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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 281 to 291]
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A Runner from California
(6/2/2002)
 "Keep your expectations in check" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 For all the hype about being one of Runners World top 20, my expectations were too high. This race was well organized, as it should be for 10 years under the same directorship. The course was scenic, but not THAT scenic, there were stretches of wonderful views, but also parts with head on highway traffic and parts zig zagging through empty neighborhoods; and who among us can say they couldn't care less about scenery the last 10K of a marathon? The best part of this race was the Vermont experience and the friendly people. Now for the constructive criticism: I agree with the previous comments - what happened to the finish line food? Ice cream and warm yogurt? The spectators were lethargic and few, even at the Hill. Again, not the crowd support I expected. The T-shirt design seemed like an afterthought (the volunteer shirts were much nicer), but the medal was nice. Chip timing was on the money according to my watch. Parking was free and easy. The water held out along with the watered down Gaterade. The mylar blankets were helpful. The Volunteers were exceptional! My advise, DO RUN this race; do take extra time to visit Vermont surroundings, but just keep your expectations reasonable and you will be pleasantly surprised. | |
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A Runner from Fredericksburg, VA
(5/28/2002)
 "Great Course, Great Fans, Poor Amenities" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Beautiful course full of many visual changes. Much like Mad City Marathon in Madison if you have run that one. It loops the downtown area too many times. Very repetitive and boring. We passed the starting line three or four times. Nice finish area. The out-of-town woods and bike path are the best part. Nice view of the lake and surf. Poor, poor course amenities. No food. Only luke warm water and thinned out Gatorade. Classy marathons now-a-days offer nourishment, ie: Cut oranges, M&M's, Pretzels, ice, sponges, etc. They could raise the price by $3 per runner and easily cover the costs of these things. Lost of great fans to cheer you on. The hill on Battery Ave at mile 15 is hard. But sprint up it and you will hear a roar from the crowds. The weather was so cool and very windy at the start, hot and sunny at the finish. Nice Expo. Well organized start/finish areas. I heard there was food at the finish line but never saw it. But plenty of vendors there anyway. Bring some dollar bills to buy a cold drink along the course if you get thirsty- many small markets and gas stations. | |
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A Runner from New York City
(12/14/2001)
"Very enjoyable experience" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this race the last three years and enjoyed each one. You can definitely do a PR at this one, but I would not rate it as easy. The hill at mile 15-16 is difficult. I would rate the organization and crowd support as top notch. Also, Burlington is a nice place to spend Memorial Day weekend. . | |
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A Runner from Boston
(10/15/2001)
"Hidden Jewel of Marathons" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Having run Boston, New York, Marine Corps and Chicago, Vermont City was my first mid-to-small size marathon. I wasn't sure what to expect. What a great race - far exceeded my expectations. First and foremost, the race was extremely spectator-friendly. My family was able to see me about five times without venturing more than a half-mile. Second, the entertainment along the race was cool. Somewhere after twenty miles, you run through a residential neighborhood and there's a guy dressed in a tuxedo playing piano on his front porch. That type of uniqueness made this a great race. It felt as though everyone who lived within a half-hour of Burlington was there to watch and cheer the runners. Most of all, Burlington is a fun city to visit. You can't help but to be impressed with it. I highly recommend staying at the Radisson Hotel. You'll be right in the heart of all the action. It's right in between Church Street and Waterfront Park. | |
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A Runner from New Windsor, NY
(7/24/2001)
 "Great course, beautiful city, great crowd support" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Although it was my personal worst, I enjoyed the whole experience immensely. I would like to once again thank that nice woman from Nova Scotia for pulling me along. If you're reading this, Glenna, thank you. The city of Burlington really made us feel at home. I recommend this to anyone who can maintain a good training schedule through winter. | |
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A Runner from Boston
(6/8/2001)
"Know what you want out of the race" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The course is quite nice; the scenery is varied, and there are some great views across the lake to the Adirondacks. The spectators are great, and I liked being able to wave to family and friends a few times as I passed through Battery Park at miles 3, 9, 15, and nearby Waterfront Park at 26. The volunteers are also great, and there are many. The bands are fun. Overall, the race has an ambiance that is more amicable than competitive. I like that; people interested in competing or posting qualifying times for Boston have had issues with some organizational weaknesses that did not matter to me. I ran VCM in 2000, 2001, and I hope to in 2002. | |
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A Runner from Essex Junction, Vermont
(6/8/2001)
"Very well-orchestrated race" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Because of the venom of the previous post, I want to set the record straight. The VCM is an excellent race that has received rave reviews from all venues. Yes, it would have been nice to get chips this year, but to condemn it solely for not having chip timing is riding that hobby horse way too far. If someone missed a BQ by less than a minute, I can see a reason to be a bit miffed, but otherwise it's not a big deal, and I heard no complaints at the race. Also, the cheating had to do with copying numbers at Staples, not pulling a Rosie Ruiz. Many more people want to get into the race than can be accommodated, so counterfeit numbers are a real liability problem. As for the race itself, the field is small enough that there is no way a top-3 finisher of either gender could step off the course and cheat the distance. If someone else wants to do it, let 'em. No one I know would even think of doing that to 'finish' a marathon, and if anyone who does can take pride in such a thing, well I pity them. I thought the 2001 race was fantastic. There were tons of spectators on a wet day, great water stop organization, and good vibes all around. I also ran the second VCM in 1990, and the course is 100% better now than it was then. I got a big lift from the very loud crowd every time I came through the start/finish area and appreciated the ease of spectating for my family. It's mostly flat, but there is some challenge to it. There are some short boring stretches, but those are made up for by the nice lakeside views elsewhere. There might be chips next year (I haven't heard yes or no yet), but if getting a chip is your primary criterion for what makes a race worth running, by all means avoid the VCM. There are already far more people who want to enter than can get numbers, so leave your spot for someone what wants to come and have a great time, chip or no chip. MarkW | |
