The Trail Animals Running Club’s TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra was originally slated for Jan. 29-30 weekend, so the majority of New England ultrarunners looking to race selected that event as their primary objective for the weekend, though it was ultimately postponed by a week due to the massive Nor’easter that brought more than two feet of snow to much of the state. Several runners headed out-of-state to race, however, most of them escaped the storm’s clutches to run in warmer climates during the final weekend of January. Those races are featured in this edition of the roundup.

A first-time 100-mile finisher in Arizona and a 100-mile champion in Hawaii highlight this early-2022 edition of the roundup.

The 2022 ultramarathon racing season kicked off locally on Saturday, Jan. 8, with the return of the G.A.C. Frozen Fat Ass 50K. While around 100 New England residents took part in that classic event as it celebrated its 22nd running, a handful of runners from the region journeyed south to Texas to take part in the 100K and 50K ultras at the Bandera Endurance Runs. Included among the field was former Boston resident Joe McConaughy who made a fierce attempt to secure a Western States Golden Ticket before coming up just minutes short. McConaughy’s performance and those of the New England crew at Bandera are included in this week’s roundup.

A handful of New England residents were among the final runners to finish an ultramarathon in 2021 or the first to complete one in 2022. That was the case – as it has been for a few decades – for runners at Across the Years in Phoenix, Ariz. It was one of the few events to take place that overlaps the turning of a new year, and it kicks off the 2022 edition of the roundup.