Starting and ending at the picturesque Blueberry Hill Inn, just a short drive from Middlebury, Vermont, the Moosalamoo Ultra and Heavy Half has become a cult favorite among VT trail runners. Long challenging climbs, black bear sightings, stinging nettles are (for better or worse) hallmarks of this race. Each race …
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Starting and ending at the picturesque Blueberry Hill Inn, just a short drive from Middlebury, Vermont, the Moosalamoo Ultra and Heavy Half has become a cult favorite among VT trail runners. Long challenging climbs, black bear sightings, stinging nettles are (for better or worse) hallmarks of this race. Each race is loaded with tough, yet beautiful mountain single track taking you to the top of Mount Moosalamoo with a spectacular view of Lake Dunmore. With most trails in the Green Mountain National Forest the 14 miler has about 2400 feet of elevation gain and the 36 miler has more than 5000 feet of gain. Family friendly and dog friendly, this race brings together a great community and great mountain trails!
The 36 mile (plus or minus) Ultra race will feature mostly single track. There is no pavement encountered during either race. Both races take you to the top of Mount Moosalamoo with an overlook of Lake Dunmore on the backside. Both races have difficult but beautiful single track. At several places along the route you will encounter a potentially diabolical stroll thru some stinging nettles. The 36 milers get the best of this wonderful plant. This should be a treat to be embraced. Not only do you climb to the top of Moosalamoo Mountain but the region that the trails are located in is called Moosalamoo region. The Abenaki native American Indians meaning for Moosalamoo is call or song of the moose. Every year Black Bear are sighted along the course but unfortunately Moose are not usually seen.
Most of these trails are located in the Green Mountain National Forest. The Ultra race distance will be a great training run for longer distances and a large incremental step up from any road Marathon. The heavy half is a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of trail running. Both distances are very tough but doable. The 14 miler has about 2400 feet of elevation gain and the 36 miler has about 5000 feet of gain. Anyone using Trekking poles for this race need to allow other runners to pass keeping the poles under control and away from the passing runners.
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Great Race
John Izzo puts on a great race in the hills of VT, featuring some great trails that beat you up good. I aspire to the 36 someday but the 14 … MORE
John Izzo puts on a great race in the hills of VT, featuring some great trails that beat you up good. I aspire to the 36 someday but the 14 was tough enough. Great shirts and hats and for a small race, John and volunteers make this a fantastic race to run. And no bears ate/drank our aid station stuff this year.