The second running of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Jug End Loop 6-Hour Ultra featured explosive turnout and impressive performances on Saturday, July 19, at Jug End State Reservation in Egremont, Mass.

Sixty-nine runners took part in this year’s event – more than double the 30 from 2016 – and 25 surpassed the marathon distance by anywhere from a few steps to many miles. Fourteen ran at least a 50K. The fastest performances were turned in by last year’s runner-up and a pair of Massachusetts residents.

Tim Goric brought home the overall victory a year after finishing second. He was unable to surpass Jason Mintz’s winning mark of 41.52 miles from 2016, but Goric did improve his own mileage total and place from a year ago. The 31-year-old resident of West Hartford, Conn., completed 39.13 miles – slightly more than his 38 in 2016.

Meanwhile, Kehr Davis and Scott Defusco led the way for a large Massachusetts contingent, with Davis making a particularly big impression during her debut performance at a BURCS event. Davis – who has thrown down numerous big performances on the trails throughout the region, most recently in June when she earned a first-place finish at the Manitou’s Revenge 54-miler in New York – hammered the loop. The 40-year-old from Great Barrington, Mass., logged a women’s course-record 37.67 miles to claim top female honors and place second overall.

Davis outdistanced the rest of the women in the field by more than four miles. Taylor Verville, 26, of Tiverton, R.I., and Lindsay Croshier, 34, of Medford, Mass., rounded out the ladies’ top three with 32.29 miles apiece while also earning spots in the overall top 10.

Defusco, who finished second at the Vegan Power 50K in June during his BURCS debut, followed it up with a third-place overall finish and earned second-place male honors as the 41-year-old from Beverly, Mass., logged 36.69 miles. Great Barrington’s Bill Boyer, 54, and 31-year-old Jordan Pike of Windsor, Conn., completed the third-most miles among the men as they each tallied 34.93 miles.

Other overall top-10 finishers were 29-year-old Nick Curelop of Housatonic, Mass., and 48-year-old Mark Snowise of Pittsfield, Mass., with 34.05 miles apiece, and 33-year-old Brendon Campbell of Medford, Mass., with 32.29 miles.

Other runners who logged at least a 50K within the six-hour time limit were 34-year-old Brian Speier of Portland, Maine, with 32.29 miles; 29-year-old Ariana Pike of Windsor, Conn., with 32.24 miles; 54-year-old Mike Spitzer of Sheffield, Mass., with 31.41 miles; and 33-year-old Geraldine Pires of Fairfield, Conn., with 31.36 miles.

The race took place on a 4.2-mle loop on the Jug End Loop Trail for the first five hours. The loop took runners through an apple orchard, forest and open fields while challenging them with more than 800 feet of vertical gain per loop. The course shifted to a .88-mile loop for the final hour to allow runners to tack on a little extra distance while getting credit for completed loops.

Sweltering Summer is Up Next: The BURCS Race Series rolls on with the Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 12, in Pittsfield, Mass. The event is sold-out at the ultra and marathon distances, however spots are still open for the 5K race.

BURCS Race Season Points Leaders: Back-to-back runner-up finishes in the men’s field have propelled Defusco into first place in the men’s standings on the BURCS Race Season points leaderboard. New Yorker Joe DelConte – the Vegan Power 50K winner – has dropped to second, while Boyer climbed to third with his performance at Jug End. New Yorker Ann Alessandrini leads the women’s points standings, while Croshier climbed to second and New Yorker Hillary Johnson slipped to third.

