Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Apr 29, 2024

Vermont City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Vermont City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.4

Spectators 4.7

Number of comments: 300 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 30 > ]

D. L. from NY (6/8/2018) "Well organized, amazing support" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I liked everything about this marathon. Yes, there was a tough climb at mile 15, but you know about it well in advance and the crowd was 2 and 3 deep - and loud - along that hill and it was really encouraging. The start and finish area were perfectly run and throughout the course, there were no quiet, lonely miles. People were out on their front lawns cheering on runners in a party-like atmosphere. There are enough emails ahead of the race to keep you informed of everything from expo vendors to free parking on race morning.
jim miller from Orlando, FL (6/3/2018) "One of my verrry faves and this was # 143" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My 4th run here did not disappoint, nor did the other 3 which is why I came back. Quite simply, and there is nothing simple about hosting, organizing and running a marathon - everything about this one works Perfectly. It's a beautiful youthful and Bohemian and proud city, the volunteers at the expo, on the course and at the finish are all helpful and encouraging, the course is a perfect blend of city, neighborhoods, scenic, one tuff climb at 15 and then a wonderful shaded trail finish along beautiful Lake Champlain. Most impressive to me this time was how wonderful the neighborhoods supported us all with water, juices, and fruit and more popsicles which I needed and ate more than I have since I was 6 years old and I was fortunate enough to meet a number of the race directors and staff - to a person, they were proud, interested and wanted your feedback and they all made this old guy feel pretty good about my finish. Keep the Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chunky Monkey ice cream at the finish and I will definitely be back next year...Thank you and Kudos!
R. H. from Milwaukee, WI (5/30/2017) "Excellent spectators!" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first trip to Vermont and driving up from the Midwest was awesome. Beautiful country as you get into up state NY. The city of Burlington is worth the trip as Church street is pretty cool and everyone is very friendly. They started the race an hour earlier than last year due to the issues they supposedly had in 2016. Plenty of bathrooms, good organization of the start line, and announcements were clear. The first several miles were awesome as you ran through the city. Miles 4-8 were on an open stretch of highway that opened the course wide for some of the faster runners to get past. Miles 9-15 were back in the city with some residential running. After passing mile 15 - you have to run up the battery park hill...and it is a HILL! Do not underestimate how steep it is. The remainder of the course is a mix of trails and local roads. The spectators were the highlight of the event! 20k people lined the streets to cheer, pass out beers, and entertain...They made the latter miles fun! Medal and shirt were average but not unique to the state of Vermont. The only criticism I have is that when the finishers got through the food lines - we were dumped into general population and it was crowded. Getting run into by toddlers and mothers with strollers after 26 miles is not cool. To sum it up - if your goal is 50 states, than this is the one to do in Vermont!
N. C. from Boston, Massachusetts (5/29/2017) "Nice course, GREAT spectators and volunteers" (about: 2017) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 One big hill ('assault on Battery') at 15.5 miles; otherwise mostly flat with some smaller uphills. Absolutely fantastic fans and Vermont at its best.
T. B. from Columbus, OH (5/10/2017) "Poor management of what could be a great race" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This was forecast to be a hot day, so hot that Buffalo moved their marathon start time from 7:00 to 6:30. Vermont City said they could not coordinate to move the start time earlier than 8:00 because of volunteer/police/bus schedule. Apparently, the past year was still not enough time to move the marathon start earlier, because despite cancelling the race at 12:00 last year they didn't think to move the start time. They had an out and back on the highway that they try to have one aid station for both directions, but it is too early and too crowded in the race to do that. The finish was confusing too. Apparently there were refreshments on the other side of the park, but I never was told. This was the first time I ran a marathon that didn't have refreshments right at the finish. The worst was the letter the management sent out after the race. Apparently some people asked for refunds who were not allowed to finish. The letter in a very condescending tone said there will be no refunds, tough luck. It would have been better if they didn't send a letter. Better yet not offer a refund but offer a discount to next year or another race. Lots of locals handed out water and the volunteers were great. Other than the highway Burlington is a beautiful city.
