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May 3, 2024

Shires of Vermont Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Shires of Vermont Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.0

Number of comments: 50 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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J. S. from Connecticut (5/20/2013) "Great course - well organized race" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Wow, I have never experienced such a positive event. Every person who organized or volunteered in this event had the biggest smiles on their faces and passed it along to the marathoners along the way. The course is beautiful with the first half somewhat hilly. Fortunately there are enough 'rest' areas between hills to recover. The support along the course was terrific, the views spectacular and even though it was a smaller race, you never were 'alone'. My only suggestion is perhaps offering bags or trays after the race in the food tent and perhaps picnic tables to sit at to eat. My hands we busy holding my mylar wrap and my shirt and my water I had nothing to hold the wonderful selection of food. All in all it was a great race, I would recommend it to everyone to experience the beauty of VT
r. p. from derby line, vermont (5/20/2013) "excellent organization" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 lots of fluid on the course, many downhills, great food at the end, all volunteers very enthusiastic. Awards were given in a timely manner. I can't think of anything negative about this marathon.
Mike Bonnell from Quebec, Canada (5/19/2013) "Greatest small marathon" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon rocked. Organization was incredible. More than enough water/gatorade stops. Awesome, AWESOME spread after the run. Incredible ceramic medal. The course is not 'easy' but quite manageable. Very affordable run and in my opinion better than the big races. The scenery was incredible. Naturally, fan support is very small compared to the 'big races'. Yet, the people along the route and at water stops were really positive and vociferous. My only gripe is that you do share the road with motorists a fair amount. Yet, there were lots of race officials and police at all intersections which made things safe enough for me. If not for sharing the road I'd have given this awesome run 5 stars for the course, which I adored.
E. B. from New York (6/18/2012) "Great Small Race" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a great race course with great volunteer support. It's a small race, so don't expect too much in the way of crowd support. The port-a-potty situation was excellent compared to larger races. A correction for the record: It WAS an incredibly hot and sunny race, but it never reached the 90s or high 80s as some others are claiming. It reached the mid-80s afternoon, and it was in the low 80s around noon.
Jim Skibo from Texas (6/3/2012) "Great Vermont Race!" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 64th marathon and my 32nd state. I thought it would be cool in Vermont this time of the year, but the weather did not cooperate on this race, it hit the high 80s and we had full sun throughout the race. What impressed me was that the organizers quickly mobilized extra aid stations throughout the course. By habit, I carry my own water bottle (one of those wrist mount types) so I was comfortable throughout the race. Hotels and B&B. I stayed at the Henry House (circa 1769), but there are plenty of B&Bs in this part of the state. I chose the Henry House because of its age and the fact that it is right by one of those red covered bridges. Race day logistics were a snap. Plenty of parking right at the start line. This is really a beautiful course. It goes through some city streets and then heads into the hills onto a hard-pack dirt road. About 6 miles on city streets, then 13 or so through the forests, and then the rest on country roads. The forest road is almost totally tree shaded, so once we entered the forested section, it was about 10 degrees cooler. The finishing line had more food than I have ever seen at any marathon I have run. Wow! You cannot go away from this hungry! The finishers medal is a really neat ceramic medallion that is hand-crafted. Nicely done, you will be proud to show this one. Organization was great for a small race. Every intersection was staffed and you never wondered which direction to turn. Most turns were also clearly painted on the streets. Porta potties were quite sufficient, I think they had some about every two or three miles. No complaints, very well done.
Leslie Addison from Vermont, USA (5/29/2012) "Held in beautiful Southern Vermont" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course contained beautiful New England country roads, some rolling hills and enough flats for recovery.If I could have given a '6' rating to the fans and volunteers at the aide stations I would! They offered encouragement and enthusiasm to each of us personally. Unusually hot day and ice was available everywhere. Random neighbors were out with their garden hoses for anyone wanting a splash of relief. A bagpiper played at the top of a hill climb. Docs on bikes casually cycled back and forth. And a surprise greeting at the finish with your cold-water soaked race tee-shirt and a pottery 'medal' handcrafted by a local artist. Will definitely do again!
