The Stone Cat Trail Race has been a staple of the New England trail ultrarunning scene for more than two decades, but the legendary event is about to write its final chapter.
Continue reading Registration Opens for Final Stone Cat Trail RaceCategory Archives: G.A.C.
A Year After COVID Cancellation, Snow Doesn’t Stop G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
Since 1998, the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K has kicked off the new ultrarunning year in New England all but three times. The 2004 and 2018 events were canceled due to dangerous weather – severe cold or blizzard-like conditions – and the 2021 race was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue reading A Year After COVID Cancellation, Snow Doesn’t Stop G.A.C. Fat Ass 50KResults: G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
The 22nd running of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K took place on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass. Around 100 runners took part in the event with 19 successfully completing five loops of the course for a 50K finish.
Continue reading Results: G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K Set to Return in 2022
For just the third time in event history, the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the event’s founding in 1998, it had only been canceled twice before, in 2004 and 2018, both times due to inclement weather.
Continue reading G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K Set to Return in 2022Bainbridge Scorches Course on Record-Setting Day at Stone Cat 50K
When Rachel Bainbridge attended the 2019 Stone Cat 50K to cheer on some friends, she knew then and there that she wanted to run the race. A classic New England ultra, Stone Cat began in 2001 as a 50-miler and marathon, but organizers consolidated the distances into a 50K in 2019 to streamline race management and breathe new life into the early-fall race.
Continue reading Bainbridge Scorches Course on Record-Setting Day at Stone Cat 50KResults: Stone Cat 50K
The 20th edition of the Stone Cat Trail Race and second edition of the event as a 50K took place on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2021, at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, Mass. Devin Jones of Beverly, Mass., topped the men’s field while Rachel Bainbridge set a women’s course record by 13 minutes.
Continue reading Results: Stone Cat 50K
After Cancellation in 2020, Stone Cat Registration to Open June 29
After 18 years as a 50-mile and marathon event, the Stone Cat organizers merged the two distances into one 50K race in 2019. The result was spirited competition in both the women’s and men’s fields where strong performances were plentiful and the outcome was in doubt until the final trip around the three-loop course. By the end of the day, the reinvented Stone Cat was an instant classic.
Continue reading After Cancellation in 2020, Stone Cat Registration to Open June 292021 G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K Canceled Due to Pandemic
The G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K is one of the longest running New England ultramarathons, as well as a favorite of many runners throughout the region. The classic event has kicked off the new year 21 times since 1998, with only the 2004 and 2018 events canceled due to inclement weather.
Continue reading 2021 G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K Canceled Due to Pandemic
Pandemic Forces Cancellation of Stone Cat 50K
For 18 years, the Stone Cat Trail Races challenged runners with 50-mile and marathon distances. The race organizers from G.A.C. in Topsfield transitioned the event to a single-distance offering of a 50K in 2019, and that inaugural event featured impressive performances and competitive battles in both the women’s and men’s races, setting the stage for a highly anticipated second edition of the 50K in 2020.
That second edition will have to wait. Continue reading Pandemic Forces Cancellation of Stone Cat 50K
Around 150 Runners Kick Off New Year at G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
Runners endured the full spectrum of weather conditions during the first 20 years of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K, from bone-chilling temperatures far below freezing, to blizzard conditions, to rain, ice, sun and unseasonably warm temperatures.
The 21st annual event took place Saturday, Jan. 4, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass., and it featured a little bit of everything. Patches of snow and ice covered the 6.2-mile loop course, as did a fair amount of mud thanks to some thawing in the mid-40s temperatures and the rain that fell on and off during the race. The damp yet comfortable conditions were ideal for runners who sought several loops and didn’t mind having mud-coated calves and shoes. Continue reading Around 150 Runners Kick Off New Year at G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K
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