P. C. from Burlington, Vermont (9/17/2016) "Community-minded, quality, scenic marathon" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I am a long time Burlington, Vt. resident and have run all 28 of the Vermont City Marathons so I obviously have a hometown bias towards this race. I have also run a number of the big city marathons jncluding Boston and New York. There have been many different changes with the race over the years with RunVermont has really tried to make improvements based on runner and community feedback. I know that the decision to close down the race last year due to the heat was frustrating for many runners but the weather presented an unusual set of circumstances for which there had been no precedent in previous years so RunVermont had to make a decision that focused on the safety of the runners as the most critical factor. I also know that there were things that RunVermont was not able to adequately deal with at the time but they are an organization that always seeks to improve the quality of the race each year and I think that were similar weather conditions to occur again they would be able to make the necessary changes to accommodate for these conditions. All this being said, if you want to run a marathon that has a scenic course, a community feel to it and a manageable numbers of runners, this would be a good race to consider. This is a great race for spectators as there are at least 5 places along the course within a short walking distance that you can watch family or friends running the race. The runners go through the main downtown street, Church St. twice so you can easily get breakfast and watch the race at the same time. For the runners, the course takes you through many different parts of the city and the best part of the course is the last five miles which takes you on a shaded, flat bike path that runs along Lake Champlain to the finish. Much of the Burlington community comes out to watch the race so there will be people all along the course cheering the runners on, especially, on tougher parts like the Battery St. hill at mile 15. The finish is in Waterfront Park which is close to downtown so it is easy for runners and their families to find a place to relax after the race.
R. Q. from Vermont (9/15/2016) "Best Marathon I have run!!!" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run 12 marathons and this by far is the best one I've done!!! The crowd support is fantastic. If you want your family and friends to support you, this is the race to run!!! There are so many places to cheer and watch. The people that organize this race are so passionate about what they do!!! They want this experience to be the best one for each and every runner, whether you're a marathoner or a relayer!!!
S. K. from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (6/6/2016) "Vermont is for wussies" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 So the Vermont City Marathon, in beautiful Burlington, Vermont was cancelled mid-race due to an exceptionally hot for Vermont 82 degree day. This cancellation came on the heels of completing a 50 miler in the Keys the weekend before where such heat was simply to be expected. The idea that a race would be cancelled simply because it was warm is absurd. The race directors seem to believe that 82, or what we in Florida call a 'cold front', was dangerous. I would seriously consider a different marathon if I were you since the race director might cancel next time because the Gatorade isn't sweet enough. The people of Burlington are wonderful, and the city itself is fantastic, but the race is apparently for the gutless.
J. D. from PA (6/5/2016) "Great fans, poor organization" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 If you're thinking of running this race you do it for one thing...the fans. Best fans ever!!! I've never seen that much race support from fans in a marathon before! Unfortunately I cannot say as much for the RunVermont folks that put on this race. Extra water and ice were promised but there was no water at the Mile 4 hydration table and I didn't even see ice until after Mile 14. This was an exceptionally hot day for Vermont. We were under a red high warming alert within the first hour. Multiple other communication issues too numerous to mention after the race was eventually black flagged. RunVermont could have smoothed all this over my simply offering a discount for next year for marathoners that were effected by the race closure but they've posted a response on their web page saying they don't have to because runners signed a no refund agreement. So much for customer service or service recovery. Considering how incredible the people of Burlington were during the course they deserve a better outfit than RunVermont managing their race.
P. Z. from Jamaica Plain, MA (6/4/2016) "Citizens of Burlington are the Stars of This Race" (about: 2016) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 VCM is one of New England's classic marathons. The brutal heat challenged everyone this year, but once again, the city came out in full force to cheer, party and support the race. This year looked like Season 1 of Walking Dead toward the end, but I imagine that I will come back and hope for cooler days to savor it not suffer it. The organizers and volunteers did their best in extreme conditions. I was impressed throughout and was pleased at how well most everything went in spite of the inevitable chaos when the weather throws a fireball. I finished before the cutoff, but I talked to many others who DNF'd and were disappointed but surprisingly understanding. Runners are a tough bunch. The course is not Napa or Big Sur or Mt. Desert Island, it is plain ol Burlingtonprobably a lot nicer running than where most of us are from. The heat of 2016 made VCM one of the most miserable running experiences in my entire life but I'll be back.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 30 > ]

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use