May 2, 2024
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Mad Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Mad Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.6 
Organization 4.8 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 82 [displaying comments 71 to 78]
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A. D. from NYC
(7/12/2011)
 "Great First Edition of Race" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Organizers did a wonderful of supporting the runners during a hot and humid day with plenty of water/gatorade stops. This is a difficult hilly marathon with more than 2000 feet of gross elevation gain and non-stop rolling hills. The shirt, medal and race program were wonderful, and the post race food/festivities adequate. I gave the course 4 stars because it's breathtakingly beautiful, but hilly. There are cows on the course as well as the smell of cows. I gave spectators a 3 because there weren't very many. Most people on the course were either runner's entourage or the wonderful and cheerful volunteers. The only thing I'd change is possibly start the race earlier to avoid the heat and to redo the elevation graph with more sampling. The current graph really does not do justice to the course. Earphones should be banned because most of the race is on open roads/trails and some of the drivers did not respect the race and barreled through. | |
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d. m. from NC
(7/12/2011)
"Beautiful and hilly" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 If you have ever wondered where all the hippies went after Woodstock, it is probably Vermont. If the sight of white guys in dreadlocks and sandals, or a vegetarian restaurant in a town of 1800 people, or no fast food restaurants for a 100 miles doesnt bother you, then this could be the race for you. T-shirts with Keep Vermont Weird and Buy Local abound. Vermont is all about being close to the earth, nature, and fresh food. The inaugural running of the Mad River Valley Marathon in Waitsville, VT had lots of good things going for it. It is a beautiful part of the country and the organizers did a great job with the logistics of the race. There was enough water and food, nice medals and tech shirts and all the other things you go to a marathon for. The town supported the race well with businesses getting involved and homeowners parking lawn chairs at the end of their driveway to watch the nuts run by. The packet pickup is Saturday and there is a farmers market across the street from 9 to 1. There you can find Vermont maple syrup, organic peanut butter, veggies, flowers, music, and handmade crafts. The landscape is beautiful, reminding me of the mountains of NC and thus the course is very hilly and rural. If you want a flat course this isnt for you. The hill from mile 1 to 2 gains 500 feet in elevation and the vast majority of runners were walking. Through mile sixteen you have about 1000 foot elevation gain. It is mainly downhill after mile twenty but, at least for me, it was too late and my legs were shot. You get to do The Dip twice and going up the hill the second time was brutal. There is maybe 20% shade on the course and a fair amount of the course is hard packed dirt and gravel. Thus if it is sunny bring a hat and sunscreen and if it is rainy you are going to have some muddy shoes. Bring a camera and take pictures to pass the time, the views are worth the extra weight. Lodging: There are no chain hotels around so you have to make your lodging decision from one of the many inns. The area is a big ski town in the winter with Sugarbush Ski resort next door and there are plenty of rooms available. My experience with the White Horse Inn was good. They had Wi-Fi and good food for breakfast. The owners Brenda and Tom gave plenty of personal service and attention for the marathoners under their care. The room and shower were small but the bed was comfy. The town of Waitsfield and Warren are small and businesses basically close up at 5 pm. The restaurants all seem to close by 9 so dont think you are going to arrive late in the evening and go out for dinner. There are no chain restaurants which forces you to be a bit adventurous. Food: I did try Mint vegetarian restaurant for lunch and if you are a vegetarian, I think you will be happy with the selection and unhappy with the 45 minutes it took to get my food. The Common Man restaurant might make you think of hardy home cooking for the average guy but it is a fancier restaurant in a rustic setting with dinner entrees in the $20-30 range. It was good but didnt excite me enough to go back. Easy Street Café had an interesting menu with small, medium, and large portions (small is very small and large isnt really). It was probably the best of the 3 restaurants I ate at with prices from $10 to $30 for entrees. After the marathon I like pizza and I recommend Jays Pizzeria just north of the start. Quick and good NY style for the hungry runner. If you do this marathon, hit the Waterbury area (north of Waitsfield) and go to the Ben & Jerrys factory tour, and some chocolate factory tour. I didnt really have time for it but would have if I could have. | |
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M. W. from New York City
(7/11/2011)
 "Holy Hills!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Congrats to Dori for a great race. Beautiful scenery and lovely spectators and volunteers. Had no idea the course would be as difficult as it was, but it is Vermont, and if you want to run this race, start your hillwork now for the race next July! All in all, I would recommend the race for those looking for a challenge and for those who love a small scale event. It's a true marathoner's run. | |
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J. T. from Raleigh, NC
(7/11/2011)