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A Runner from Orlando, Fl
(6/5/2001)
 "This is not a chip race." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Beware marathoners who are looking for an accurate time to qualify for Boston. Unless you are standing on the start line, which all marathoners leave that space for the elite runners, you have to try to find your own staging. If your not planning on winning this race, calculate at least an extra 30 seconds to your net time which in this case has to be your own watch. The course also makes three loops back to the start line in order to pick up the relay teams, this is good for the spectators but no fun for the marathoner. With all the cheating that went on according to the Burlington Free Press, I wonder how many other cheaters took a 10 km break then jumped back in to have a strong finish. Its time the organizers catch up with technology and make this a chip race especially since there is money to be won. The chip system would solve all of the problems they had this year. I can honestly say, 'I will never run this race again.' Jackie | |
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A Runner from Long Island, NY
(5/31/2001)
"A great race in a great city!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 You gotta give the Vermont City Marathon a try. What a fun city (Burlington), and what a fine race! One of the many attractions of this race is that it is always the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, so you get a day to travel up, a day to run, and a day to travel back without burning any vacation days at work. We stayed at the Radisson, which is on Lake Champlain downtown and is about 1/4 mile from the race start and finish. We spent the day knocking around downtown. We were within a half-mile of Church Street, a closed pedestrian street with interesting shopping and restaurants--far more local and unique stores than Body Shops and Gaps. Burlington is the home of U. of Vermont and 4 other colleges and has a decidedly hippy bent--the home base of Phish, among other things. They have a program to encourage kids to run called Many Milers. My boys ran 26.2 miles through the Feb-May period and kept track of their progress in a little log book. They earned a t-shirt, certificate and medal. Nice! If you?re not up to the official pasta dinner, I highly recommend Bove?s, a local Italian eatery on Pine St. that you will pass three times during the marathon. Just get there early or be prepared to wait. I made the mistake of lining up at the rear even though I was on about a 3:20-3:30 finish plan. The start is a little crowded with 2500 marathoners and 600 relay team first-leggers. It took just over a minute to cross the start line. It wasn?t a chip timed race, so if you?re trying to qualify for Boston get to the start early enough so that you don?t lose time at the start. The first mile after I crossed the start line crept along at 9:15. That got me to the 1 mile marker at 10:17. So much for the Boston Qualifier. The course is moderately hilly, with one very tough hill at Mile 15. It was a very interesting course in that it went through the historic downtown, through neighborhoods with families and friends hanging out and cheering you on. There was one section that ran out and back an Interstate highway connector (miles 3.5-8.5) that I had read was dreadful, but I didn?t think it was all that bad. Maybe lowered expectations helped me appreciate it for what it was-a quiet, crowd-less stretch with pretty wetlands on either side of the road. I do just about all of my training alone, so it wasn?t any different from any other nice long run. There was also the additional attraction of a ripping percussion ensemble at mile 5 and 6.5 wacking out an Afro-Latin groove that got everybody going! Next 10 miles featured a lovely 3-mile stretch along the Lake Champlain bike path and then: The Assault on Battery. Mile 15-16 is marked by a long, intense hill up Battery Street. This is perhaps the most distinctive part of the course. At the base of the hill is a Japanese Taiko Drum Corps to get the heart pounding. Like it really needed any extra pounding. Halfway up the hill I got a fresh 24 oz. Powerade from my #2 son. (at mile 8.5 I had gotten one from #1 son). That was another great part of the race. I saw my family at 3 miles, 8.5 miles, 15 miles and the finish and they hardly had to move or travel more than a 5 minute walk from the hotel. At mile 22, the course turns from a nice leafy neighborhood to a final few miles along a different section of the lakefront bike path. With just over a mile to go, a local woman pointed out the Boathouse near the finish. She said, 'Hey, there's the Boathouse...it's just over a mile away!!' Well, to me this was not inspiring. It looked like it was about 3 parsecs distant. But I finally made my way into Waterfront Park, along a great solid wall of cheering fans. I didn?t qualify for Boston, but did manage a 3:27:15 personal best. Good eats after. Bagels, bananas, yogurt, water PLUS Ben & Jerry's Concession Obsession Ice Cream!! Gotta love Vermont! So, I had a great weekend in a wonderful city, the family had a blast (interesting sight-seeing and shopping for my wife--the Shelburne Museum is AWESOME--, hotel pool and in-room PlayStation for my 2 oldest, running through hotel halls for my 18-month-old), and I ran a 14-minute personal best. At this rate, I will be the world record holder in just 6 more marathons! Watch out, Khalid! | |
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A Runner from Utica, NY
(5/29/2001)
"Great race, I recommend to everyone" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great race. You need to put the Gatorade FIRST at the water stations, then the water AFTER the Gatorade. Energy bars are thrown away quickly because runners cannot chew them or swallow them. If you continue with energy bars, which are hard to digest, put them right IN the water stations. Better to have oranges. A real fun time. Also, I recommend giving out free posters next year, to runners. |
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