On Saturday, September 15th at 10 A.M., a horn sounded and Mt. Greylock community members began a 5 kilometer journey through the school’s trails, marking the student council’s first fundraiser of the 2017-2018 school year. The Mt. Greylock fun run first occurred two years ago but did not return for the 2016-2017 year, so many students, especially running enthusiasts, were glad to see it back.

The race took place on many of the cross country trails, starting behind the school and ending on the soccer field near the bottom of Hiram Greene Hill, including an agonizing ascent of Greylock’s notorious Agony Hill. Contestants included a few Greylock students, a parent, a teacher, and several elementary school students. Members of the student council were situated all along the course, providing encouragement, directions, and, most importantly, water. Once the racers had finished, a table full of mouth watering baked goods were available for sale for the runners.

The race had its ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. One of these downs occurred in Coyote loop, a one-kilometer woods loop full of tight turns and numerous hills. As the second pack of runners ran through it, a nest of bees got disturbed, and at least two of the runners got stung multiple times. Despite these adversities, they kept running. The race at the front was not very tight; sixth grader Ollie Swabey won in twenty minutes and twelve seconds, over 45 seconds faster than the second place finisher. On the girls side, Greylock sophomore and cross country runner Helen Greenfield won, coming in 23:35, tieing fellow sophomore, Brandon Fahlenkamp.

Overall, the race was a fun Saturday morning experience for all involved, even those who were stung by bees. In addition, it was a good chance for the student council to raise funds. Student council president Josh Duncan stated that “I think that this event represents how Mount Greylock comes together as a community and displays excellence, both on the side of the student council members that helped run the event and on the side of the runners. This was a success simply because our community came together, not for one particular cause, but to better the school and the community as a whole.”