WHO DOES THIS RACE SUPPORT?

We are excited to bring back the BURCS Tails & Trails State Forest Run!

For this race, we are continuing to support three animal rescue nonprofits opertaing in the surrounding Berkshire area. The Red Robin Song Animal Sanctuary (New Lebanon, NY) is an organization that many of you know and love from the old "Vegan Power 50k" race. The North Adams, MA-based No Paws Left Behind animial shelter is the successor organization to the Eleanor Sonsini Shelter. No Paws is committed to rescuing and rehoming stray and abandoned animals. Lastly, Berkshire Bird Paradise (out of Petersburg, NY) has been committed for 50+ years to providing care and refuge to injured or displaced birds.

RACE DETAILS

Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026
Distances: 50K, 25K, 5 Miler
Location: Pittsfield State Park, Lulu Brook Parking Area, 1041 Cascade St., Pittsfield, MA 01201
Times: 50K starts at 8am, 25K and 5 mile races starts at 10am
Price: 50K $100, 25K $80, 5 Miler $50
Time cut offs - all runners must start their last lap by 3:30pm. This should give you around 8-9 hours to finish the 50K.
Finishers Award: All finishers will receive an award of some sort; we'll try to figure out something cool for y'all.
Registration closes on May 10th. All runners must register by May 1st to be guaranteed a T-shirt. We'll buy some extras for late signups but no promises after that date!
Aid Stations: 2 total on the loop, including the start/finish large aid station
Course Description: We start off with about a 0.1 mile run down the paved Circuit Road before dipping into the woods. The first couple miles are single track trails and some rolling hills but net downhill, some rocks and roots but all very run-able. We head out to the Whirlpool Ravine and take a hard right onto "Beaver Tail," following that to the Beaver Pond. Flow-y mountain bike trails take us through sections of aromatic pine trees to the aid station on Churchill Street. The last two miles of the loop is more flow, more pine trees, some giant boulders, and a few slightly terrifying stuffed animals hiding in the woods. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/tails-trails-state-forest-run-f998fe2?u=i&sh=1onbmq

Camping: There are multiple campsites in Pittsfield State Forest complete with showers and bathrooms. Runners are responsible for booking their own campsites on the state's website.

WHAT IS BURCS?

The Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service was founded in 2013 by three passionate long-distance runners from Western Massachusetts. While some of the founding members have come and gone, the spirit lives on with the current community. We are a 501c3 and donate the majority of our race profit to other nonprofits, with the remainder of the profits supporting our race operations. The BURCS crew is composed of runners of all ages who seek to use their passion for sport and activism to spread awareness about important social, civic, and environmental issues. Please check out Linktr.ee/BURCS, as well as our Facebook group, for more information.

Event's current local time: 9:14 PM ET