It started with a YouTube video. Surely you know the one. Kilian’s Quest – Slow Motion. Four minutes and 51 seconds of spine-tingling, eye-widening, downhill-running magic.

For a relatively new trail-runner and novice ultrarunner, it was a tantalizing video that led me to dream about dancing my way down mountain slopes and seek out the best spot to run hill repeats on my local trails.

The sources I’ve sought for inspiration and education within the sport have evolved over time. I subscribed to both TrailRunner Magazine and UltraRunning Magazine beginning 2011, contributed writing to both, and still maintain the latter subscription to this day. I’ve enjoyed my share of podcasts, and still savor a well-done YouTube video as long as it tells a good story.

Still, after 14 1/2 years as a trail-runner and 13 years of running ultras, what captures my attention and sparks inspiration continues to change. Some of that evolution is based on my own personal journey as a runner; I’m long past my days of imagining that I can bomb the downhills like Kilian, and my curiosity in what elite runners are doing is dwarfed by my interest in what folks here in our community are accomplishing.

This year, Sabrina Little’s The Examined Run column on iRunFar has been my must-read material. Though she’s been writing it since 2018 and I’d read it from time to time, the context of Sabrina’s columns is always thought-provoking and deep. That comes with the territory, given that she has a PhD in philosophy and teaches Ethics, Values, and Leadership at the university level. Her columns frequently explore the intersection of running and everyday life, specifically as it relates to matters of virtue. Scenarios she dissects often involve character and integrity, pride and envy, grace and justice. Her columns challenge us to think, to question ourselves, our thoughts and our actions, to better understand ourselves and others, and to have empathy for ourselves and others.

Topics she has written about this year include: When People Mess Up, Running on Social Media, Running and Citizenship, the Vices of Fandom, and Running Accountability, just to give you an idea.

This is a dark time in the United States and all around the world, and it can be hard to avoid giving in to the darkness. Though it has been building for many years, in 2024 we saw a surge in the number of people not just supporting vile behavior, but outright celebrating it, rewarding it, and emulating it. Actions once abhorred are now being excused and embraced, sometimes with absolute glee. What had allegedly been deeply held beliefs or personal principles have been so easily cast aside by many, deemed justifiable as long as the right person or group loses or suffers. Everywhere we look, it seems people have been putting the worst versions of themselves forward and deciding that’s who they want to be.

Perhaps it’s this prevalence of compromising values and beliefs that made Sabrina’s columns so appealing to me this year. At a time when society at large seems to be abandoning virtue, her columns have been sources of enlightenment, empathy, and humble pie. They’ve helped me question myself and attempt to better understand other people. They’ve helped me remember to see the goodness in others, even when it can be difficult. They’ve given me hope that we can all be better and do better, as long as we’re willing.

My sense of optimism for the country and the world is quite low for the near future, and I suspect things will get a whole lot worse before they get better; however, what gives me hope is this community and the people in it.

A core tenet of trail-running and ultrarunning that we hold dear is that we look out for each other and take care of each other. If someone’s injured or struggling, we stop to help. If someone has a blister, we help patch it up. We sacrifice for others, no matter who it is, because we know they’ll do the same for us when we need it. We don’t withhold our salt caps from a runner who is cramping because of where they hail from, or hide the aid station snacks from someone because of what they look like. We see the humanity in each other, help each other out, and try to make someone’s day a bit better because it’s who we are and it’s the right thing to do – at least when we’re on the trail.

I’ve long believed that most of us are the best version of ourselves when we’re on the trails or volunteering at a race. If that is true, then imagine the impact we can make if we bring that virtuous version of ourselves into other aspects of life. We may not be the largest segment of society – or even the largest segment of the running community – but we trail- and ultrarunners are a big enough community that we can collectively make a small dent if we commit to putting our best selves forward.

I know we can do it. In fact, it’s already happening.

In 2023, a Little Sled Library was established at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, Mass., with around 20 sleds for the local kids to use for free; it was wildly popular. Less than four weeks ago, on Dec. 8, children headed to the park to have some fun after one of the first snows of the season. Upon arrival, the children and their parents discovered that the library’s approximately 20 sleds had all either been stolen or destroyed. Shattered sleds littered the park, as if to taunt the children that their day of fun had been foiled.

