Long before she became the race’s director, Shiobbean Lemme says the annual Mother’s Day run in Berkshire County changed her life forever.
“It is a highly emotional day, lots of high vibrations," she told WAMC. "I think the atmosphere is spectacular. It's women supporting women, and I'll tell you, it was the very first running race I ever did.”
Lemme is also the executive director of the Berkshire Running Foundation.
“I still remember doing it back in 1996 and I was scared, and I went out and I met with all these women I'd never met before, and I did this 5-mile run, and I remember coming in over the finish line, and my mom was there," she remembered. "It was like one of the most proud moments for me, but what I got that day was all of the support from these women that we can do hard things together.”
With that, she was hooked.
“That became where I was every Mother’s Day morning," said Lemme. "I did both races, I loved it, I couldn't do Mother's Day without it.”
In 2010, Lemme was tapped to take over the race, which not only celebrates the strength of women in the community, but – at the time – also donated its proceeds to a number of women’s programs throughout the Berkshires. While there are winners, the run is designed to spread the love as thoroughly as possible.
“The way the race goes, we go out and back," Lemme explained. "So, the people who are in the lead are coming back as the walkers and slower runners are going out and they're high fiving each other, and they're saying, good for you, good job. And it's a testosterone free environment- It's just like, we are superheroes.”
One of Lemme’s first moves as race director was to make the Elizabeth Freeman Center the sole beneficiary of the Mother’s Day race fundraising. The nonprofit offers 24/7 resources to people experiencing domestic violence or rape, from a shelter to classes on money management. Recently, it relocated to 66 Allen Street in the heart of Pittsfield, the county’s central and largest community.
“I'm the bagel lady, right? Isn't that how most people know me?" laughed Susan Gordon, formerly the owner of beloved downtown Pittsfield institution Bagels Too and a board member of the Elizabeth Freeman Center. “We are committed to helping women who are survivors find their way forward out of the trauma they've experienced. And there are many ways that we do that- We provide services for their kids now that we have space in our new home so that they don't have to worry about where their kids are when they come to visit with a counselor. We have LGBTQ counselors. We have people who interpreters, who can speak different languages. We have housing help.”
In the tumult of the second Trump presidency and its moves to slash federal spending, funding avenues that organizations like the Elizabeth Freeman Center have long relied on are now in doubt, making the nonprofit and its attempts to support people in immediate danger more vulnerable than ever.
“Our services climbs phenomenally when people the when the community is experiencing stress," Gordon told WAMC. "Covid was a horrible time for people who were in bad relationships, stuck at home, not able to get out. It was an awful time. Economic stress is another trigger, and the demand for our services is already rising, and we expect it to continue to rise.”
Lemme says she can think of no greater accomplishment for the 50th running of the Mother’s Day race at Berkshire Community College than multiple generations of the region’s women coming together to protect those most in need.
“We'll have a grandmother with her daughter and her grandchildren, and they're all in the 'women run the world' shirts, and it's nothing but smiles as they come across that finish line," said Lemme. "And then they've done something really great, and more importantly, helping the Elizabeth Freeman Center- It just is such a natural partnership for that day. What else would we want to do on Mother's Day?"
