RICHMOND — Leaders of the annual Josh Billings RunAground are considering a course change for this year’s event — with Richmond Pond replacing Stockbridge Bowl for the watercraft segment of the triathlon.

Race committee member Gary Miller floated the idea at two recent meetings to gauge the reaction of the three-member Richmond Select Board.

Miller noted that t he race had to detour once to Richmond Pond in 2018 because of a toxic algae bloom in the Stockbridge Bowl. Since 2022, Tanglewood has declined to host the finish line and popular after-party known as The Bash following the race.

The party was moved to Camp Mah-Kee-Nac on the shores of Stockbridge Bowl for 2022 and 2024, but logistical challenges involving traffic and parking has made that location difficult, Miller said. (The 2023 triathlon was canceled because of an ominous weather forecast.)

The Josh Billings RunAground, which began in 1976, is one of the largest and oldest bike-paddle-run triathlons in the country, according to its website. It is scheduled to hold its 48th race in September.

Paddlers rush to the water with their kayaks, canoes and paddle boards during the second leg of the 2022 Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon at the Stockbridge Bowl. Race organizers are working on a plan to hold the paddle portion of the race at Richmond Pond this year.

In a phone interview on Monday, Miller emphasized that the camp was “a wonderful host” but Stockbridge Police had thrown chilled water on the site because cars and runners were jostling for space on the narrow entrance to the camp.

“We started looking around, thinking about other possible options,” he said, “and that’s where we are at the moment." He noted that the Richmond Select Board had welcomed the idea to use Richmond Pond, but logistical details remain to be worked out.

“At this point, it’s just fact-finding, it’s not a done deal,” Miller said, with a decision by the triathlon’s board expected by mid-February. “But there will be a Josh on Sept. 14.”

Bikers head out on after the start of the Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon in Great Barrington in September 2019. Organizers are working on a plan to move the paddle portion of the race to Richmond Pond.

The bicyclists will set out from the Price Chopper parking lot in Great Barrington as usual, but if Richmond Pond turns out to be the destination lake, the handoff to canoeists and kayakers would be at the town beach.

Then, the paddlers' handoff to runners would be at Camp Arrow Wood , the coed sports camp on the Richmond Pond shores in Pittsfield owned by Mill Town Capital. The after-party could be at Bousquet Mountain , also owned by Mill Town.

At the Dec. 18 Richmond Select Board meeting, also attended by Josh Billings President Chris Calvert and recently appointed Race Director Brian Berkel, Miller thanked the town for hosting the 2018 event and acknowledged that the triathlon was looking for a new home.

Paddlers rush to the water with their kayaks, canoes and paddle boards during the second leg of the 2022 Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon at the Stockbridge Bowl. Race organizers are working on a plan to hold the paddle portion of the race at Richmond Pond this year.

“We’re hoping you might consider us again,” Miller said. He acknowledged that in 2018, residents of the Richmond Shores neighborhood were inconvenienced by a four-hour road closure from Swamp Road opposite Bartlett’s Orchard.

If the plan for this year works out, he said, the residents would have access to a coned-off a lane to maintain traffic on Shore Road.

As the organizers of the Josh Billings RunAground triathlon consider moving the watercraft portion from the Stockbridge Bowl to Richmond Pond, subject to Select Board approval, Richmond Shores residents remain concerned about potential zebra mussel infestation. Plans are in the works to establish a boat-washing station.

Select Board member Roger Manzolini signaled that the Richmond Pond option would be considered.

“It’s a real good benefit to the community at large, and a good opportunity for us to work with the neighboring towns,” he said. “It would be good for Bartlett’s and other businesses in town.”

“What we’re doing right now is agreeing to work with you,” Manzolini told Miller. “If some things don’t unfold favorably, we’ll make a decision later as to whether we actually do it or not.”

Manzolini also predicted that “most probably, it will be done because whatever issues come up can be solved, but I want to get input from the people most affected by that and we would take their input pretty seriously.”

Miller committed to attending a Feb. 3 meeting of the Richmond Shores Civic Association to present details of the proposal.

A sign at the Richmond Pond boat ramp outlines specific boat washing protocol designed to prevent the spread of zebra mussels. Richmond Shore residents are working with the town to establish a boat-washing station.

Meanwhile, at last week’s Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Danielle Fillio reported that a boat-washing station will be installed to prevent any potential zebra mussel contamination of Richmond Pond.

Miller noted all participants in the race have to submit an official state certificate stating that their boat is clean.

According to Richmond Pond Association Vice President Louise Brogan, a shorefront summer resident, a boat-wash station has been under consideration since last summer, unrelated to the approach from the Josh leadership.

“It’s a super-critical time to protect Richmond Pond because we have zebra mussels in both Pontoosuc Lake and Onota Lake,” she cautioned, noting that many boats are used on the lakes in Pittsfield and in Richmond. “We’re talking about a boat washing station as soon as possible. It’s absolutely critical that we all work together on this.”

Brogan and Fillio agreed to collaborate on a plan and on funding options.

“There are so many ways that there’s a potential for contamination,” Brogan asserted. “We need to educate people and make sure everybody’s aware to do the very best they can to protect our lake.”