Events put on by the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) are known for their family reunion-type vibes. That was the case once again when the BURCS played host to the Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 10, at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, Mass., where familiar faces were aplenty – though it was an event newcomer who ran away with the overall victory at the 12th annual event.

Lila Gaudrault got her first taste of BURCS hospitality in July when she ran the 12-hour race at the Notchview Ultra, establishing friendships and earning a fan club with her dynamite 72.2-mile performance that set a new overall course record. That performance came in the midst of a remarkable racing streak for the 21-year-old from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. In the two months prior to Notchview, she won and set course records at the 3 Days at the Fair 12-hour race in New Jersey, the Pineland Farms 100K in Maine, the Chesterfield Gorge 100K in West Chesterfield, Mass., the inaugural 6 at the Springs in Maine, and the Catamount 50K in Vermont. A week after Notchview, she made her 100-mile debut at the Vermont 100, placing seventh overall, third in the women’s field (one second behind second) and first overall among the solo category in a women’s solo course-record time.

Following the Vermont 100, Gaudrault took a couple days off from running and three weeks off from racing before returning to the starting line at Sweltering Summer. After tackling the rolling hills and dirt country roads of Vermont, Sweltering Summer offered Gaudrault a more forgiving 0.355-mile dirt and cinder track.

A Friday night downpour soaked the area and pooled water along the outside of the track, but Gaudrault and her fellow runners were treated to plenty of heat and sun on race day. Though she wasn’t yet fully recovered from the Vermont 100, Gaudrault pushed the pace for several hours before backing off near the end. Still, she wrapped up her day in a familiar position – first place overall with a new course record to her credit. Gaudrault completed 151 laps of the track for 53.6 miles, eclipsing Danielle Chemiak’s previous women’s course record of 51.83 miles from 2014. Yuki Chorney was next on the list with 51.16 miles in 2019. Greg Soutiea’s overall course record of 61.48 miles from 2018 was out of reach – for the moment anyway.

While Gaudrault ran away with the overall win, a close battle for the top spot in the men’s field played out behind her between Ian Stevenson and David Drebsky. Both entered the race with experience on the course – Drebsky logged 36.248 miles at the 2018 event, while Stevenson posted 49.042 miles that year and finished fifth before returning in 2023 and placing second with 46.5 miles.

The pair were never far apart throughout the day, though Drebsky was ahead for most of it while clicking away loops at a consistent pace. Stevenson, 54, of Hakusan, Japan, moved ahead in the final hour and held on for the victory in the men’s field and second place overall with 138 laps and 48.99 miles. Drebsky, 44, of Plainview, N.Y., followed two laps behind with 48.28 miles, good for second in the men’s field and third overall. Bill Odendahl, 49, of Trumbull, Conn., rounded out the podium with 130 laps and 46.15 miles. It was Odendahl’s 10th time finishing Sweltering Summer, and his biggest mileage effort ever on the course. Event newcomer Benjamin Niebla, 27, of Manchester, N.H., was the fourth-place male with 43.31 miles, and 2019 champion Eric Ciocca, 46, of Northampton, Mass., was fifth with 42.95 miles.

Gaudrault was joined on the women’s podium by several strong runners who also turned in big performances. Fresh off of her second straight third-place finish at the BURCS’ Notchview Ultra 100.7-miler, Kim Hooper-Stanley, 62, of Bethel, Conn., earned a fifth-place overall finish and was the women’s runner-up with 127 laps and 45.08 miles in her Sweltering Summer debut. She narrowly missed a spot on the women’s all-time top-10 list with her performance. Defending champion Melissa Perkins-Banas, 53, of Brooklyn, Conn., rounded out the podium with 117 laps and 41.53 miles. Lindsay Croshier, 41, of Honolulu, Hawaii – a former Medford, Mass., resident – earned her 10th finish at Sweltering Summer by finishing 115 laps and 40.82 miles for a fourth-place finish in the women’s field. She was followed by Jennifer Braun, 45, of Stone Ridge, N.Y., with 107 laps and 37.99 miles for her fifth straight Sweltering Summer finish.

In the non-binary field, 23-year-old Paige Davis of Stone Ridge, N.Y., earned their third straight Sweltering Summer finish and topped the division with 15.27 miles.

Sixty-eight runners took part in this year’s 8-hour race, including 43 who eclipsed the marathon distance. Regardless of distance completed, the event welcomed back numerous long-time participants. 

Pete Colaizzo, 59, of Hyde Park, N.Y., earned his 12th straight Sweltering Summer finish dating back to the event’s inaugural running in 2013 and finished 12th overall with 39.4 miles. Brittany Choquette, 36, of North Adams, Mass., earned her 11th consecutive Sweltering Summer finish, logging 74 laps for a 26.27-mile marathon finish. John Capen, 87, of Stone Ridge, N.Y., completed 8.16 miles at his 10th Sweltering Summer, matching Odendahl’s and Croshier’s tally. Additionally, Jennifer Bell, 58, of Dalton, Mass., Alexis Davidson, 68, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Alex Bancroft, 49, of Pawcatuck, Conn., and Thomas Hrdina, 73, of Ridgewood, N.J., all finished for the eighth time.

Ryan Clips Course Record in 5K Victory

The 5K race had a field of just nine runners, but the small field featured a mighty performance. Runners had to complete nine loops of the .355-mile dirt and cinder track to complete the distance, and 17-year-old Garrett Ryan of Woodside, N.Y., pushed the pace from the start. He eventually lapped the field and ultimately earned the overall victory in 20:01. He pushed hard through the finish, and in doing so clipped the course record by 3 seconds, beating Joshua Wessler’s previous course standard of 20:04 that was set in 2021. Daniel O’Shea, 52, of Northampton, Mass., was second in 25:56, and 62-year-old John Catrambone of Froton, Mass., was third in 31:11. In the women’s field, Nancy Mead, 59, of Wendell, Mass., earned the victory in 34:39, followed by Amy Sweryda, 49, of Monson, Mass., in 39:32.