Mount Greylock senior Rafa Mellow-Bartels posted a 10th-place finish.
ADAMS, Mass. -- An eight-mile, mostly uphill climb to the the highest point in the commonwealth is enough of a challenge for any runner.
For Mount Greylock Regional School senior Rafael Mellow-Bartels, Sunday brought another problem.
"I think, for me, the main challenge was just running without anybody around me," Mellow-Bartels said after completing the 48th annual Mount Greylock Road Race.
"It was kind of foggy for the last two miles, so I couldn't see anybody. I had my watch, so I knew how far I was, and I knew my pace. But I didn't know where anybody else was. I think that was the challenge for me."
Mellow-Bartels may have to get used to those times when no one can match his pace.
On Sunday, he averaged 8 minutes, 41 seconds per mile over the 8-mile course to finish in 1:09.28, good for 10th place overall and first in his group, men 19 and under.
The race saw 176 runners post a time, with finishes ranging from just more than an hour to just less than three hours.
Erik Vandendries of Chestnut Hill was the first person across the finish line at the summit, clocking a time of 1:00:29, 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Steven Brightman of Providence, R.I.
The first woman to hit the tape was Huntington, Vt.s, Kasie Enman in 1:05:15. Turners Falls' Liv Lohmeier was the second woman to finish the race in 1:11:17.
The top Berkshire County runner on Sunday was Frederick King (1:06:44) of Housatonic in seventh place. Williamstown's Sarah Rowe (1:24:05) was the fastest county woman.
Four Mount Greylock cross country team members competed in Sunday's race "for training and for fun," Mellow-Bartels said. Last fall, he and teammate Patrick Holland helped the Mounties finish eighth in the Division 3 State Championship meet; this year's high school season gets underway on Saturday at Berkshire Community College.
"I wouldn't say I had a goal coming into [Sunday's race]," Mellow-Bartels said. "It was the first time doing this, just doing it to have some fun with some of my teammates. ... I was aiming for an hour and 15 minutes. I ran an hour and nine minutes. So I think that's a good outcome."
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Specialty Minerals Spells Out Proposal to Modify Landfill Permit
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Health Wednesday heard a presentation from representatives of Specialty Minerals about why the facility needs to modify the plans for a previously permitted landfill.
Ziad Kary of Quincy engineering firm Environmental Partners explained to the board how the new plans for the landfill will dispose of and contain waste from the limestone mill and processing operation, which has operated in the town in one form or another since 1848.
"We do have the permit today and could start filling the quarry based on the number of 135 tons per year," Kary told the board. "We're looking to modify that number.
"In terms of changing the tonnage and sequencing, this is not going to change, in any way, the landfill that will be built. The geography remains the same size. The elements of design will never change."
What has changed, according to the presentation on Wednesday at Town Hall is the daily rate of mill waste production.
Due to the increased tonnage, SMI needs to accelerate the timeline for filling the cells that comprise the landfill, which is filling in an existing quarry.
"Existing mill waste on site is in the way of daily quarry operations," read a slide that was shown to the board on Wednesday. "[Modifying the permit] allows SMI to relocate the waste into the regulated area."
The committee voted unanimously Monday set a district vote on the fiscal 2025 budget and resolved its continuing support for the spending plan.
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President and CEO David Bissaillon purchased the vacant restaurant, which closed in 2019, as a permanent home last year for the legacy company, which offers a wide array of personal and business insurance.
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Voters on Monday rejected a Proposition 2 1/2 override and passed a motion that would level fund the town's fiscal 2025 school assessment. click for more