Since its first documented cases in November 2019, the novel coronavirus — known as COVID-19 — has spread from China to the rest of the world. During that time, it has brought business, sporting events and many other aspects of everyday life to a halt.
New England has not been immune to the impacts of COVID-19, or its spread. Cases have been identified throughout the region, including 123 cases here in Massachusetts as of today, up from 15 on Thursday, most of them linked to a conference held by biotechnology company Biogen Inc. in downtown Boston. On Tuesday, March 10, Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts in response to COVID-19. A day later, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, having infected more than 115,000 people worldwide, more than 4,200 of those cases resulting in death. Since then, both numbers have continued to swell.Continue reading Massachusetts Ultrarunning Groups Adjust as COVID-19 Situation Evolves→
The Trail Animals Running Club’s To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra and 5K, scheduled for March 22 at Hale Reservation, has been canceled as a precautionary measure due to COVID-19. The decision was made following discussions with the Westwood Board of Health. Continue reading To Hale and Back Canceled in Precautionary Response to COVID-19→
After a quick start to the 2020 ultramarathon slate in Massachusetts with two fatass-style races in January and the TARCtic Frozen Yeti at the beginning of February, a period of relative quiet has settled over the local ultra scene. That will change in a few weeks when the Trail Animals Running Club plays host to the To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra, followed by a jam-packed April lineup. In the meantime, several runners have spent March heading out-of-state to race. That was the case on Saturday, March 7, when Easthampton’s Ethan Abeles traveled to Arizona to race the Mesquite Canyon 50K. Additionally, Cambridge resident Kai Hoeffner and Milford’s Martha Stapels took part in the massive Way Too Cool 50K in California. Both races are included in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Mesquite Canyon and Way Too Cool→
Ultrarunning has enjoyed massive growth across the country and around the world in recent years, and that boom has certainly been felt here in Massachusetts. Long-established races have experienced record turnout and new events have been added to the calendar yearly. Today, the number of ultras in the Bay State stands at more than 30, ranging from distance-specific races to time-based ultras, fatass-style gatherings and last-person-standing events.
New England ushered in March with its first ultramarathon of the month on Sunday, March 1, at the Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra 50K in Rupert, Vt. The event, which made its debut in 2019, challenged competitors with a four-loop course, more than 8,500 feet of vertical gain and numerous steep descents – all of it on snowy singletrack and doubletrack trails in the northern Taconic Mountains. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Merck Forest Snowshoe Ultra→
The spring ultramarathon season isn’t yet upon us, so recent weeks have been light on racing for runners in New England. Leap Day was busy for a few runners from the region, however, with one making a long-awaited return to ultrarunning, one making an ultra debut, another setting a personal record for distance, and one making an annual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania for a popular race. From Louisiana to New Mexico, from Florida to Pennsylvania, we’re closing our February in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Red Dirt, Sierra Vista, Save the Daylight, and Naked Bavarian→
February has been relatively quiet on the Massachusetts ultrarunning scene, save for the month’s opening weekend when more than 100 runners took on the trails of Hale Reservation for up to 30 hours at the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. In the weeks since, a handful of runners have traveled beyond the Bay State to race – most to neighboring Connecticut – and a few beyond New England. The weekend of Feb. 22-23 was particularly quiet, with just a handful of runners stepping to the starting line. A few did so in New Jersey for 50K or 50 miles at the Febapple Frozen Fifty, while Beverly resident Peter MacEwen headed cross-country to California for the Mt. Umunhum 52K. Both races are featured in this week’s roundup. Continue reading MassUltra Roundup: Febapple and Mt. Umunhum→
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service kicked off its 2020 season with a new, virtual challenge: a treadmill ultramarathon and marathon. From Feb. 15-23, runners could select a 24-hour window to complete a marathon, 50K or – for just a little bit extra distance – a 50.1K, documenting their progress with time-stamped photos of the distance completed every time the treadmill stopped. Forty-two runners completed ultramarathon distances while another 49 completed a marathon on the treadmill. Continue reading Results: BURCS Treadmill Ultra and Marathon→
WESTWOOD, Mass. – As the minutes ticked down before the 8 a.m. start of the second annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-hour ultra on Feb. 1-2, a crowd of 115 runners made their way from the cozy confines of Powisset Lodge to the starting line just a few yards away.
The starting line was no fancy blow-up arch, just a temporary marking from a foot-drag along the frost-covered ground. Within a few hours, the line would disappear, lost to the warming temperature and the footsteps of runners passing by on multiple trips through the three mini loops that made up the 15-mile clover-leaf course on Hale Reservation’s winding trail system.Continue reading Runners Enjoy Mild Weather, Big Miles at the Frozen Yeti→
