GREAT BARRINGTON — Ten-year-old Caleb was having too much fun at the Berkshire County Special Olympics on Wednesday morning to care when it started to rain.

After all, he had only finished one event — the softball throw — and still had more of the day ahead of him. He described the first half of the morning as "good and fun."

Support and joy radiated across the track and field as over 350 athletes from 29 programs, ranging in age from 4 to 80, gathered at Monument Mountain Regional High School to compete in Berkshire County's 45th annual Special Olympics track and field games.

Special Olympics provides an opportunity for athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities to participate in sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports around the world.

Athletes participated in the long jump, softball throw and races at various distances at the Berkshire County Special Olympics at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.

No matter how fast they ran, how far they threw the softball or how long they jumped, more than 120 volunteers, along with dozens of family members and other attendees, cheered participants on from start to finish. When rain began to fall, hoods and umbrellas went up, and so did the cheers.

High school volunteers from Lenox, Lee, Monument and Mount Everett high schools, along with longtime adult volunteers, helped run the event, which holds just as much meaning for them as it does for the athletes and their families.

Greta Mathews, 17, of Lenox High School, was one of the volunteers helping keep athletes energized throughout the morning. She worked the races, cheering runners on from behind the caution tape finish line, giving high-fives and guiding athletes to the podium to receive their medals.

"This event means so much to me," she said. "Seeing everyone’s faces and cheering them on fills me with so much joy and it’s so special. I did it last year and loved it and had to do it again."

Athletes wave at the crowd during the opening ceremony of the 45th annual Berkshire County Special Olympics on  Wednesday at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.

Lindsey Osterhoudt had a beaming smile as a group of elementary school students cheered for her son, Alex, as he was given his first medal of the day.

"I'm so thankful for the community, everyone is so nice and supportive," Osterhoudt said.

This was Alex’s third time participating in the Special Olympics. The Morris Elementary School fifth grader jumped off the podium and ran to hug his mom before rejoining his peers for the next event.

"This is his favorite day of the year because he feels all the love," Osterhoudt said. "He lives for it."

Muddy Brook Elementary School students lined the track to cheer on athletes at the Special Olympics at Monument Mountain on Wednesday at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.

Muddy Brook Elementary School classes arrived with handwritten signs — some made for specific athletes and others offering general encouragement. Students lined the edge of the track and gathered near the softball throw and long jump areas to support participants, with one class even bringing pom-poms.

Even more students from Berkshire Hills Regional School District gathered on the hill outside the track, shouting encouragement to athletes below.

State and local police officers led the opening ceremony of the Berkshire County Special Olympics on Wednesday at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.

Shirley Bailly, a paraprofessional at Lanesborough Elementary School, spent the morning cheering her kids on, encouraging them to keep trying and to have fun.

"I’ve worked with special needs kids forever and I absolutely love today," Bailly said. "I love watching the kids thrive."

Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon said it was a "wonderful day."

"A real joy to see the athletes beam with pride as their friends and families cheered them on," he said.

Over 350 athletes took to the track and field at Monument Mountain Regional High School for the Berkshire County Special Olympics on Wednesday.

Ellen Rizzo, assistant principal at W.E.B Du Bois Regional Middle School, who helps organize the games, said it's always amazing to see the different teams and volunteers come together for a community event.

"It’s easy to see the joy that this event brings," Rizzo said. "Even though the weather was gloomy, we were able to find so many bright spots through the achievements of our athletes."