Ultra Weekend Recap — March 22, 2026

The first weekend of spring featured 44 races on UltraRunning Magazine’s North American race calendar. In this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap, we check on race results from California, Maryland and North Carolina. Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend. Be sure to check out all the results as they continue to roll in on our results page.

Chuckanut 50k

Our first stop takes us to Fairhaven, Washington, and the Chuckanut Mountains for the 32nd edition of the speedy and competitive Chuckanut 50K. An impressive 522 runners finished Saturday’s race, paced by men’s winner Will Murray in 3:33:54, the seventh-fastest time ever recorded on the course. The battle for the final two podium spots was tightly contested, with Noah Dusseau claiming second in 3:41:42 and Dylan Flewelling (3:42:41) taking third. Andrea Lee earned the victory in the women’s race, breaking the tape in 4:19:55. The 2025 Chuckanut 50k women’s winner, Jade Belzberg, placed second in 4:22:37, 5 seconds faster than her time last year. Sarah Paxon (4:24:37) snagged the final women’s podium spot in third.

Full results here.

HAT 50k

Our second stop takes us to Havre de Grace, Maryland, for the 36th running of the 50k Hinte Anderson Trail (HAT) Run. Top honors in the women’s race went to Caroline Bauer in 4:52:12. Karen Dunn raced to a second-place finish in 4:58:59. Karen Smith (4:59:27) finished less than 30 seconds behind Dunn to take third. In the men’s race, Patrick Blair secured the win in 3:58:49. Chris Lewars finished runner-up in 3:59:50. Tyler Gray (4:06:23) came in third. This year’s HAT 50k had 230 finishers.

Full results here.

Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker

Heading over to western North Carolina, we check in on the rugged and scenic Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50-mile and 55k ultramarathons. A total of 118 runners finished Saturday’s 50-mile contest, with top honors in the men’s race going to Devon Brodmyer in 8:17:27. Miller Groome was the second man across the line in 8:25:10. Kevin Lane (9:08:56) rounded out the men’s podium in third. Leah Nicholson cruised to victory in the women’s event in 10:06:33, placing sixth overall. Sarah Hansel earned a second-place finish in 10:49:04. Sarah Kauk (11:01:04) was third.

Top 55K Finishers:

Women

• Jamie Brookwater (6:00:23)
• Candace Harrison (6:16:43)
• Jana Grindheim (6:17:17)

Men

• Brent Bookwalter (4:59:01)
• Tim Nooney (5:17:58)
• Boone Marois (5:37:39)

Full results here.

The Big Alta

We wrap things up back in Marin County, California, for The Big Alta 100k and 50k trail races. A total of 215 of the 271 starters earned a finish in Saturday’s inaugural 100k race, with the top prize in the women’s contest going to Robyn Lesh in 9:45:34. Anna Louden (9:49:32) came in second, and Sylvie Abel (9:51:01) grabbed the final women’s podium spot in third. Kellen Blumberg ran away from the field to win the men’s race in 8:18:28. Rob Molke (8:38:12) took second, and Matthew Zupan (8:49:53) came in third.

Top 50K Finishers:

Men

• David Norris (3:43:07)
• Drew Holmen (3:50:24)
• Ryan Montgomery (3:57:50)

Women

• Klaire Rhodes (4:12:41)
• Helen Mino Faukner (4:15:31)
• Erin Moyer (4:17:24)

Full results here.

Other results include: Blackbeard’s Revenge (Corolla, NC), Rattlesnake Dick (Cool, CA), Badwater Cape Fear (Bald Head Island, NC), Hippo Trail Fest (Hutto, TX), Redwood Spring Trail Run (Oakland, CA), Big Buffalo 50 (Memphis, TN), Fall Creek 50K (Spencer, TN), Yeti 7-11 Hour Endurance Challenge (Lithia Springs, GA), Crazy Desert Trail Race (San Angelo, TX), OPSF5050 (Spencer, IN), and Get Lucky 50/50 (Canal Fulton, OH).

View all the results here.