The Aug. 15-17 weekend was a big one in New England. In addition to the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Summer Classic in Massachusetts (separate recap to follow), three additional ultras took place throughout the region. The gnarly Jigger Johnson Ultras once again pounded runners in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, while runners gathered for some more laid-back fun at the Aliza Lapierre Fan Club 50K in Vermont and the Shenipsit Striders’ 50th anniversary fatass 8-hour run in Connecticut. We have all of those covered – as well as Fabulous Fahnestock in New York and the Tamalpa Headlands 50K in California – in this week’s roundup.

The weather was unseasonably pleasant, but the summer ultramarathon racing heated up in New England and beyond during the Aug. 8-10 weekend. In Massachusetts, that meant the popular BURCS Sweltering Summer 8-Hour was the place to be in Pittsfield. We’ll have that covered in a separate recap. But here in this week’s roundup we begin in New England where runners ran into – and through – the night at Rhode Island’s Anchor Down Ultra, and also stop in Vermont for the Lover’s Lane time-based races. Then we head West where a teenager from New Hampshire dazzled at the Bigfoot 200, before closing out with the Wy’East Trail Fest.

The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 13th annual Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, Mass. Runners had eight hours to complete as many laps as they wanted on the .355-mile dirt and cinder track. Proceeds from the event benefitted the AYJ Fund, a non-profit organization in Berkshire County that provides support services for children battling cancer.

There was plenty of rugged running on the trails of the Northeast during the Aug. 1-3 weekend, and we have those events – as well as a few more in the eastern United States – covered here in Part II of this week’s roundup. We begin in New England, where James Boeding and Christina Danosi delivered dominant three-day efforts in winning the Ragged 75 Stage Race in New Hampshire, followed by a stop in Maine where Isaac Vaccaro earned a three-peat at the Blue Hill Mountain Trail Fest.

August unfolded with New England ultrarunners scattering from coast to coast to take on a variety of trails, terrain and distances. Multiple ultras took place close to home, and we will have them covered in Part II of this week’s roundup. Here in Part I we head West where New Englanders took part in several ultras along the coast, beginning with the classic Angeles Crest 100-miler.

The July 25-27 weekend was jam-packed with ultramarathon races in the Northeast, and we have them covered here in Part II of this week’s roundup. A handful of New Englanders raced the Squatchy Surprise in New Jersey, and many more took on the Moosalamoo 36-miler and Magnificent Bastards Last Person Standing race in Vermont. But we begin in Rhode Island where the inaugural Ocean State Ultra crowned its first champion.