"Well organized inaugural event" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Just back from a great time running the Mad Marathon in Vermont. All in all the organizers did a great event, especially for an inaugural. The Good 1. Beautiful Setting 2. Well organized 3. Great water stops 4. Plentiful Volunteers 5. Quiet course (very little road traffic) 6. Nice tech-shirt 7. Nice medal 8. Organizers kept the course open an extra half hour to let the stragglers finish. The Bad 1. No food at the finish for runners, unless you count the soggy donuts - unless you want to buy it from the vendors. I usually don't carry cash on marathons so was a bit surprised by this. 2. No water bottles, etc at the finish for runners, just a dixie cup of water or gatorade. 3. Pasta Dinner at $19 from the Waitsfield Inn was disappointing and a hugely bad deal. I've had much better pre-race deals for $10 or less (or even free, like Hatfield-McCoy) and it usually benefits a charity. 4. Very few porta-pots on the course. I think there was only one aid station with them. Ladies especially bring TP and be prepared to squat in the woods. Observations 1. It's in a resort area so expect to pay resort prices for local and lodging. We stayed in Burlington, VT (45 minutes away) for about a third the cost. 2. Burlington, VT is the closest airport and airfares were pretty reasonable for 2011. 3. At 2100 feet of climbing, this is not a flat or 'gentle' marathon, despite what the organizers tell you. :) Hatfield-McCoy is 1700 feet of climbing, so this is 400 feet more. | |
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Jonathan Wendel from Ames, Iowa
(7/11/2011)
"Special new event, highly recommended" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is a very special event, a splendidly run and most welcome addition to the summer marathon calendar. The course is very pretty, passing through a diversity of terrain, including forests and pastoral settings on rolling (ok, hilly) terrain, often with spectacular views. About half of the course, maybe a little less, is paved, the other half being firmly packed and runnable (and forgiving) dirt. The aid stations are ample and amply staffed by cheerful volunteers. Packet pick-up, the starting line and everything else about race morning, and the management of the finish area were flawlessly executed. It is amazing to me how well this race was run, beginning to end, top to bottom, especially because this was the inaugural event. Hats off and a big thank you to RD Dori Ingalls and her staff for the gift of this wonderful marathon experience. Other niceties include the excellent farmers market at the race start/finish area on Saturday morning, complete with live music, and the town of Waitsfield (population about 1200), which is nicely situated in a pretty place (the Mad River valley), with many choices for dining and lodging. Ben and Jerrys world headquarters is just up the road in Waterbury, as is an excellent cider mill and many other tourist diversions. | |
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S. Y. from Washington, DC
(7/11/2011)
 "Great, Challenging Inaugural Marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a great race, and particularly well-run for it being its inaugural year. The course was very hilly and run mostly on backroads. Some of these were dirt, but I'd say at least half of the course was on pavement. Traffic was either very well handled, or there is no traffic on Sunday morning in central VT. A few cars passed, but I never felt that they were too close for safety's sake. Aid stations were ample and well stocked, to the point where there was some bunching up. Though I think this was a great race (though my quads may disagree), I will mention three areas where the race could be improved. First, I would move the start time up. The sun is up before 5:30 in the summer in VT, and a 7:30 race start means the majority of runners are finishing in the heat of the day. Moving it up to 6:30 (or earlier) would help a lot. Second, there need to be more portapotties on the race course. I always expect too few at the start, but that there will be a few on the course itself. There were two portapotties on the entire race course, located at mile 12/21ish, which is just too few and too late in the course. One more set is necessary. Third, from my wife, would be to include a few more tips for spectators on where to see runners. The booklet each runner got at the expo was excellent and could easily include a few words on this. That's it for suggestions for the race directoroverall you did a wonderful job with the race and the finish. For runners, I would recommend this race whole heartedly, followed by a nice long, lazy soak in the Lareau Swimming Hole and then some great VT beers. | |
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K. W. from New York
(7/10/2011)
 "Very, Very, Very Hilly" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The elevation chart on the website did not reflect how hilly this course was in reality. The organization was good and the course was very scenic. In future marathons they need more restrooms at the start and the full and the half were colliding at mile 7. | |
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David Tucker from Metro Detroit
(7/10/2011)
"About the best smaller marathon I've run." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course is moderately difficult but the scenery is fantastic. Not for first-timers. Dori Ingalls has done a tremendous job of organizing this inaugural race. It's rural, so there are not fans everywhere, but in just about every spot where people could gather, they did. The only thing they could do better is provide more port-a-potties along the route. I highly recommend this race. |
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