The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service closed out its 2026 race series with an exclamation point at the Jug End Loop Ultra.

Not only did runners enjoy good weather, mostly dry trails and abundance of positive vibes at the 11th annual 6-hour and 4.2-mile trail races on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Jug End State Reservation in Egremont, Mass., but they also delivered sizeable donations to the Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Louison House through their fundraising efforts. The BURCS take the “service” part of their name seriously, and they went big in that category again this year.

Louison House, located in North Adams, is the only homeless shelter in northern Berkshire County. The BURCS have raised more than $10,000 for Louison House through the years at the Jug End Loop Ultra, and this event’s contribution was a check for $1,525.48 as well as a car full of supplies donated by runners. The event has also raised funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to honor the memory of longtime BURCS supporter John Gryszowka, who passed away in August 2020 following a two-year battle with lung cancer. Proceeds from the event’s John G. Memorial 4.2-mile race–and an accompanying 4.2-mile virtual run for those who could not attend in person–added up to a $1,000 contribution to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a number that grew to $3,000 following a late matching contribution.

While the BURCS went big on the donation tally, they also amassed some impressive numbers on the loop course. Thanks to mostly dry conditions, comfortable temperatures and cloud cover that kept runners from roasting, they hit the 4.2-mile loop hard for the first five hours of the race before transitioning to a .75-mile mini loop for the final hour.

Eighteen of the 43 runners in the 6-hour race eclipsed the marathon milestone, but nobody went bigger than Anthony Ryan, The 19-year-old from New Milford, Conn., only ran his first ultra in March of this year, but he has already amassed an impressive resume that includes a dozen ultra finishes, victories at a pair of 12-hour races–The Revolution 12-hour in Connecticut and 12 Hours of Lawrence Woods in Medford, Mass.–during back-to-back weekends in July, and a runner-up finish at the Beast of Burden Summer 100-miler in New York the week before Jug End. Ryan shook out his legs by cranking out 36.60 miles and leading all runners in his Jug End debut.

A trio of runners followed with 33.9 miles apiece, including top female and second overall finisher Miranda Gajda, 32, of East Chatham, N.Y., and men’s runner-up and third-place finishers John Kemp, 58, of Sheffield, Mass., and Nolan Griffin, 20, of East Longmeadow, Mass. Both Gajda and Kemp last raced at the Notchview Ultra, where Kemp was the top male in the 100.7-mile race and Gajda was the female runner-up at the same distance. Gajda also won the BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run 50K at Pittsfield State Forest in May. Gajda was joined on the female podium by runner-up Sarah Osborne, 28, of Boston, Mass., and third-place Ericka Emerson, 55, of Belchertown, Mass., who completed 30.45 and 28.2 miles apiece.

Other top performers at Jug End included Joe Spinazola, 33, of East Chatham, N.Y., who completed 33.15 miles; Steven Madamba, 36, of Collinsville, Conn., and Kevin Szwarc, 22, of Paramus, N.J., who ran 32.4 miles apiece; and Luke McConaghy, 29, of West Greenwich, R.I., who completed 31.65 miles.

In addition to the 6-hour race, another eight runners completed one loop of the course in the John G. Memorial 4.2-miler. Michael Moglia, 33, of Great Neck, N.Y., led all runners in 38:13, followed soon after by runner-up Jay Durand, 50, of Adams, Mass., in 40:51. Top female Daria Cunningham, 50, of Lunenburg, Mass, finished in 45:34. Also among the finishers were the race namesake’s daughter and wife, 41-year-old Marie Gryszowka, of Leicester, Mass., and 63-year-old Charlene Gryszowka, 63, of Ware, Mass., who finished in 1:22:06 and 1:44:03, respectively.