On Monday, March 22, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will move to Phase 4 of its reopening plan a little more than a year after it began closing down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the move to Phase 4, the limits on outdoor gatherings in public places will increase to 150 people. The move to Phase 4 was good news for Howie Breinan, the founder and race director for the Trail Animals Running Club’s original and longest running event, the ‘Don’t Run Boston’ 50K and 50-miler at the Blue Hills Reservation.
Continue reading TARC’s ‘Don’t Run Boston’ Trail Ultras Tentatively ApprovedCategory Archives: TARC
TARC Cancels 3 More 2021 Races as Pandemic Rages On
The Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) was forced to cancel nine of its 10 trail races in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States. A massive spike in positive cases and hospitalizations tied to Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday gatherings and travel, coupled with a slow rollout of vaccines, made it clear that COVID-19 isn’t yet done ravaging the TARC Trail Series.
Continue reading TARC Cancels 3 More 2021 Races as Pandemic Rages On
Frozen Yeti is First 2021 Ultra Canceled Due to COVID-19
The past two weeks have brought encouraging news regarding two COVID-19 vaccines potentially becoming available starting sometime in December for the most vulnerable of the population, with wider availability to the general public possibly by April 2021. Those same two weeks have also brought devastating news that the pandemic is taking its firmest grip yet on the United States with parts of the Bay State beginning to lock back down for the winter.
Continue reading Frozen Yeti is First 2021 Ultra Canceled Due to COVID-19
Remainder of 2020 TARC Trail Series Canceled Due to Pandemic
When more than 100 runners gathered at the starting line of the TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Feb. 1, at Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., the Trail Animals Running Club thought another big year was kicking off. Continue reading Remainder of 2020 TARC Trail Series Canceled Due to Pandemic
Running Below the Noise Ultras Canceled Due to COVID-19
The inaugural Running Below the Noise 12-Hour and 6-Hour Ultramarathons have been canceled as the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to spread throughout the United States. Continue reading Running Below the Noise Ultras Canceled Due to COVID-19
Ghost Train is Latest Local Ultra Canceled Due to Pandemic
The Trail Animals Running Club won’t be haunting the Brookline to Milford Rail Trail this year. After holding out hope for several months that the club’s popular TARC Ghost Train Rail Trail Races could take place as scheduled on Oct. 17-18 in Brookline, N.H., Race Directors Theresa and Kurt Berna announced Wednesday evening on Facebook that the 12th annual event was canceled. Continue reading Ghost Train is Latest Local Ultra Canceled Due to Pandemic
TARC Summer Classic Canceled Due to COVID-19
After holding out hope for several months that the event could happen, Race Director Michael Barrett announced today on Facebook that the Trail Animals Running Club’s TARC Summer Classic was officially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading TARC Summer Classic Canceled Due to COVID-19
Virtual Spring Classic Winners Crowned for Creative Routes
The global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus may have cost runners the opportunity to gather together for the Trail Animals Running Club’s popular Spring Classic trail races on April 25, but the pandemic couldn’t stop the race’s spirit. Continue reading Virtual Spring Classic Winners Crowned for Creative Routes
Race Directors Embrace Virtual Options to Keep Runners Motivated During Pandemic
The Trail Animals Running Club’s annual TARC Spring Classic is one of the most popular trail-running events in Massachusetts, drawing more than 300 runners to the trails of Weston each April to tackle distances from 10K to 50K. The 10th annual Spring Classic was scheduled for Saturday, April 25, and it was shaping up to be another busy day on the trails with hundreds of runners once again signed up to race.
As the global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, expanded its spread across the state and the country, the race’s future was put in doubt. Then, following an order by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker limiting the size of gatherings to no more than 50 people to help slow the spread of COVID-19, Spring Classic co-Race Directors Annie Gagliardi and Michael McDuffie announced on Wednesday, March 18, that the race was canceled.
The Spring Classic was the second TARC race and third in Massachusetts to cancel due to COVID-19. That number has since grown to eight cancellations, three postponements, and another that will take place as a virtual race. That means that after kicking off the year with the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K and the Cape Cod Frozen Fat Ass 50K in January and the TARCtic Frozen Yeti on Feb. 1-2, the earliest the next in-person ultra in Massachusetts might take place is July. That’s a long time for ultrarunners to go without connecting with their trail tribe. Some race directors are doing what they can to minimize that disconnect even if races can’t take place in person at the moment by introducing virtual races, a concept that has exploded in popularity nationwide during the pandemic. Continue reading Race Directors Embrace Virtual Options to Keep Runners Motivated During Pandemic
TARC’s ‘Don’t Run Boston’ Canceled
One of New England’s original ultramarathons, the Trail Animals Running Club’s ‘Don’t Run Boston’ Ultras, has been canceled due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading TARC’s ‘Don’t Run Boston’ Canceled
