TOPSFIELD, Mass. – A few things have changed through the years at the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K. There was the change of venue in 2003, the shift from the last Saturday in December to first Saturday in January starting in 2005, and the new start/finish area in 2022 to allow for more sun.
Still, plenty has stayed the same. It’s still free to participate and there are no bibs. You just show up and run. Additionally, the most important details – the people, the low-key atmosphere and the all-are-welcome attitude – have remained consistent through the years, and they were once again on display for the 23rd running of the event on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Bradley Palmer State Park.
Gil’s Athletic Club played host to the 23rd running of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass. Around 200 runners took part in the event, including 37 who completed five loops of the course for 50K finishes.
The 2023 Massachusetts ultrarunning season officially opened on Saturday, Jan. 7, when Gil’s Athletic Club played host to the 23rd running of the G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Mass. Around 200 runners took part in the free, laid-back event, completing anywhere between one and five loops of the approximately 6.2-mile loop course. The following are a sample of the photos taken by MassUltra Editor Chris Wristen, who also ran two loops of the course. A larger gallery can be viewed on the MassUltra Facebook page here. Additionally, a much larger photo gallery courtesy of Patrick Caron can be viewed here.
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.
After two years as a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Seth’s Fat Ass 50K returned for its 10th in-person running and 12th edition on a cold Saturday morning in Springfield, Mass.
STONEHAM, Mass. – A year ago, Adam Ribeiro fended off a fierce challenge during the final miles before winning the Trail Animals Running Club’s Fells Winter Ultra 40-mile race by less than two minutes.
Ribeiro returned to defend his title on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Though the 31-year-old from Marlborough, Mass., once again faced a staunch challenge throughout the day, his biggest threat came from a four-legged trail-user who nearly upended Ribeiro’s race during the late miles.
STONEHAM, Mass. – A year ago, Sophia Farnsworth closed out her ultra season with a victory at the TARCkey Trot 6-Hour Ultra in mid-November. That set the tone for 2022 and what would be the biggest season of her life.
Farnsworth opened the year by taking on her first 100-miler – the grueling Hellbender 100 in North Carolina – and earned a top-10 finish. She followed that up in August with a top-five performance at the Twisted Branch 100K in New York. The Fells Winter Ultra marked the final race of her season on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation and Farnsworth once again hoped to end with a win.
The 12th edition of Seth’s Fat Ass 50K took place on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Forest Park in Springfield, Mass. Runners once again took on a 5K paved loop course and had seven hours to complete 10 loops for a 50K ultramarathon. Thirty-five runners started the race and 22 ultimately achieved an ultramarathon finish within the time limit.
Ultrarunners looking to get a quick start to their 2023 season won’t have to wait long to do so. The legendary Gil’s Athletic Club (GAC) will once again provide an early ultra opportunity when it plays host to the 23rd annual G.A.C. Fat Ass 50K at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield.
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