Tag Archives: Trail Animals

TARC

After Chilly Spring, Warmth Returns for Wapack and Back

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After training through what has been an unseasonably cool spring, runners were granted a reprieve from the rain, clouds and dampness at the 13th annual Wapack and Back 50-mile, 43-mile and 21.5-mile trail races on Saturday, May 11, in Ashburnham, Mass.

After starting by the glow of headlamps at 5 a.m. at Mt. Watatic State Park, runners of the ultramarathon distances soon ditched their lights and endured the direct sun of a mostly clear day where the temperature rose into the 70s. Continue reading After Chilly Spring, Warmth Returns for Wapack and Back →

TARC

Burke, Damon Splash, Dash to Victories in Spring Classic 50K

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WESTON, Mass. – Of course it rained. It was always going to happen. This is the Spring Classic, after all.

The Trail Animals Running Club’s Spring Classic has established its share of traditions through the years – the yeti howl at the start; the wooden “trophies” foraged from the course; the MarketBasket sushi tray for volunteers – but perhaps the most predictable feature of the early-season event is rain. Nearly every Spring Classic has experienced at least a bit of the wet stuff, usually during pre-race set-up or at some point in the first loop or two of the race. Continue reading Burke, Damon Splash, Dash to Victories in Spring Classic 50K →

TARC

Speed, Doubling and Durability on Display at ‘Don’t Run Boston’

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Two years ago, with Josh Katzman running by his side, Matt Picard made a memorable Don’t Run Boston debut. The duo stuck together throughout the day, finished together, and set a course record for the 50K race at the Trail Animals Running Club’s original event.

After a year away, Picard returned to the race on Sunday, April 14, at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Mass. This time, the 34-year-old resident of Jamaica Plain, Mass., spent most of the day running solo, but he enjoyed a similar outcome. He didn’t move quite as quickly as when Katzman was pushing him (4:45), but Picard earned his second victory at the event with a winning time of 5:04. Picard’s 2019 effort ranked as the sixth-fastest in the 23-year history of the DRB 50K. Continue reading Speed, Doubling and Durability on Display at ‘Don’t Run Boston’ →

TARC

Back at Hale, Burke Enjoys Another Big Run

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Brian Burke has been To Hale and Back in 2019, and both times turned out pretty darn good.

It was just last month that Burke first went to Hale Reservation in Westwood, Mass., where he received an intense introduction to the reservation’s rocky, rooty, winding trail system through the woods. The occasion was the TARCtic Frozen Yeti, a 30-hour ultramarathon that took place in 20-degree temperatures while the trails were coated in a thick layer of ice and a dusting of snow.

Burke spent more than 28 hours on the trails that weekend in early February on a course that consisted of three five-mile mini-loops labeled Red, White and Blue. He was one of three runners to finish with 100 miles; one runner went farther.

After seven weeks away, Burke went back to Hale Reservation on Saturday, March 23. This time his stay was shorter. Rather than a 30-hour race, he was there alongside 112 other runners for the Trail Animals Running Club’s fourth annual To Hale and Back 6-Hour Ultra. Continue reading Back at Hale, Burke Enjoys Another Big Run →