C. K. from Wisconsin (5/28/2012) "Hot in Vermont" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This marathon was well organized and the volunteers went above and beyond, especially trying to accommodate runners on such a hot day. They also had a very nice technical shirt that included both mens and women's sizing, always a plus. On the negative side, the finishers' medal was a bit lackluster and if you're looking for a big expo, you'll be disappointed. This is a small race, of course, and a small expo is expected. The course is very scenic running on Vermont's beautiful rural roads, but the first half is quite hilly. I feel bad to give this marathon such a low rating; however, I feel there was no excuse to start this marathon at 9 am. This was my 43rd marathon and possibly the most miserable because of the heat. If we had started at 7 am, we would have had the opportunity to run during the much cooler temperatures. At least most runners would have made it to the halfway point before things really started to heat up. When you have a late spring marathon, the start time is very crucial, and I know of very little marathons that start this late. In addition, for those of us that are traveling, it leaves even less time after the race to make it to our next destination. Hope they can change that part of their race because I think this event has potential.
R. G. from NYC (5/27/2012) "Great scenic course, Very hot day in 2012" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It would be no exageration to say this is one of the loveliest places in New England. A combination of small towns, country stores owned by locals, beautiful farmland, the Green and Taconic Mountains and of course the Green Mountain National Forest running along the spine of the state. The marathon course samples some of the best of each of these qualities although thankfully the course went over some hills but no real mountains. The people volunteering and spectating were also the best. Always helpful and always cheerful. And the large proportion of children helping, some quite young, was impressive. And a special thanks to the Batten Kill Valley Runners which put on the race and the Granite State Race Services which provided their usual superb technical services. If it weren't for the very hot day (sun, mid 80s) which hurt everyone's time, it would have been a perfect race.
L. R. from Cincinnati, Ohio (5/25/2012) "Beautiful Views Friendly People, and Oh Lord Hills" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 In attempting the 50 states I chose this race for Vermont as it happened to fit into a trip I was taking out East. I knew this was a small marathon and was a little nervous going into the race as the website didn't have much information and updates were a little slow to come from the race director. However, once on site I quickly realized that the shires marathon is a well organized race (even though this was only its second running!). Packet pickup was streamlined the morning of the race and course information could easily be found and was well marked while running. I understand that in 2011 they had rain the entire day well in 2012 we had a sweat-fest with high 80's and full sun for the marathon. However, organizers were quick to add ice all throughout the race and volunteers were lovely at the stops offering iced water/Gatorade and cups of ice for runners to use. They also iced down the race shirts at the finish line which felt great on your back as you reclined in the shade of the giant tents they had set up. A few things about the course: it is hilly but worth the climbs! The first half is definitely more brutal but I found that the second also contained several short but steep uphills. This is also a very remote course and while the volunteers and few spectators were wonderfully supportive don't expect throngs of screaming fans. Also I would definitely suggest carrying a hydration system with you for this one as I felt like the aid was a little spread out even though many volunteers created 'unofficial' stops in between to give out ice and water. My only suggestion for next year would be to think about starting the race earlier. I know this was an unseasonably hot weekend but a 9am start in May is too late and it should be moved up at least an hour. Even though this was my slowest marathon to date I still think it was probably my favorite and I definitely felt like I earned that medal when I crossed the finish line! On a side note - stayed in Bennington for the race and found this town to be simply charming with some fun shops, restaurants, and several nice hotels/inns.
J. D. from Buffalo, NY (5/23/2012) "Fantastic!" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Shires of Vermont Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race was amazing. It was almost 90 degrees which was tough. There was supposed to be water every 2 miles and then every mile after mile 20. They really stepped it up and put water, ice, pretzels, and support at every half mile after about mile 15. The volunteers would ask us how we were doing and ask if we needed anything. Everyone was very concerned that we were staying cool. The course itself was beautiful. Being from a flat area, the hills were tough but most of them were over by halfway through the race. I liked that the course was on pavement, dirt roads, through a covered bridge, towns... It made every turn interesting. I also thought that they had a fantastic idea at the end with the T-shirts. I actually had been wondering why we received our shirts at the end instead of at the packet pickup. Well, someone smart decided to soak all of the T's in a pool of ice water. When you crossed the finish line they wrapped the towel around you neck. After hours of being in the heat it felt so good! Afterwards there as good food and great cookies. I would have loved a beer but that wasn't offered. The towns of Bennington and Manchester really catered to the runners that day. I am really impressed by this race. The only negative part (besides the heat) was that I wish some of the streets would have been closed to traffic. It was tough to have to watch out for cars. This didn't happen a lot but when it did it was a little annoying. Also, there was one stretch where we were on a busy streets and the shoulder was coned off for us but both lanes of traffic were open. We had to run single file on the edge for about a mile. You had to be careful because if you stepped a little to the right you were in traffic and if you stepped to the left you sloped off the edge. Otherwise, this was fantastic. It was well organized and a great experience.

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