By design, the Vegan Power 50K course presents ample opportunities to run a fast time on singletrack trails. The loop course with rolling hills and mix of technical spots and smooth sections is inviting – even tempting – for a trail-runner looking to throw down.

Ryan Dunning was looking to do just that, and the 10th edition of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) Vegan Power 50K lured the 23-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., to test his luck in his ultramarathon debut on Saturday, June 17, at Pittsfield State Forest.

Despite slick conditions on a soggy weekend where all of New England was drenched in rain, Dunning delivered a masterpiece of a performance as he cranked out nearly even splits on his six trips through the course on his way to victory.

Dunning spent the first several miles sharing the trails with Wilson Ray, Ian Stowe and Benjamin Manning with the lead pack rolling through the first loop together before Dunning started to open up a lead. Dunning held a four-minute lead after two loops, with Ray and Stowe four minutes back. By the midpoint Dunning had amassed a 12-minute lead with Stowe holding down second place with a 1-minute lead cushion on Ray. Shortly after that, Stowe began to slip off the pace and Ray moved into second place. As Dunning continued to pull away, Michael Racca picked his way through the field, clicking off consistent splits as he climbed through the top 10 and ultimately into the top three before his pursuit of the front-runners stalled.

Dunning capped his dominant performance with a winning time of 4:07:24. He posted the third-fastest time in course history, trailing only Tyler Wolfe’s 3:58:29 from 2018 and Brian Burke’s 4:03:36 from 2019.

Ray, 26, of Cambridge, Mass., was a distant second in 4:59:52 following his victory at the Trail Animals Running Club’s “Don’t Run Boston” 50K in April. Racca, 34, of Shirley, Mass., rounded out the men’s podium in 5:12:56. Stowe, 32, of New York, N.Y., (5:31:58) and Jeremy Shafer, 46, of New Hartford, Conn. (5:46:06) rounded out the top five. The final sub-6-hour finishers were Manning, 31, of Palmer, Mass. (5:52:47) and Tim Pendergast, 41, of Troy, N.Y. (5:56:57).

Anna Peters capped her ultramarathon debut with a victory in the women’s race. The 30-year-old from Braintree, Mass., led by 1 minute following her first pass through the course, but was unable to shake Sonia Boor for a while. Boor, 30, of Cambridge, Mass., closed the gap during the second loop and ultimately inched ahead of Peters by a few seconds. Peters was back in front by the halfway point, but by only 1 minute with Boor still in striking distance. Peters’ impressively consistent pacing continued throughout the second half as she clocked nearly even splits throughout and ultimately built an 8-minute cushion during her fourth loop before continuing the pull away. Peters closed out her ultra debut with a winning time of 6:12:47. Boor – also making her ultra debut after running the 25K race at Vegan Power last year – was second in 6:43:10. Karla Starkenberg, 46, of Lynn, Mass., rounded out the women’s podium in 7:22:44 while also finishing her first ultra. Christine Da Silva, 36, of Everett, Mass., was a close fourth in 7:26:43, followed by Julie Whittemore, 48, of Southampton, Pa., in 7:29:54.

Twenty-seven runners completed the 50K race.

Heins, Lemanski Top 25K Field

Twenty-six runners completed three loops of the course for 25K finishes and the front-runners pulled away early on the way to victory. Randy Heins and Nicole Lemanski were the first men’s and women’s competitors to complete the first loop of the course. By that point Heins held a 2-minute advantage on his closest competitor and Lemanski opened up a nearly 10-minute gap on the second female. The pair continued to pull away in the ensuing loops and never looked back. Heins, 42, of North Andover, Mass., topped the men’s field and earned the overall win in 2:32:56. Lemanski, 41, of Latham, N.Y., was the first-place female and second overall finisher in 2:47:45. Glen Gerbush, 33, of Williamstown, Mass., finished third overall in 2:49:08 and Patrick Bubniak, 17, of Oak Ridge, N.J., was fourth while rounding out the men’s podium in 3:01:00. The fifth and sixth overall finishers were the second and third women with 43-year-old Erin Fulton of Whitehouse Station, N.J., finishing in 3:08:15 and 62-year-old Alison Peters of Hinsdale, Mass., following two minutes later in 3:10:18.