While a large crop of New England ultrarunners were gathering at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., for the Trail Animals Running Club’s seventh edition of the To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra, numerous other runners from the region scattered throughout the country for the busiest weekend of ultra racing so far in 2024. In fact, the March 22-24 weekend was so busy that New Englanders were drawn to at least a dozen ultras across the country – and results are still coming in. In fact, there were so many runners competing throughout the country that this will be our first three-roundup week to try to include everyone. We start in the South, where a Massachusetts man and former Bay State resident were among the competitors during a historic weekend at the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee. We also visit North Carolina, where runners from the region competed at Badwater Cape Fear and the Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker, before closing out this edition in Virginia where runners took on the Hone Quarry 40-miler and the Dogwood Ultras.

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.

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.

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.

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.