Tension was high among the 41 runners gathered around Wapack and Back co-race director Lisa Chaput as she called out final instructions. Their faces bore a mix of intensity, acceptance and determination as they waited to begin the most physically demanding event in the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Trail Series.

Lars Sauvola knows the Wapack Trail extremely well. He made his Wapack and Back debut in 2009 when he finished third in the 21.5-mile race. He then raced the Wapack Fall Race 18-miler four times between 2009 and 2014, finishing in the top six each time. He returned to Wapack and Back in 2023 and raced to victory in the 43-mile race in 8:58:00.

Sauvola was back at Wapack and Back for its 16th edition on Saturday, May 11, in Ashburnham, Mass., and this time the 49-year-old from Rindge, N.H., set his sights on the 50-mile distance, the longest of the event’s three offerings. That meant completing an out-and-back run of the trail, along with seven additional miles resulting in nearly 11,000 feet of climbing – much of it on rocky, gnarly terrain.

The 16th edition of the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back Trail Races took place on Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Ashburnham, Mass. Runners took on either a 43-mile out-and-back of the Wapack Trail, a 50-mile race that included the 43-mile out-and-back and an additional seven miles, or a 21.5-mile one-way journey through the course. Since its founding in 2007 by Bogie Dumitrescu, the event has been held annually with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the first 13 years of the Wapack and Back Trail Races only two runners won back-to-back titles in either the 50-mile or 43-mile distances – Josh Katzman during his 2012 and 2013 runs that remain the top two men’s 50-mile performances in event history, and Debbie Livingston’s winning performances in the women’s field in 2013 and 2014.

The Trail Animals Running Club played host to the 15th running of the Wapack and Back Trail Races on Saturday, May 13, 2023, in Ashburnham, Mass. Runners took on either a 43-mile out-and-back of the Wapack Trail, a 50-mile race that included the 43-mile out-and-back and an additional seven miles, or a 21.5-mile one-way journey through the course. Since its founding in 2007 by Bogie Dumitrescu, the event has been held annually with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During its pandemic-forced two-year hiatus, the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back race course didn’t get any easier.

Though the Trail Animals Running Club’s Wapack and Back Trail Races officially offer 50-mile and 21.5-mile events, runners are offered the option of signing up for the 50-miler but stopping after 43. That somewhat unofficial race distance represents the successful completion of a full out-and-back of the Wapack Trail, so it is a significant feat. In fact, the last time runners toed the starting line at Wapack and Back, the most dazzling performances were delivered in that most unusual of race distances.