100 runners took on the trails of Hale Reservation for up to 30 hours at the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. In the weeks since, a handful of runners have traveled beyond the Bay State to race – most to neighboring Connecticut – and a few beyond New England. The weekend of Feb. 22-23 was particularly quiet, with just a handful of runners stepping to the starting line. A few did so in New Jersey for 50K or 50 miles at the Febapple Frozen Fifty, while Beverly resident Peter MacEwen headed cross-country to California for the Mt. Umunhum 52K. Both races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Febapple and Mt. Umunhum →

The Massachusetts ultrarunning community has already had a busy 2020 with two fatass-style ultras and a 30-hour event. The Feb. 15-16 weekend was Connecticut’s turn to kick-off its ultra calendar with a big-mileage opportunity. The CT Trailmixers did just that by introducing a new 15-hour event – the Frozen Heart 900 – that saw 29 runners log ultramarathon mileage with two of them (George Daniels and Andrew Orefice) surpassing the 80-mile mark. Additionally, a handful of other runners from the region ventured outside of New England to race. That included South Deerfield’s Brian and Amy Rusiecki who continued their annual tradition of road-tripping to Virginia for some early-season racing, and several others who flew to the warmer climates of Arizona and Nevada for the Black Canyon Ultras and the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival. We’ve got them all covered in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Frozen Heart, Holiday Lake, Black Canyon, and the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival →

February opened with a flurry on the New England ultrarunning scene with the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra in Westwood, Mass., but the following weekend was mostly quiet. Just a handful of runners from the region headed elsewhere to race on the Feb. 8-9 weekend, and those that did sought out both warmer and colder climates, from sunny California to chilly Maryland and New York. The weekend was highlighted by Revere resident Michael Condella, whose fifth finish of the Beast of Burden winter 100-miler leads off this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Beast of Burden, Sean O’Brien, and the Algonquin →

The first weekend of February was a busy one for New England ultrarunners with the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-hour ultra at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., but a few runners sought warmer weather at races beyond the region. That included the Elephant Mountain 50K in Arizona and the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler and 100K in Texas, but Somerville’s Brian Burke highlighted the weekend with his runner-up finish at the Wild Florida 120-miler. Those three races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Wild Florida, Rocky Raccoon, and Elephant Mountain →