They laughed 25 years ago when Alan Marden, then executive director of the then Berkshire Hills Conference (now the Berkshire Visitors’ Bureau), announced plans for a new kind of competition: The Great Josh Billings Runaground.
Modeled after a multi-sport competition then limited to the spring when skiing was involved, Marden (now an advertising big shot and dean of the North Adams City Council) said the Josh would include a 6.2-mile run, a 29-mile bike race and a 4-mile canoe competition in the 372-acre Stockbridge Bowl, also known as Lake Mahkeenac.
Marden said the name stemmed from 19th century humorist and lecturer Josh Billings, who lived in Lanesborough, where he was buried.
One of the most quoted Joshisms was “tu stay is tu win,†and that was adopted by the 49 four-member teams who entered the first race on a rainy day in mid-September.
That date was picked by Marden and his assistant, John Igoe, to create some interest in the Berkshires in the lull between the excitement of Tanglewood’s Music Festival and related cultural events and the hopefully glorious fall foliage season, with its flood of leaf-peepers.
The first Josh began with the runners leaving Mount Greylock Regional High School, where they passed off to bikers at the Brodie Mountain Ski Resort, who shot through Pittsfield en route to the Bowl. Participants celebrated at Alice’s Restaurant, overlooking the Tanglewood grounds.
There was countywide enthusiasm for the Josh from the start and huge crowds and hundreds of competitors are expected for the 25th version, but the event now takes place entirely in South Berkshire.
The start will be at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday at the Price Chopper Plaza on Route 7 with some 500 bikers taking off for the Bowl, via Alford, West Stockbridge, Stockbridge and Interlaken.
The transfer to canoes — and it is a wild scene — will take place at the public boat launch on Route 183, with the waters to churn as the canoeists make a one-and-three-quarter lap counter-clockwise around the lake, ending at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac.
The waiting runners will then scoot around the Bowl, ending at the Main Gate to Tanglewood, where the Josh Bash will take place in the parking lot, featuring the live band, “No big Heads.â€
The Josh was the first of its kind back in 1976, thanks to the suggestion of North Adams college student Cairn Cross, who approached Marden after competition in a Western version operated by then Jackson Hole (Wyoming) PR man Harry Baxter, who had initiated the triathlon concept earlier at Sugarloaf, Maine.
After the first Josh, phones began ringing at the BHC office as other communities, starting with Auburn, N.Y., wanted help in getting a similar contest started.
The Visitors’ Bureau turned the event over to the Josh Committee some 15 years ago and it is now a largely independent operation, directed by June Roy-Martin (442-1090).
Registrations will be accepted Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Arcadian Shop on Route 7 in Lenox and separate registration for a kids’ race will be taken at the Arcadian that day from noon to 3 p.m. The half-mile run will start at 2 p.m. at Tanglewood.
A spaghetti dinner will be available for contestants at the Bousquet Resort on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. Registered participants eat free and a guest eats at a minimum charge.
Staging an event such as the Josh is an expensive operation, now $100 per team ($80 before Aug. 25) down to $40 for Iron Persons and those 18 and under.
Numerous sponsors help and proceeds from the event will benefit the McGee Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse.
There is a shortage of canoeists and runners and a surplus of bikers. Interested competitors should contact Patty Spector at 637-2597.
Volunteers with boats are needed to serve as spotters and rescue teams. Those interested should contact Lou Oggiani at 528-2175.
The Josh is the biggest single-day sports event in the Berkshires and the Bash is the biggest sports celebration, too. Traffic will be blocked from certain roads and spectators should pick their vantage point and get there EARLY!
The first three triathlons were won by the Berkshire Outfitters of Cheshire, captained by Steve Blazejewski. The team record of two hours 15 minutes and 55 seconds is held by High Lawn Farm of Lee. John Brodhead of the Craftsbury (Vt.) Sports Center holds the Iron Man record of 2:32:16, while Gloria Wesley is the Iron Woman record holder at 3:04:50.
Anyone who has participated in the past 24 events and who is entered in the 25th will receive a special award.
One of the earlier Josh imitators was the Jiminy Peak Resort in Hancock, which stretched its competition over two days. Jiminy dropped the event after a couple of years and President and CEO Brian H. Fairbank, himself an Iron Man entrant in the Josh, now concentrates on making Jiminy the top resort in Southern New England and in revitalizing and expanding adjacent Brodie Mountain into a full-scale sister resort.
Fairbank took a giant step towards bringing more skiers, boarders and inner-tube riders to Brodie last week when he announced a sharp cut in day lift ticket prices from last season’s $40 to $29, a drop of 27 percent in an age when day prices range from $40 to $60 in New England. Brodie’s midweek ticket will be $19. Jiminy’s top ticket will be $48.
Fairbank purchased Brodie from Jim Kelly in the fall of 1999 and has prepared a long-term expansion program with a $60 million price tag.
He has made a variety of cuts in the Brodie prices, all to encourage family participation in winter sports.
At the same time, Fairbank and Brodie Vice President James Van Dyke announced a new director of the Brodie Ski and Snowboard School, Dale Vander Voort.
After a career in real estate, Vander Voort left the business world in 1989 to teach skiing at Jiminy.
A graduate of the University of Denver in 1979 with a degree in environmental studies, he has served as a ski school supervisor, evening programs director and last year, rental shop manager.
He will continue as summer recreation manager at Jiminy, a position he has held since 1997.
Vander Voort has been a principal broker with Caldwell Banker Realty, as well as vice president of Berkshire Mortgage from 1987 to 1988. For more information on Brodie, call 443-4752.
John Hitchcock of Williamstown writes frequently about the area sports scene.
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Winter Storm Warning Issued for Berkshires
Another snowstorm is expected to move through the region overnight on Friday, bringing 5 to 8 inches of snow. This is updated from Thursday's winter weather advisory.
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has posted a winter storm warning for all of Berkshire County and parts of eastern New York State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. through Saturday at 1 p.m.
The region could see heavy to moderate snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight, tapering off Saturday morning to flurries.
Drivers should exercise caution on Friday night and Saturday morning, as travel conditions may be hazardous.
Saturday night should be clear and calm, but warming temperatures means freezing rain Sunday night and rain through Monday with highs in the 40s. The forecast isn't much better through the week as temperatures dip back into the teens with New Year's Eve looking cloudy and frigid.
Samuel Currence served his country in the Air Force with distinction, professionalism and unparalleled humility from 1962 to 1985, retiring as a technical sergeant. click for more
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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