More than 600 Participate in Steel Rail Races

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Matthew Ferraro was the first runner across the finish line at the MountainOne Steel Rail Marathon.
 
Ferraro clocked a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes flat on the Ashuwilticook Rail Trail course.
 
He finished a little more than five minutes ahead of runner-up Nick Reid (2:46:15).
 
Simone Veale won the race's women's division in a time of 3:18:42. She beat out Jill Hussain, who covered the course in 3:27:23.
 
The fastest marathoner on Sunday was Stephen Gulley, a hand cyclist, who clocked a time of 2:15:03.
 
The 26.2-mile circuit was covered by 150 finishers ranging in age from 18 (William Hanley in 14th place) to 72 (Ric Nudell, who finished in 6:04:47).
 
The day also featured a half-marathon and an 8-kilometer race.
 
Mark Rabasco won the half-marathon in 1:18:41, edging Vincent Gauthier (1:22:38).
 
Kat Morrissey placed third overall in 1:23:43 and first among women in the half-marathon, which had 213 finishers.
 
Abigail Chaloux was the fastest woman in the 8K, crossing the finish line in 35:52, six seconds ahead of Caroline Kessler; the two women were ninth and 10th, respectively, overall in a field of 171 finishers.
 
Peter Hale had the fastest 8K time, 27:42. Erik Kessler was second in 30:32.
 
More than 600 people registered for Sunday's races, a record for the Berkshire Running Foundation event. Runners from 24 different states signed up to run.
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Holden Ends Pittsfield's Run in 10-Year-Old Sectional

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Preston Miller laced a one-out single into right field to drive in Brady St. Amand from third as the Holden Little League 10-year-old All-Stars Monday walked off an 8-7 win over Pittsfield in the Section 1 Tournament Championship Game.
 
Pittsfield, which earned a berth in the winner-take-all final game with a walkoff win at Holden on Sunday, battled back from a 6-1 deficit to lead midway through the third only to see Holden scratch out a run in the fifth to tie it and generate the game-winner one inning later.
 
It was the third time in Pittsfield’s five sectional tournament games that the game was decided in the winning team’s final at-bat.
 
After seeing his squad play five games in five days, including four on the road, Pittsfield coach Matt Stracuzzi told his players they played with guts and made him proud in the postgame ceremony.
 
“They showed a lot of heart,” Stracuzzi said moments later. “We played some really good games. The only bad game we had was [Friday] against Dalton. … But we played some tough games on the road against some good teams, and we prevailed because we stuck together.
 
“And they did the little things.”
 
And on Monday, when Pittsfield faced a little adversity early in the night, it pushed through.
 
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