Perhaps it was the behavior of some local knuckleheads, or just another on-brand moment for America in 2024, but the action didn’t sit well with Pittsfield resident Benn Griffin. You may know Griffin as the ringleader of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service. He’s known for putting on top-notch events, being relentlessly positive, believing in you even when you don’t, and pushing people hard to achieve their goals. He approaches life with an “All it takes is all you got!” motto that he embodies on the trails, in the Berkshire County classroom where he teaches, and in the community where he lives.

Angered and upset by what had happened, Griffin took to social media to rally the troops. Darkness had been brought on his community, but Griffin believed the BURCS could bring some light.

“Can’t let a couple jerks ruin 90% of the good kids’ fun!,” Griffin wrote. “If you want to get in on the holiday cheer and support our Clapp Park kiddos, get at me!”

Donations quickly flooded in from dozens of runners. On the evening of Dec. 20, snow once again fell at Clapp Park as Griffin pulled up and placed seven new sleds in the Little Sled Library. He brought a nice mix of discs and traditional sleds to give the kids some variety.

On Dec. 27, Griffin updated the BURCS community on what he dubbed “Operation Sledgate.” Seven sleds had already been dropped off, and 15 more were on the way.

But the vandals returned – at least two more times, according to the library’s organizer when she spoke to the Berkshire Eagle, estimating that around 50 sleds had been stolen or destroyed this season. That includes the first and second batches delivered by Griffin, numbering around a dozen, and several others contributed by local businesses and residents.

On Dec. 28, the sled library sat empty once again.

The library organizer is understandably heartbroken and is considering abandoning the effort if the theft and destruction continues. If someone – or some group of people – have decided that the kids of Pittsfield can’t have something nice, then maybe that’s just the way it has to be.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, and Griffin and the BURCS are determined to make sure the kids keep sledding. As ultrarunners, they’re approaching this like a multi-day race and are in it for the long haul. Griffin told the Berkshire Eagle that the BURCS have raised $912 so far for Operation Sledgate – more than 30 runners have contributed. Griffin has six more sleds ready to deliver when the next snow falls, with another 10 ordered and $400 left to fund additional sled purchases as more donations continue to arrive. The BURCS are prepared to make sure the kids are sledding at Clapp Park for the rest of this winter, and next winter, too.

Sleds on a ski hill may seem like a minor issue, but it’s not. The collapse of character and abandonment of virtue starts with small things and spreads. Cut a corner here, excuse an action there, and it gets progressively easier to abandon one’s principles altogether. Griffin and the BURCS are sending a message to the kids of Pittsfield that doing right matters and good is worth fighting for. I am quite certain Sabrina would approve and applaud the effort.

In her final The Examined Run column of 2024, Sabrina offers several tips for new ultrarunners that I think can apply to all of us, in our running lives and beyond: be careful who you emulate, run the races that excite you, perseverance is not always a good thing, and define excellence broadly. Her final tip struck me the most, this nugget in particular: “My advice is to figure out what excellence means in your context and consider how you can aspire greatly and invest in the sport, with integrity to your personal limits.”

As we close out this year and prepare to begin anew in 2025, my hope – and my challenge to all of us in the year ahead – is to ponder what it means to be good and do good, and let that guide us. Let’s pursue excellence not just in our running endeavors, but in our everyday lives. Let’s commit to being our best selves, both on the trails and off. Let’s follow the example of Benn Griffin and the BURCS and commit to being the light that our community and our world so desperately needs.

Year 10 of local coverage from MassUltra starts this weekend. I’ll see you on the trails again soon.

Top 10 Most Viewed Stories/Items of 2024 (156 pieces of local content in 2024)

1 – From the Editor’s Desk: As Corporatization Creeps In, Runners Responsible for Maintaining Sport’s Culture – 855 views

2 – One Final Finish Line: Loureiro ‘Will Be Missed, But Never Forgotten’ – 635 views

3 – Results: TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival – 474 views

4 – Two 130-Mile Efforts, Gaudrault’s Historic 100 Highlight Ghost Train – 457 views

5 – Runners Flourish with Great Weather, Fast Times at Stone Cat Trail Festival – 358 views

T6 – Beast Coast Trail Running Bringing New Ultra to Ashfield in June – 335 views

T6 – Blythe Edges Bradshaw in Barnburner at Watuppa – 335 views

8 – Runners Capitalize on Drought Conditions with Big Performances at TARCkey Trot – 330 views

9 – First-Timers Flourish, Baker Sizzles in Return to Womp Romp – 320 views

10 – ‘Magic’ Moments Abound at 2024 Notchview Ultra – 277 views