Chesterfield Gorge Ultra & 25K

The annual Chesterfield Gorge Ultra and 25K race is the only 100 mile race in western Mass! Race director Amy Rusiecki has wanted to bring an ultra race to western Mass to share some of the amazing places that she regularly trains on, so we were thrilled to officially launch this race for 2018…and based on the many smiles throughout the event, looks like this’ll be an annual thing now! You’ll run 25k/15.5 miles (or more) along the Westfield River in the Chesterfield Gorge. It’s a GORGEous place to run (see what we did there?!?).

As is tradition, we are intentionally keeping things small and low-key. There will be plenty of yummy food and drinks along the way, as well as at the finish line, and plenty of volunteers to cheer you on – we’ll have what you’ll need to run as many miles as you want! However, we’ll only have small prizes for the overall male/female category champions. Every 100 miler finisher will receive a small something also (but not a belt buckle).

This is a ‘chose your own adventure’ style run. The race course starts at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation, and is a continually rolling jeep trail with a few rocks (but not a technical trail), with permanent mile markers along the way. The race will consist of one or more 7.75 mile (12.5k) trail out-and-backs (for 15.5 miles/25k total). We will have a sign/turn-around point midway through the laps for folks wishing to do the 50 mile distance. Folks wanting to get in an even 100 mile distance will turn around at the mid-way aid station on their last lap. There is no pavement on the entire course (yay!).

Parking is extremely limited, so depending on registration numbers we may need to limit the on-site parking. Due to these constraints, we ask that every participant have only 1 car – please make a plan to carpool with your crew/pacers. There will be a nearby alternative parking area to leave extra vehicles if needed.

All proceeds go to the Hilltown Land Trust. That’s right, the race will help raise funds to continue to preserve land and wildlife habitat within our area.