January 2021 continues to be unusually quiet as the national ultramarathon calendar is blanketed with cancellations due the pandemic, but a few New England residents made some noise with strong showings at two of the races that happened during the Jan. 16-17 weekend. New Hampshire’s Keith Lundquist was victorious in his 100-mile debut and Massachusetts’ Honora Einhorn earned a spot on the women’s podium during her ultra debut. Both of their efforts are included in this week’s roundup.

The 2021 ultramarathon racing season is off to a slow start nationally as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to force race cancellations, but a handful of ultras took place in the United States during the Jan. 10-11 weekend. The most notable among them was the Bandera 100K in Texas, and two New England residents were among the finishers.

The first weekend of the new year is typically full of ultras around the United States, from fatass-style races to the popular Across the Years multi-day races in Arizona, to ringing-in-the-new-year races. Not this year. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, some New Year’s races went virtual while most were canceled. Only a handful happened with in-person racing, and two Massachusetts residents took part in one of them. That race – Arizona’s San Tan Scramble – is covered in the first roundup of 2021.

The 2020 ultrarunning season is quickly coming to a close, but some of the sport’s speediest 100-mile and 24-hour runners capitalized on one final chance to log major mileage on Dec. 12-13 at the 11th annual Desert Solstice track race in Arizona. Among them was Scott Traer of Woburn, Mass., and his sizzling performance earned him a roundup all to himself this week.

A light weekend of ultrarunning was on tap in the United States on the final weekend before Thanksgiving, with just a handful of ultras across the country. One race dwarfed them all as the nation’s oldest ultra,the JFK 50, played host to around 1,000 runners in Maryland, including several from New England. Meanwhile, a few others headed West to Utah for the Dead Horse Ultras in Utah. Both races are covered in this week’s roundup.