Most of the races I’ve run have been fairly official affairs, with bibs, the now requisite chip-timing, sponsor tents, the $99 DJ, and so on. Roxbury, only about 40 minutes away in Litchfield, is home to the Roxbury Road Race series, a long-standing season of 40 or so road races a year, put on by volunteers on routes all around the town. I happened upon the Bill Burley Mid-Summer Championship today, a five mile race (for $5 on the honor system) run by about 45 people. Instead of numbers and chips, you grabbed a numbered tongue depressor at the end of the race and wrote down your name and number in a log, with the times to be added by the timer later. It was a scenic race, put on by a friendly and devoted group, and I had a good time. I was impressed by the ambitious schedule, for such a small town, and wondered why this sort of thing doesn’t happen elsewhere.

Bill Burley Mid-Summer Championship | 5M | 7/16/16 | 40:10 | 26/169