After months of anticipation, registration for the Free to Run Trail Races opened on Saturday, May 27, on UltraSignup. The event, which has been a staple of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s BURCS Badass Race Series since 2015, returns with a few new features for 2023.
Continue reading Free to Run Trail Races Return with New Course, DistancesTag Archives: BURCS
BURCS’ Virtual Ladybug 50K to Honor Troisi, Continue Her Mission
From the earliest days that the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service began putting on trail- and ultrarunning events in western Massachusetts, Cathy Troisi was there.
Continue reading BURCS’ Virtual Ladybug 50K to Honor Troisi, Continue Her MissionFrom the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the Silliness
For around 90 minutes, I perched halfway up the hill below Wright’s Tower and clicked away with my Nikon D90 camera as runners came toward me in both directions. Some danced down the hill, navigating its tangled web of tree roots while others dug deep and made the steep, rocky march upward.
Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: Celebrating the SillinessBURCS’ Free to Run Trail Races Return at Pivotal Moment, Amass Large Donation to FTR
When the United States military and NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban returned to power, the country was thrown into turmoil as its new leadership set about rolling back all sorts of rights people had gained and enjoyed in years prior. No group was more targeted than women and girls, as the Taliban sought to deny them access to education, freedom of expression and movement, and so much more. In a very real way the Taliban sought to deny women and girls their own identities.
Continue reading BURCS’ Free to Run Trail Races Return at Pivotal Moment, Amass Large Donation to FTRResults: BURCS Free to Run Trail Races
Following two years of virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) welcomed back runners for in-person racing at the eighth annual (and sixth in-person) Free to Run Trail Races on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, Mass. Runners once again took on 50-mile, marathon or half-marathon distances on a 12.5-mile technical trail loop course with plenty of climbing.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Free to Run Trail RacesPerseverance Pays Off for Mankekar with Sweltering Summer Victory
Durgesh Mankekar was still a relative newcomer to ultrarunning when he made his first appearance at the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra in 2019.
Continue reading Perseverance Pays Off for Mankekar with Sweltering Summer VictoryResults: BURCS Sweltering Summer
The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS) played host to the 10th edition of the Sweltering Summer 8-Hour Ultra and 5K on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, at Clapp Park in Pittsfield, Mass.
Continue reading Results: BURCS Sweltering SummerJug End Returns to Full In-Person Racing After 2 Years of Virtual/Hybrid Format
Race Director Benn Griffin sought creative solutions to keep the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Jug End Loop Ultra going during the COVID-19 disruption and continue raising funds for the causes the race supports.
Continue reading Jug End Returns to Full In-Person Racing After 2 Years of Virtual/Hybrid FormatResults: Jug End Loop Ultra
The seventh edition of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Jug End Loop Ultra and 4.2-Mile Trail Race – and sixth in-person running – took place on Saturday, July 30, at Jug End State Reservation in Egremont, Mass.
Continue reading Results: Jug End Loop UltraBig-Time Performances Abound at Notchview Ultra
Where to begin with the 2022 edition of the Notchview Ultra? Two women surpassing the 200-mile mark in the 72-hour race? A 13-year-old running 100 miles? An assortment of runners carrying a watermelon around the course for 74 miles? All of that and more played out at the seventh running of the Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service’s Notchview Ultra on July 8-10 at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, Mass.
Continue reading Big-Time Performances Abound at Notchview Ultra