We fought the hills of Vermont and won/lived

A very belated Vermont City Marathon report.

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Burlington, VT
Runners: 7,000+
Spectators: 25,000!
Conditions: Clear and sunny, around 60 at start, rising to 76 degrees by noon

This is not a PR course, and even less so on a hot day. It is, however, gorgeous, and the crowd support was phenomenal. Little kids handing out snacks, a Darth Vader impersonator, a professional 20-piece drum circle, several full plugged-in bands, a cardboard standup of Hillary Clinton reading "never give up"...you name it. We ran past the Ethan Allen homestead, through the UVM and Champlain College campuses, down Church Street, and on a lovely bike path by Lake Champlain. I did not spot Champ the lake monster but I was not looking very closely.

My original 3:40 goal was inappropriate for the course and conditions. I ran a 1:49 first half comfortably, but as the temperature rose, I decided to just chill out and enjoy the view, finishing in 3:55, 78th percentile in my age group. I was pretty pleased under the circumstances.

Ben ran a blistering 1:07 first ten miles and 1:29 for the half, but in the end the conditions caught up with him as well.




All in all, a lovely, well-organized race with fabulous spectators. We'll be sure to run this one again.