The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 10th edition of the Notchview Ultra on July 11-14, 2025, at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass. Runners took on a distance-specific 100.7-mile race or time-based 72-hour, 48-hour, 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour ultras on a 1.9-mile cross-country ski loop course.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Notchview UltraCategory Archives: BURCS
Claiborne Golden Again at Pittsfield State Forest, Wins Free to Run 50K
When Katie Claiborne earned her first ultramarathon victory at the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) 2024 Vegan Power 50K, she already was a force to be reckoned with in the Northeast. Since making her ultra debut in 2021, she has had at least 13 ultra finishes to her credit and several podium finishes.
In addition to topping the female field and finishing second overall at Vegan Power, Claiborne capped a stellar 2024 with a top-10 finish at the Vermont 100.
Claiborne opened her 2025 season in February with a trip to Arizona for the highly competitive Black Canyon Ultras 100K. Of the 1,002 starters, 776 finished within the 20-hour time limit. Claiborne was 167th overall and 49th in the female field that saw some of the biggest names in the sport do battle. After taking on a massive field at Black Canyon, Claiborne returned to more intimate racing for her next event: the BURCS Free to Run Trail Races.
Continue reading Claiborne Golden Again at Pittsfield State Forest, Wins Free to Run 50KResults: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 10th edition of the Free to Run Trail Races on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. This year’s event shifted from September to June, and it featured 50K, 25K and 15K distance opportunities on challenging singletrack trails.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
Uzzel Cruises to Victory at Inaugural Tails & Trails State Forest Run
For most of the past 11 years, the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service has kicked off its BURCS Trail Series with the Vegan Power Trail Races at Pittsfield State Forest. For 2025, the BURCS decided to shake things up. They shelved Vegan Power, but maintained the event’s beneficiary and added a few more for a brand new event at Pittsfield State Forest: the Tails & Trails State Forest Run.
Continue reading Uzzel Cruises to Victory at Inaugural Tails & Trails State Forest RunResults: BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service played host to the inaugural Tails & Trails State Forest Run on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Pittsfield State Forest. The event replaced Vegan Power in the BURCS Badass Trail Series, but it kept the same venue and offered 50K, 25K and 5-mile trail races.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run
200 is the New 100: Gonzalez-Kreisberg Redefines Ultra Endurance By Volunteering
Two hundred wasn’t the number Rebecca Gonzalez-Kreisberg had in mind for the 2024 ultrarunning season. Her heart was set on 152 – the precise number of miles she planned to run at the Notchview Ultra.
It was an ambitious milestone, but after earning her first 100-mile finish at the 72-hour event in 2023 she dared to dream even bigger. Unfortunately for her, the combination of a toe injury and upheaval at work halted her running ambitions before the season even began.
“Things were kind of falling apart,” Gonzalez-Kreisberg admitted. “That’s where the goal of 152 had to be put aside, because suddenly I was in no capacity between what was going on at work and what was going on with my physical body to be training. I spent a lot of that winter barely surviving in a lot of ways.”
“Luckily,” she added, “I’m totally on the other side now.”
How she dealt with the disappointment and weathered storm involved an extraordinary feat of a different type of endurance, one that called to mind the popular ultrarunning phrase “200 is the new 100” while also redefining it.
Continue reading 200 is the New 100: Gonzalez-Kreisberg Redefines Ultra Endurance By Volunteering
BURCS’ Free to Run Trail Races Test Runners in Series Finale
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) offers runners a smorgasbord of variety during its annual BURCS Badass Race Series, bookending with races at the same venue that offer wildly different experiences.
Continue reading BURCS’ Free to Run Trail Races Test Runners in Series FinaleResults: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the ninth in-person edition of the Free to Run Trail Races on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. Runners took on 50-mile and 50K ultramarathons or 25K and 15K sub-ultra distances on tough singletrack trails at an event that raised money for Free to Run, a non-profit organization that has the mission of improving the lives of women and girls in conflict regions through participation in physical activity.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
Runners Capitalize on Ideal Conditions, Log Big Miles at Jug End Loop Ultra
No matter the year, one thing is consistent at the Jug End Loop Ultra: the miles are hard-earned.
Continue reading Runners Capitalize on Ideal Conditions, Log Big Miles at Jug End Loop UltraResults: BURCS Jug End Loop Ultra
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the ninth annual Jug End Loop Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at Jug End State Reservation in Egremont, Mass. Runners once again took on a 4.2-mile loop course for 6 hours, or completed a single-loop race. For those in the 6-hour event, they shifted from the main course to a 0.88-mile mini loop for the final hour.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Jug End Loop Ultra
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