A few new surprises were in store for runners at the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) Free to Run Trail Races this year.

The event still raises funds to support Free to Run, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to enable women and girls in conflict regions to engage in physical and outdoor activities. That part of the event was unchanged.

The new surprises came on the course itself. After several years as a three-distance festival with a 50-miler, marathon and half marathon, the eighth edition of the event shook up the lineup a bit. The 50-miler is still the main event, but new Race Director Jay Durand rolled out a revised course that was a bit longer than the 12.5-mile route runners were accustomed to. The updated course – a 15.5-mile two-loop combination of the Pine Mountain Loop and Honwee Loop – rendered itself more accommodating to 50K and 25K distances so Durand added them in place of the marathon and half marathon. Additionally, a 15K race on the Honwee Loop made the event more inviting for runners seeking less mileage or more speed. With that, a remodeled Free to Run Trail Races was born.

The 50-miler required runners to complete the double-loop course three times after an initial out-and-back near the start/finish. The relentless climbs and steep descents made for a grueling challenge with around 10,000 feet of climbing by the time runners were done.

Thirteen runners started the 50-miler and 10 ultimately finished the race within 15 hours.

The day was highlighted by a spectacular performance from Michael Racca. The 34-year-old from Shirley, Mass., burst onto the ultra scene in June when he finished third at the BURCS’ Vegan Power 50K. Racca experienced some of the more rolling, less technical trails of Pittsfield State Forest that day. At Free to Run, he encountered the rugged side of the reservation.

Despite the big climbs and quad-crushing downhills, Racca handled everything the course threw at him and ultimately earned the victory in just his second ultra and first 50-miler. Racca finished in 10:27:31, eclipsing his goal of 10:30. Racca was followed by 29-year-old Tim Murphy of Hudson, Mass., who completed his ultra debut in 11:04:27. An hour later, 46-year-old Jeremy Shafer of Tolland, Mass., rounded out the podium in 12:04:55. Shafer closed out a busy year where he completed every ultra in the BURCS race series, including top-five finishes at the Vegan Power 50K and Notchview Ultra 72-hour. Johnny Bontemps, 39, of Beckett, Mass., was fourth in 12:25:20. Marcos Coli, 29, of Pembroke, Mass., rounded out the men’s field in 14:02:47.

A few minutes after Bontemps finished, first-place female Kylie Lance raced across the finish line in fifth place overall. Lance, 26, of South Boston, Mass., finished in 12:30:49, winning not just her ultra debut, but also her first race beyond a 5K. With an ultra now under her belt, Lance plans to use the strong performance as a springboard entering the fall. Lance is entered in both the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail and Tesla Hertz 50-miler, both on Oct. 7, giving her options to choose from in the coming weeks.

The next female finisher was 34-year-old Rebecca Doring of Cornwall Bridge, Conn. Doring finished in 13:23:56 and earned her second straight runner-up finish in the Free to Run 50-miler. 

The race for third-place female was close between Lauren Edelman, Victoria Hart, and Christine Da Silva. New to ultras this year, Edelman, 43, of Bridgeport, Conn., has had a strong season with top-10 finishes at the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug 100K, the Cross-Connecticut Run for Mental Health Awareness 56-miler and the Ansonia Six-Hour. At Free to Run, she earned her second podium finish by a narrow margin, finishing third in 14:10:26. Hart followed less than two minutes later in fourth as the 46-year-old from Winooski, Vt., finished in 14:12:08. It was Hart’s BURCS debut and final tune-up before the Ghost Train 30-hour in mid-October. Da Silva, 36, of Everett, Mass., finished fifth in 14:27:25. Da Silva was a three-time finisher of the Free to Run marathon and one-time finisher of the half marathon before taking on the 50-miler this year. It was her longest race since finishing 100 miles at Ghost Train in October 2022.

Runners in the 50K completed both loops twice and amassed a stout 6,000 feet of climbing by the time they were done. Eight runners tackled the distance and seven ultimately finished within 10 hours. John Kemp of Sheffield, Mass., established the inaugural course standard with a strong performance. Kemp, 55, hammered the course and crossed the finish just under the 6-hour mark, winning in 5:59:27. Women’s champion Ashley Lesniak, 31, of Spring Mills, Pa., also had a big day and finished second overall in 7:14:34.

Joining Kemp on the men’s podium were Benjamin Manning, 31, of Palmer, Mass. (7:58:37) and Scott Johnson-Yasufuku, 45, of Hampden, Mass. (8:16:27). Seng-Lai Tan, 52, of Sudbury, Mass., was fourth in 9:39:15. Joining Lesniak on the women’s podium were Ashley Melo, 31, of Hanford, Calif. (8:56:33) and Daria Cunningham, 47, of Lunenburg, Mass. (9:51:30).

Both of the new sub-ultra races also proved popular. Fifteen runners completed the 25K race within 4 1/2 hours, amassing around 3,000 feet of climbing by the time they finished both the Pine Mountain and Honwee loops. Todd Robbins, 39, of San Francisco, Calif., dominated the race and won in 2:22:22. Justin Mundt, 32, of Boston, Mass., was a distant second in 2:56:08, followed closely by 33-year-old Josiah Spargo of Easthampton, Mass., in 2:59:04. Kathryn McPherson, 28, of Albany, N.Y., earned a hard-fought victory in the women’s field, finishing in 3:04:31, five minutes ahead of Kieley Chapman of Jamaica Plain, Mass. Chapman, 31, finished in 3:09:43. Louisa Marsh, 45, of Tyringham, Mass., was third in 3:31:29.

Another 13 runners completed the 15K race, which required them to complete the 6.5-mile Honwee loop. Matthew Spaulding led all runners as the 45-year-old from Manassas, Va., cruised through the course in 1:32:59. He was followed 10-minutes later by 44-year-old Dylan Lundgren of Dalton, Mass., who was the men’s runner-up in 1:42:55. Bryson Tobolski, 22, of Oakfield, N.Y., rounded out the podium in 1:49:22. Close behind Tobolski was 46-year-old Kristy MacWilliams of Pittsfield, Mass., who pulled away from the women’s lead pack and earned the victory in 1:50:50. The next three women all finished within a 2:05 window with 41-year-old Megan Johnson of Shelburne Falls, Mass., taking second in 1:54:59, followed by 45-year-old Katy Evans of Williamstown, Mass., in 1:56:56. Six seconds behind Evans was 45-year-old Julie Tobolski of Oakfield, N.Y., in fourth in 1:57:02.