I loved it!
small venue, people were friendly, without attitude. Runners were relaxed despite the brutal heat (90ºF) and some stretches on oven like road. The countryside is gorgeous and volunteers super friendly. this year we even had belly dancers!! Post race was super cool (live band, ice cream, pizza...) THe only advice to the organizers: start early (7am, like everyone) and more buses to bring us back.

I was nervous going into this race, being very aware that there would be 500+ feet of elevation between miles 2 & 12, and the weather report called for steady and, at times, heavy rain. At least it wouldnt be hot! My son and I did our best to try to drive the course the day before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that most up-hill sections are gradual, and would level off or have short downhill sections along the way. I determined to shoot for negative splits and carefully monitor my efforts up the hills, and try to open up a bit down hills. That strategy worked greatI was able to maintain my planned pace, with a few slower miles toward the end, but was able to pick up my pace for miles 25 & 26. I can count on one finger the number of marathons Ive done where Ive been able to run the last mile hard/fast, and still feel good at the end. This was the one.

Too bad it rained so hard, obscuring the beautiful scenery (and making my sneakers double their weight by the end!). The miles of well-maintained dirt roads are easy on the legs. I had a pleasant chat with a veteran trail ultra-marathoner for several miles. He wore trail spats which prevented stones from finding their way into his sneakers. I wished I had a pair. If you like marathons with throngs of cheering fans and crowded fields, this one isnt for you. I prefer good scenery, friendly runners, a low-key start, and this fit the bill. The best partit was the 1st time I won my age group in a marathon (& probably the last), which would never have happened at a larger venue! The finish was a bit mickey-mouse; runners turned into a pasture and ran downhill thru too-long, very wet and muddy grassI was worried that I was going to trip and fall and had very little energy left to pick up my feet to avoid tripping or slipping. And, based on my splits, I wonder if the mile-markers were all in the right place.

This was my first marathon and it was an amazing experience. The course was quite hilly but very scenic and well marked. There were plenty of volunteers and water stops and the support to all the runners was overwhelming. If you are looking for a challenging hilly marathon course, I would highly recommend this marathon especially the last hill at mile 25. Even though it rained and poured at times, it was a very rewarding first marathon experience and I'm glad I ran it and finished it! I would recommend it to other runners who don't mind hills.

This was a great marathon. You would never had known it was the first year for this event. Everything was on time and well organized. Every aid station had 10-20 volunteers ready to help you in any way. The course was very scenic. Locals in Bennington and Manchester were very friendly and helpful. I'm a 50 stater and am happy that this is the race I chose for Vermont. Sign up for this one soon, it is a secret gem, for now.

The organizers of this first-time marathon in southern VT did a spectacular job of creating a wonderful race experience. They couldn't control the weather (rainy all day) but they controlled just about everything else and their efforts showed. Wonderful course (interesting, hilly but not impossible, quite scenic), great traffic control, good staging and finishing areas, super user-friendly logistics, many water stops with unbelievable volunteers, cheerful spectators (there would probably have been more if the weather has cooperated), great and varied post-race food, and beautiful, ceramic finishers' medals. Very responsive race officials. I sure hope they do it again in the future. HIGHLY recommended for those who like small, rural marathons.

The organizers did a great job of putting on this first-time race. The course was beautiful (and not quite as difficult with the hills as I was worried it would be), with traffic controlled well by the police and other volunteers. Water stops were spaced just right, and the volunteers were SO friendly and enthusiastic, even while standing in the rain for hours. There was a ton of good food at the finish, and the ceramic medal was a really nice touch, unique to the area. The towns of Bennington and Manchester seemed to embrace the marathon, so I hope they're able to turn it into an annual race. I would definitely recommend it!

Great, scenic race through the rolling hills of rural Vermont. Very well organized, with lots of porta-potties, water and gel stops, and aid stations throughout the course. Enthusiastic volunteers and fans. Great post-race food and beautiful handmade pottery medal. Very supportive of slower runners and walkers. Highly recommended - I hope they bring it back next year!

While it DID rain the entire time, this was an excellent event. There were a few areas (lack of porta-lets at the start) and a late (9:00 a.m.) start that can be improved, but overall a really nice marathon. It was really neat that there was NO HALF associated with the event and I hope that does not change.

The course was beautiful (gosh, what does it look like on a sunny day?) and the spectators were wonderful in the rain.

This was a neat event and everyone should consider it in the future.

I enjoy a small well handled marathon in a rural setting. This race was close to perfect. The pros..beautiful course, plenty of water stops, great volunteers, live music at the start, nice finishers medal, very nice tech shirt and lots of food and drink at end. The cons..a pasta dinner would be nice, the t-shirt in the goody bag was for bowling for children..a race shirt would have been nice, a few porta pottys at the start would have helped. This was my 21st marathon and I give it a 5 out 5. I will probably run it again.

This was the inaugural running of the Shires of Vermont marathon, a point to point from Bennington to Manchester, VT. The race director was great answering emails and questions before the race, and everything went great on race day with the organization. This was (for me) a very difficult course and I heard other runners say the same thing. Miles 9-19 were seemingly all uphill, with miles 10-14 being especially difficult with very steep inclines. About 9 miles of the course (including the hardest part) was on dirt roads, which usually wouldn't be a problem. But it rained, then it poured, then it rained some more. Made for a lot of mud and mud puddles.

Positives: Great and friendly staff, super great spectators where there were any. We ran through a few small towns and I was surprised by the number of people out in their yards cheering us on through the pouring rain. The belly dancers through Arlington were especially a pick up.

The post race party was well stocked with all kinds of food, fruit, and drinks, and the support staff was great.

Travel to the start and packet pick up was a breeze.

Negatives: Not enough aid stations through the difficult part. In some spots they were 2.5 miles apart, which is just too far. From mile 21 on they were every mile, which was nice, but they were really needed in the middle of the race.

The finish left a lot to be desired. We had to run about .2 miles past the finish on a paved road, then turned into a meadow and ran another .2 miles through wet and muddy grass to the end.

The finisher's medal was ceramic, which was unique, but not creative or nice to look at. They gave us our shirts at the end of the race, which was just something else you had to take and keep track of after you just ran 26.2. It would have been just as easy to put them in our packets at pickup.

All in all, it was a decent race and knocked VT of my list of 50. I think with a few modifications this can become a great annual run in southern VT.