The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to its fourth annual Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultramarathon on Saturday, Aug. 12, at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, Mass. Continue reading Results: Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra
Category Archives: BURCS
Davis, Defusco Lead MA Runners at Jug End Loop Ultra
The second running of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Jug End Loop 6-Hour Ultra featured explosive turnout and impressive performances on Saturday, July 19, at Jug End State Reservation in Egremont, Mass.
Sixty-nine runners took part in this year’s event – more than double the 30 from 2016 – and 25 surpassed the marathon distance by anywhere from a few steps to many miles. Fourteen ran at least a 50K. The fastest performances were turned in by last year’s runner-up and a pair of Massachusetts residents. Continue reading Davis, Defusco Lead MA Runners at Jug End Loop Ultra
More Time, More Miles at BURCS Summer Fat Ass
Demand for big mileage opportunities has grown in western Massachusetts in recent years, and the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) responded first with the expansion of its BURCS Badass Race Series to include additional events, and then this year with time extensions for the organization’s annual Summer Fat Ass Run.
The Summer Fat Ass was a six-hour event during its first two years, and last year both runners and organizers discussed the possibility of doubling – and maybe even quadrupling – the time limit so runners could try to achieve 50- and 100-mile goals. That conversation laid the foundation for the third annual Summer Fat Ass, which expanded into a two-day affair on July 8-9 at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass. In addition to the standard six-hour event, runners could also choose to run for 12 hours or 24 hours. The result was that dozens of new faces turned out for the event, and many people set personal milestones, all of which pleased race director Benn Griffin. Continue reading More Time, More Miles at BURCS Summer Fat Ass
Results: BURCS Summer Fat Ass Run
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s third annual BURCS Summer Fat Ass Run took place July 8-9 at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass. Continue reading Results: BURCS Summer Fat Ass Run
Fresh Faces, Fast Times at Vegan Power 50K
Course record-holders Jason Mintz of Syracuse, N.Y., and Laura Kline of New Paltz, N.Y., were absent from this year’s Vegan Power 50K with Mintz racing the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run and Kline serving as his pacer. Additionally, 2016 women’s champion Samantha LeBlanc of Woburn, Mass., took part in the relay portion of Vegan Power. That left the door open for new faces to contend for first-place finishes.
New champions emerged, and it was a tale of two races at the fourth annual Vegan Power 50K as the men’s field featured a runaway winner and the women’s field produced a close battle for the podium positions on Saturday, June 17, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. Continue reading Fresh Faces, Fast Times at Vegan Power 50K
Results: Vegan Power
The fourth annual Vegan Power 50K and 25K took place on Saturday, June 17, in Pittsfield, Mass. Continue reading Results: Vegan Power
Fourth Annual BURCS Race Series Offers Summer Ultras Out West
Ultramarathons are offered every month of the year in Massachusetts, and most of those events take place in the eastern part of the state. In the summertime, however, opportunities abound for runners to tackle ultras out west in the Berkshires thanks to the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) and its annual BURCS Badass Ultra Series.
Launched as a grassroots effort just a few short years ago, BURCS serves up a summer series that has grown to include five events with a variety of different distances, time limits and terrains.
“As each year goes by I continue to be surprised by the outpouring of support and the willingness of our runners to commit to multiple races throughout the summer,” said Benn Griffin, one of BURCS’ founders and a race director for multiple events. “I am anxiously looking forward to the fourth edition of the BURCS Badass Ultra Series this year and know it will be our biggest yet.” Continue reading Fourth Annual BURCS Race Series Offers Summer Ultras Out West
