For the first four years of its decade-long existence, the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s largest event – the multi-day, multi-distance Notchview Ultra – was a low-key, no-frills fatass-style event. It began as a simple 6-hour event in 2015, but by 2017 had expanded to include 12- and 24-hour offerings. In 2019, it exploded into a three-day endurance festival under its current name.
Continue reading BURCS Return to Roots for Notchview InvitationalTag Archives: BURCS
Results: BURCS Notchview Invitational
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the inaugural Notchview Invitational on Sept. 27-28 at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass. The invitation-only fatass-style event included BURCS members who completed at least five Notchview Ultras or volunteered at a variety of BURCS Race Series events. Runners chose from 24-hour, 50-mile and 50K options.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Notchview Invitational
Kousky Crushes the Course, Breaks Own Record at Jug End
The last time Justin Kousky took on the Jug End loop was in 2023. He dazzled that day with a record-setting 43.8-mile performance, toppling a record that had stood since 2016. Two years later, Kousky returned to do more damage at the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) 10th annual Jug End Loop Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 at Jug End Reservation in Egremont, Mass.
Continue reading Kousky Crushes the Course, Breaks Own Record at Jug EndResults: BURCS Jug End Loop Ultra
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 10th annual Jug End Loop Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 at Jug End Reservation in Egremont, Mass. Runners took on the traditional 4.2-mile loop course for 6 hours, using an abbreviated mini-loop for the final hour. A single-loop, 4.2-mile race also was offered.
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Ambitious Efforts Stand Out at BURCS’ Sweltering Summer
Jason Kaplan is an ambitious runner, and Wally Watermelon is an ambitious … well … watermelon. Both had big goals for the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s (BURCS) Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra on Saturday, Aug. 9, at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, and both delivered.
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Alessandrini Makes More Notchview History with 1,000th Mile
For the first two years of its existence, the Notchview Ultra was a 6-hour fatass-style event where the top mileage tallies were in the mid-30s. When the event added 12- and 24-hour options for 2017 and 2018, Dietmar Bago was the standard setter with 91.2 miles each time in the event’s longest offering.
In 2019, the Notchview Ultra entered new territory as race director Benn Griffin expanded the format into a multi-day distance fest that included a 72-hour race. In doing so, Griffin dared runners to dream of the endurance possibilities and discover what was possible on the 1.9-mile cross country ski loop at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass. Ann Alessandrini was the first to set her sights on 200 miles, and she blasted through the distance barrier in the final hour to close out a 201.4-mile effort. It was the first time a runner would surpass 200 miles at Notchview, but not the last.
Continue reading Alessandrini Makes More Notchview History with 1,000th Mile
Results: BURCS Notchview Ultra
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.
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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 Run
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