RESULTS

Jug End Loop 6-Hour Ultra

Place; Name, Age; City, State; Total Miles

1 Tim Goric, 31; West Hartford, CT; 39.13

2 Kehr Davis, 40; Great Barrington, MA; 37.67

3 Scott Defusco, 41; Beverly, MA; 36.69

4 Bill Boyer, 54; Great Barrington, MA; 34.93

5 Jordan Pike, 31; Windsor, CT; 34.93

6 Nick Curelop, 29; Housatonic, MA; 34.05

7 Mark Snowise, 48; Pittsfield, MA; 34.05

8 Brendon Campbell, 33; Medford, MA; 32.29

9 Taylor Verville, 26; Tiverton, RI; 32.29

10 Lindsay Croshier, 34; Medford, MA; 32.29

11 Brian Speier, 34; Portland, ME; 32.29

12 Ariana Pike, 29; Windsor, CT; 32.24

13 Mike Spitzer, 54; Sheffield, MA; 31.41

14 Geraldine Pires, 33; Fairfield, CT; 31.36

15 Christian Stewart, 40; West Palm Beach, FL; 28.72

16 David Martin, 57; Sharon, MA; 27.84

17 Kathryn Stoker, 50; Norwalk, CT; 27.84

18 Bill Odendahl, 52; Trumbull, CT; 27.84

19 Bambi Pennycuff, 40; Deland, FL; 27.84

20 Caitlin Rossi, 33; Torrington, CT; 27.84

21 Andrea Zuchora, 24; Fayville, MA; 27.84

22 David Hoople, 59; Simsbury, CT; 27.16

23 Christina Friedman, 48; Niskayuna, NY; 26.96

24 Thomas Cook, 16; Adams, MA; 26.28

25 Christopher Jaworski, 59; Bloomfield, NJ; 26.28

26 Joann Lynch, 51; Pittsfield, MA; 26.08

27 Rebekah Zimmerer, 29; South Deerfield, MA; 26.08

28 Deb Anderson, 43; Hampden, MA; 25.4

29 Tara Mayo, 41; Lincoln, VT; 25.4

30 Matthew Puntin, 42; Lee, MA; 25.4

31 Elizabeth Sloss, 29; Arlington, VA; 25.2

32 Marie Gryszowka, 32; Spencer, MA; 24.52

33 Diane Hodyl, 46; Rocky Hill, CT; 24.52

34 Rob Leder, 46; Stamford, CT; 24.52

35 Pradeep Singh, 29; Manchester, CT; 24.52

36 James Dempsey, 64; Danbury, CT; 23.64

37 Wanda Hodsen, 46; Wethersfield, CT; 23.64

38 Laura Smith, 44; Sheffield, MA; 23.54

39 Carla Halpern, 48; New Salem, MA; 22.76

40 Terry Lalancette, 55; Fairfax, VT; 22.76

41 Tek Ung, 35; Cranston, RI; 22.76

42 Ellen Biagini Loftus, 59; Lenox, MA; 21.2

43 Micah Bochart, 34; Elmhurst, NY; 21.0

44 Joshua Doubiago, 16; Adams, MA; 21.0

45 Sara Sonstroem, 49; Vernon, CT; 21.0

46 Janelle Heath, 34; Ballston Spa, NY; 20.32

47 Pranee Terry, 41; Orange, MA; 19.44

48 Jessica Doubiago, 16; Adams, MA; 18.56

49 Melody Lamb, 58; Egremont, MA; 16.8

50 Nancy Mead, 52; Wendell, MA; 16.8

51 Lisa Patten, 31; Greenwich, NY; 16.8

52 Diane Souza, 52; Westport, MA; 16.8

53 Francia Wisnewski, 40; Greenfield, MA; 16.8

54 Kathleen Dempsey, 63; Danbury, CT; 15.24

55 Max Loftus, 11; Lenox, MA; 15.04

56 Thomas Hrdina, 66; Ridgewood, NJ; 13.48

57 Isaac Huberdeau, 12; Adams, MA; 13.48

58 Robert Huberdeau, 39; Adams, MA; 13.48

59 Michael Menard, 50; Pittsfield, MA; 13.48

60 Diane Keenan, 36; Wallingford, CT; 12.6

61 Kyle Gwilt, 14; Pittsfield, MA; 12.6

62 Kylie Taylor, 14; North Adams, MA; 10.16

63 Will Schrade, 15; North Adams, MA; 10.16

64 Wendy Billings-Litke, 42; Pawtucket, RI; 8.4

65 Mallory Billings-Litke, 34; Pawtucket, RI; 8.4

66 Karylee Doubiago, 50; Adams, MA; 8.4

67 Alexus Cruz, 19; Flemington, NJ; 6.84

68 Elle McGeary, 19; Whitehouse Station, NJ; 5.96

69 Bennjamin Griffin, 30; Pittsfield, MA; 2.64