Laps of Clapp, circa 2019

Yeah. On Saturday, for the seventh consecutive August, I participated in the Sweltering Summer Ultra in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This entails running as many laps of a hard, dirt “track” that measures approximately 0.3553 of a mile for eight hours – 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. I won’t bore you with any of my race details, other than to say that I started at 7 a.m., and finished my last lap (no partial laps allowed!) at 2:57:48 p.m., so I utilized the entire 8 hours to get in 108 laps this year. But really, what this day is about is togetherness. Race director Benn Griffin has created a wonderful community of Clappsters (race is held at Clapp Park in Pittsfield). I’m not a big user/fan of social media, but Benn’s utilization of the race’s Facebook page throughout the year is masterful and has fostered this sense of community. By the time we all convene in Pittsfield in August, many of us “know” each other through this connection. It’s awesome and God willing I’ll go back every summer. Benn creates individualized, laminated race cards for each of us at the aid table. You can see mine here. But one of my fellow ultra brothers, Lee Dickey, sums up the feeling of the day – and the sport – beautifully on his card: “Ultrarunners are some of the most genuine people on the planet and I’m proud to be in the group.”