There’s a certain magic to logging miles through the streets of New Salem. There’s the small-town charm, the historic buildings, friendly faces and serene sense of calm as the miles click by.

For Benn Griffin, that’s part of what keeps him coming back to The Village Ultra year after year. It’s part of what brought him back to the eighth annual event on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 on the New Salem Town Common. What also lures him back each year is the opportunity to run in the dark – and New Salem at night is magnificent.

“I tend to run at night there for a few reasons. I love night running – always have,” said Griffin, a teacher who race-directs events for the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service during his summers off. “Even way back when I was student teaching, I’d head to the track and run at 8 or 9 at night. I also know that nighttime running is my weakness and I’m always seeking to improve.

“In New Salem, though, it’s just surreal. They still have all the old meeting houses and churches there right next to the cemetery. One year I did the loop through the cemetery right when it was striking midnight. That was pretty awesome.”

The Village Ultra is organized by Race Director and New Salem resident Carla Halpern, and it prides itself in being a noncompetitive running/walking event rather than a race. It offers runners the opportunity to pursue their goals, whatever they may be for the day, in a supported environment. The event has four unique, color-coded routes – a loop around the Town Common and a loop that passes through the cemetery, as well as two longer out-and-backs that include either a trip past an apple orchard on gravel, or a long, somewhat steep paved hill. Runners track their mileage by carrying a shoelace and affixing beads to the corresponding loops they run. A separate yellow bead is provided for trips to the bathroom, and a green bead was added this year for runners who stopped by the New Salem General Store which provided complimentary cookies for the runners.

“The choose your own format is pretty neat,”Griffin said. “You can look back and see the beads and remember more about the courses you chose. I actually went out with Carla at night for my first ever gold bead. That little hill is horrendous. But then later that night I decided to go back and run it twice more. Whether you opt for the little 1/4-mile loops in town, or do one of the out-and-back loops, it won’t disappoint. It has literally everything you can imagine: flats, hills, dirt road running.”

A unique twist for this year’s event was that runners were treated to some Saturday evening music.

“There was a huge concert happening this year when I got there late, and I ended up parking in an unused parking lot,” Griffin noted. “I joked with (race volunteer) Thor (Mead), who was checking people in, that there were more cars on the road tonight than people that lived in the town!”

It turned out singer-songwriter John Gorka was in town for a concert, Halpern said.

“One of the sound tech folks left the doors open so we could hear a bit of the show,” she said. “There was a little more competition for parking spots than usual, but mostly it was just nice to be enjoying a lovely evening while other folks were coming to New Salem and enjoying a lovely evening in a different way.”

While the runners and walkers who arrived for the 7 p.m. Saturday start enjoyed the music, they also had mileage on their minds during the course of the next 24 hours. Light rain on Saturday night cooled them off and cranked up the humidity a bit, but with overnight temperatures in the 60s and daytime highs in the 70s it was a pleasant weekend for the runners and walkers to pile up the miles.

For Griffin, the goal was to log an overnight 50K and be home to Pittsfield in time for breakfast. He ended up running 35 miles before calling it a night.

“The course is already fairly quiet most years, but that 12 p.m. to 5 a.m. it’s like you and three people on course. Everyone else is tucked away and sleeping. And you can just listen to an audiobook or tunes and just cruise,” he said. “It’s also one of the few times you can drive over for a race in the evening and be back home by breakfast and still log an ultra. So in terms of selfishness in pursuit of an ultra finish, it’s a nice way to squeeze in a run without sacrificing family time.”

Griffin said he also enjoys the fact that The Village Ultra supports a worthy cause each year – which is a trait the event shares with Griffin’s BURCS races.

“Each edition of the race benefits a cause I can get behind,” he said. “So you know the race and its volunteers and director have your back out there on course and you are helping the larger community by participating as well.”

This year’s The Village Ultra was a fundraiser for Free to Run, a nonprofit organization started by ultrarunner and human rights lawyer Stephanie Case that seeks to improve the lives of women and girls in conflict regions through exercise, be it running, hiking, or other fitness endeavors.

Free to Run is an organization that both Griffin and Halpern have supported for years. Griffin’s BURCS play host to the Free to Run trail races at Pittsfield State Forest each September to raise money for the organization; Halpern has taken part in the event four times, including three 50-mile finishes. Two of this year’s The Village Ultra participants – Francia Wisnewski and Nadira Talayee – are heavily involved with Free to Run. Talayee ran as an ambassador to Free to Run, and Wisnewski is preparing to run the Berlin Marathon as a Free to Run ambassador runner. Wisnewski also helped organize this year’s The Village Ultra.

The Village Ultra raised $310 for Free to Run on race day between registrations and donations, though the final fundraising amount may rise once proceeds from online registrations are collected.

