Barely a month into the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy Rusiecki’s world as a race director began to crumble.
The first race of the 2020 season that she was slated to direct – the Mt. Toby 50K – was forced to cancel as orders from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker restricted the size of public gatherings, schools were closed, and businesses statewide largely shut down or transitioned to work-from-home environments. A few weeks later, Rusiecki was forced to cancel the popular 7 Sisters Trail Race as the pandemic worsened. As the year wore on, her three remaining events all were canceled.
A light weekend of ultramarathon racing took place on Nov. 14-15, with just a handful of races involving runners from New England. Most who chose to race opted to combine their miles with beers at the inaugural 8 Hours at the Brewery, while another headed to Georgia for a 24-hour track race. Both events are covered in this week’s roundup.
With three weeks to go until Thanksgiving, only a handful of in-person ultras remained on the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 race calendar. A few of them involved New England residents last weekend, including one race that involved a post-race positive test for COVID-19. From New Hampshire to Alabama and Arizona, runners from the region secured hard-earned ultramarathon finishes, and we have them covered in this week’s roundup.
The past two weeks have brought encouraging news regarding two COVID-19 vaccines potentially becoming available starting sometime in December for the most vulnerable of the population, with wider availability to the general public possibly by April 2021. Those same two weeks have also brought devastating news that the pandemic is taking its firmest grip yet on the United States with parts of the Bay State beginning to lock back down for the winter.
When Race Director Amy Rusiecki postponed the Chesterfield Gorge 30-Hour Ultra from May to November, the COVID-19 pandemic had a firm grip on the Northeast. At the time, cautious optimism existed that the region – and the United States as a whole – would do what was necessary to get the pandemic under control and allow some semblance of normalcy to return.
A frightful 2020 ultrarunning year is nearing its conclusion, and one of the final major races that took place in-person – the annual Halloween party in Arizona known as the Javelina Jundred – took place with pandemic precautions in place from Oct. 29-31. A few runners from New England journeyed to the desert to race, and ultimately earned a trip across the finish line. We have them highlighted in this week’s roundup.
The pandemic-abbreviated in-person ultrarunning season is winding down in New England, but two ultras took place during the Oct. 24-25 weekend. Two Massachusetts residents – Lori Mitchener and Adam Ribeiro – brought home wins at the 24-Hour Trail Ultra Survival of the F.I.T.test in Rhode Island, while several runners from the region tackled tough Connecticut trails at the Pachaug 50K.
Fresh off of a busy weekend of ultramarathon racing in the Bay State that saw runners cross the state from north to south at the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail, the Oct. 17-18 weekend was relatively quiet for ultrarunners in Massachusetts. Two runners headed out-of-state to race, one across the country in Oregon and another in nearby Pennsylvania, and we have them covered in this week’s roundup.
NEW IPSWICH, N.H. – Bob Keating crouched into a starting position as the final seconds counted down. Then, with the ring of the starting bell, the 73-year-old from Nashua, N.H., fired off the line with a strong knee-drive as though he were running a 100-meter dash.
But this was no sprint; far from it. This was the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-mile race, and there was a long way to go. After a few steps, Keating paused, had a quick laugh, turned and waved to the other runners.
