The Vermont City Marathon makes for an excellent Memorial Day weekend and start to the summer season. It's no secret that the course is challenging but it's also one of the most beautiful with great fans and a really cool finish on Lake Champlain. The finish line party kept me at Memorial Park long after I finished. I sat with orange slices, Gatorade, bananas, bagels, and, yes! Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road ice cream! This was my 26 marathon and I have to say, the best medal ever! Quality and quantity-wise. I took it off 'cause my neck was getting tired. If I could change one thing it would be that runners are at times sharing the road with cars - safely - but who needs the exhaust with an already tough course? Overall, I put the Vermont City experience near the top of my list.

This marathon was an amazing experience! The course is very nice - not many hills for Vermont. The organization was wonderful; I loved all the water stations 1 mile apart toward the end of the race. The best part for me was running through the residential neighborhoods - I really needed those oranges, watermelon pieces, bananas... AND that ice pop at mile 19 was the best treat!!! If you want to have a great marathon experience, run this one. I have nothing negative to say. Yeah, it was a little hot, but there is nothing anyone can do about that. Can't wait for next year.

I thought this marathon was fantastic. Having nothing to compare it to - I found it completely organized and beautiful.

The VCM is a great mid-size marathon: large enough to feel like a big event, small enough to avoid most of the logistical issues of larger marathons.

The pros are 1) enthusiastic crowd with young kids setting up hoses and mini Gatorade stops (and ice!), 2) great music, 3) plentiful water/Gatorade/GU stations, 4) gorgeous scenery with the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondacks in view, 5) beautiful landscaping in neighborhoods - much of the course smelled like lilacs, 6) multiple trips to downtown allowed me to see my husband in the crowd 3 times, 7) technical t-shirt that I can actually wear for training.

The cons are 1) the hill at mile 15, 2) the narrow bike path at some spots was uneven and resulted in my getting stuck behind slower runners a few times, 3) the host hotel was somewhat far from the starting line (and although there was shuttle service, there was a last-minute change in pick-up point), 4) the post-race food was okay, but having more beverages (or Gatorade Popsicles) would be an improvement, and 5) the weather obviously could not be controlled, but on a hot day with no cloud cover, I would have liked a course with more tree cover.

All in all, a good race that I would recommend for spring marathoners.

This was an outstanding race. The organization was superb. The crowds, course, and entertainment were fantastic. I've done several of the biggies (Boston, Chicago, and Marine corps) and this race ranks right up there in terms of spectacle, but it's much smaller, with a hometown feel, and much less of a hassle.

VT City is one of the best I have run. The expo, pre race, course and post race: all superbly done. Fans were great. One large hill at mile 15 made the course challenging. I recommend this one to anyone. Only negative is that the first mile or two is crowded.

I think that the organization tried to do too much with the marathon/half marathon/relay races all taking place at the same time. The course is narrow and people were not sharing the limited space very well. It was too difficult to get any running room for much of the race. Also, with the 3 million dollars brought in locally, the best that could be done to the course was to spray paint all of the numerous potholes on the route; I guess that shows what the local government thinks of the runners that come to their beautiful city to run and spend their money. The scenery is beautiful and the volunteers very friendly; and the water stations were well manned and stocked. A little work on the issues stated here and this marathon would be first-class.

I have only run 2 marathons - both the Vermont City Marathon. First, the town: Burlington, VT is a great New England town. The downtown is absolutely wonderful - architecture, public spaces and shops. The race is very well organized, with well stocked aid stations and, for the most part, a great course. People come out to support you along the way, except on North Ave.; and the neighborhoods along the run are lots of fun. Only complaint: the weather, this year, was too hot - it was nearly 7O when I finished (5:12). And I thought it was bad last year when it poured on us. Bottom line, I think this race is great.

Burlington put on another great marathon. It is nice how many people come out to watch. Many people out on their front lawns play musical instruments, or even just bang pots and pans together (really). I got sprayed by many hoses during the course. It was necessary. The only thing I would change is to put a water station at mile 2 instead of 3. I am a damn slow runner and waiting 36+ minutes for a drink is too much.

This was a nice race, and Burlington is beautiful. However, I'm not sure it lives up to the rave reviews given in the 2007 comments here.

Some not-so-great things:

1. Packet pickup was unnecessarily difficult. I really don't think it's necessary to put it way in the back, so you have to weave through vendors and crowds to get to it. Take a look at Fargo if you want to know how to do it "right."
2. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, almost all of the hotels have a 2-day minimum stay. I was able to find one where I could just stay Saturday night (with late checkout on Sunday), but it wasn't easy.
3. The 8:05 start time should be moved earlier. With the sun beating down and the temperatures rising, it just doesn't make sense to start it so late. Much thanks to the folks in Burlington who put out sprinklers for us to run through!
4. There simply weren't enough porta-potties in the first 8 miles of the race on the course. Bring toilet paper for use in the bushes on the side of the road (which were amply used by both sexes).
5. There are several sections of the race on bike paths. While they are scenic, with 4,000 runners they were also congested. And there were MANY potholes and uneven areas, so you really had to watch your step. Marking these with yellow paint helped, a little.
6. The finish area is confusing. In order to get to the beer area, you have to show ID and are then "fenced in" (no taking beer out of the fenced in area). Maybe Vermont's laws require this, but this is the first time (in 38 marathons) where I've seen this kind of set up. Also, for us out-of-towners, it was difficult to figure out how to get back to the start area (where cars were parked). Some street signs or direction signs would have been nice.

That said, it really was a pretty course, and the people in Burlington were enthusiastic and friendly. Running through town a few times was exciting, and the highlight was the "Assault on Battery" with the drummers. What a cool way to make a hill in the middle of the race actually inspiring!! Of course, the volunteers at the water stations were very much appreciated. The nondenominational church service near the start was also a nice touch. Overall, it was a nice way to check off Vermont in my 50 states quest, but I was a little disappointed after all the overwhelmingly positive reviews posted here.