Twenty-one runners and walkers took part in this year’s event, with 19 of them participating in person and two virtually. Nine of them piled up ultramarathon mileage, though each participant had their own goals and objectives to accomplish regardless of distance.

“The most important to me is how this event has evolved,” Halpern said. “Our goals are fundraising and supporting each individual participant. We become more like family every year. There are no mileage rankings, only stories. And everyone has a story to tell.”

Indeed, there were plenty of stories, starting with the Free to Run ambassadors. Wisnewski was in taper mode for Berlin on Sept. 29, so she poured her heart into The Village Ultra as a co-organizer this year, preparing promotional materials, prepping homemade mac & cheese for the aid station, and volunteering all weekend in addition to logging 6.3 miles. Meanwhile, The Village Ultra was Talayee’s main event, and the Afghanistan native and student at Smith College went big. Talayee’s goal was to complete her first ultra – she wanted 30 miles.

“I said ‘That’s crazy – you can’t stop at 30! You need to do at least 31 and get a 50K,’” Halpern recalled. “Nadira told me that she would do at least 32! Nadira easily reached her goal … and then kept going. She reached 40 … and kept going. She finished with 44.5 miles in 12 hours!”

Talayee delivered one of the most inspiring performances on a weekend where there were plenty of them.

A newcomer to The Village Ultra, 25-year-old Ryan Hanna, turned in the biggest mileage of anyone. A runner with two 100-mile finishes under his belt – most recently at the BURCS’ Notchview 100.7-miler in July – Hanna capitalized on the laid-back format of The Village Ultra and cranked out 80.1 miles.

Halpern always piles up plenty of miles of her own in addition to race directing duties. Despite not feeling well on Saturday morning, she kept her mindset positive and shared miles with many of the runners and walkers throughout the weekend. By the time the weekend was done, she had logged 52.5 miles – her biggest 24-hour output since donating a kidney a few years ago.

“I was reintroduced to the Pain Cave and also the realization that I could get through it,” she said. “I also fended off stomach issues, which have plagued me for the past few years. Being constantly out on the course also put me in touch with the other participants a lot, which was delightful!”

While Halpern continues to rebuild her endurance following surgery, another runner at The Village Ultra had a big-time performance in her battle back from injury. Anne Craig has worked diligently during the past year to rebuild her base and prepare for a big-mileage day, aiming for her first ultramarathon finish since putting up 70.3 miles at the 2022 Notchview Ultra 72-hour race. Craig logged 24.7 miles in the Notchview 48-hour race in July, and at The Village Ultra she broke through with a strong 50K. Making Craig’s weekend even better, she was joined for most of her miles by her daughter, Stephanie Bond, who also enjoyed a breakthrough weekend.

“Stephanie’s goal was to get a marathon, which she did,” Halpern noted. “Then, as the time was almost up, she decided to charge through the Gold Loop (which is never easy, but especially not easy when you’re tired)! She came back up grinning ear to ear. She ended with 28.8 miles.”

Craig and Bond weren’t the only mother-daughter team at this year’s event. Phyllis Stone and Rachel Roy also attended the event together. Stone brought her dog, Ruggles, and strolled through town for 2.8 miles while Roy – a marathon finisher at the 2023 event – posted 30.5 miles despite battling nagging injuries that had forced her to withdraw from the Greenfield Triathlon this year.

Su Hoyle has been a regular at The Village Ultra during the past few years, and after logging a 50K in 2023, Hoyle added another 50K performance this year in addition to a busy weekend of volunteering. Another runner and volunteer, Kevin McClaren, logged 28.75 miles.

Finishing just shy of ultra territory, longtime The Village Ultra runner and volunteer Nancy Mead logged a marathon training run in preparation for the New York City Marathon in November. Additionally, Roma Estevez logged 22 miles in a big training run before her first marathon in November.

Longtime The Village Ultra participant and volunteer Cara Rigali entered with the goal of running a half marathon, but finished with 15.05 miles. Marathoner Ann Van Dyke cruised through 14 miles, and longtime volunteer and runner Rebecca Gonzalez-Kreisberg turned in a 13.3-mile effort. Annette Florczak, a longtime Trail Animals Running Club member and co-Race Director of the TARC Summer Classic, made the drive out from Boston to support the event and put up 5.4 miles. Longtime volunteer and participant Sally Stuffin also had a 5-mile day despite battling an injury that forced her out of the New York City Marathon. Another longtime volunteer and participant, Carol Diesel, finished 4.65 miles.

Two more runners, Gail Martin and Johanna Fawcett, participated virtually. Martin, a yoga practitioner and longtime trail and ultrarunner, posted 21.21 miles in a training run before her upcoming Berlin Marathon. Fawcett, a regular at The Village Ultra, overcame a recent injury and put up 10 miles.