I was heading over to NH for mother's days and thought I'd stop by Vermont on the way to run this inaugural race and check off a new state. This … MORE
I was heading over to NH for mother’s days and thought I’d stop by Vermont on the way to run this inaugural race and check off a new state. This is produced by Race Vermont and is located in Shelburne which is just south of Burlington. I drove up Friday night and stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in South Burlington which was very convenient. Race morning was smooth with parking and packet pick-up at Shelburne Field House. Due to Vermont travel rules, out of staters had to show proof of covid vaccine or negative covid test at check in and there was also a temperature screen. This made the race very safe. Packet included bib and you could pay for shirt. Shirt is nice poly blend shirt and has year on it but not distance specific. Race registration was very cheap even adding on the price of shirt it was less than most halfs. It was a pretty small race with about 100 participants in the half. For the start of the race participants stood in the field house in sections by pace. My only safety complaint is I thought it was odd for an otherwise extremely safe race to start indoors but absolutely everyone had a mask on properly (no noses to be seen) and everyone was 6 feet apart. The RD gave an intro to the course and race rules. He did say he thought this was a fast course and I have absolutely no idea on what planet this would ever be considered a fast course. Maybe on the hilly, hippie planet of Vermont. Anyways the racers were called out by pace and one by one went through the start line which was chipped timed. Very smooth, safe start. Both organized but also flexible. Wouldn’t work for a huge race but worked well for a race this size. The start of the course is on the sidewalk of a busy road this was the only part of the course I didn’t love. The rest of the course is through beautiful countryside and is wonderful. There are scenes of mountains and lovely farms. I saw some cows and horses but they were too far to get a good pic. Most of the race was on paved road, part was on a dirt road and a few miles were on non-technical trail which was a nice break on the joints. This was one of the most scenic road halfs I’ve done. It was also one of the hilliest. This was the second toughest road half I’ve done after Amish Country Running Festival. These hills were more than rolling and somewhat unrelenting. I don’t really run to PR so I don’t mind a hilly and scenic race but I wouldn’t plan on PRing this one. There was nothing crazy so I guess if you did a lot of hill training and really pushed yourself you could get a good finishing time. There was only one water stop around the half way point with small bottles of water. It was perfect running weather (cool and cloudy) so I carried water and refilled it there and was fine with only one stop. I do wish there were more water stops though just in case and also gels and electrolytes but this was told to us before. Course was well marked and there were plenty of volunteers and police to direct us and direct traffic since it was an open course. I enjoyed the course but it was a little lonely as it was a small race and I was running by myself a lot. I have a marathon next week so didn’t push myself too hard and walked a lot of hills. I was planning to finish around 2:45 and paced myself perfectly. At the finish line there was a table with medals and a table with snacks and water. The medal is pretty nice for a cheap race. Good size and sparkly though not distance specific. I also wish it had something to indicate the date or say something about it being an inaugural race. Food included fruit, granola bars and pop chips along with water. I did notice they started to close things down as I finished and there were a handful of runners behind me so this may not have been the most turtle friendly for them. After the race I went to Burlington for vegan food at Pingala Cafe and then drove to NH. I thought this was a good inaugural race. It was a little small and hilly but absolutely gorgeous. I’d consider doing this race again or another one of Race Vermont’s races since Vermont is one of my favorite places for a weekend trip. I’d recommend this race for someone who prefers small, beautiful races in the countryside but not for someone who needs high energy, crowded races or someone looking to PR.
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Killer Hills! Killer Views!
I was heading over to NH for mother's days and thought I'd stop by Vermont on the way to run this inaugural race and check off a new state. This … MORE
I was heading over to NH for mother’s days and thought I’d stop by Vermont on the way to run this inaugural race and check off a new state. This is produced by Race Vermont and is located in Shelburne which is just south of Burlington. I drove up Friday night and stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in South Burlington which was very convenient. Race morning was smooth with parking and packet pick-up at Shelburne Field House. Due to Vermont travel rules, out of staters had to show proof of covid vaccine or negative covid test at check in and there was also a temperature screen. This made the race very safe. Packet included bib and you could pay for shirt. Shirt is nice poly blend shirt and has year on it but not distance specific. Race registration was very cheap even adding on the price of shirt it was less than most halfs. It was a pretty small race with about 100 participants in the half. For the start of the race participants stood in the field house in sections by pace. My only safety complaint is I thought it was odd for an otherwise extremely safe race to start indoors but absolutely everyone had a mask on properly (no noses to be seen) and everyone was 6 feet apart. The RD gave an intro to the course and race rules. He did say he thought this was a fast course and I have absolutely no idea on what planet this would ever be considered a fast course. Maybe on the hilly, hippie planet of Vermont. Anyways the racers were called out by pace and one by one went through the start line which was chipped timed. Very smooth, safe start. Both organized but also flexible. Wouldn’t work for a huge race but worked well for a race this size. The start of the course is on the sidewalk of a busy road this was the only part of the course I didn’t love. The rest of the course is through beautiful countryside and is wonderful. There are scenes of mountains and lovely farms. I saw some cows and horses but they were too far to get a good pic. Most of the race was on paved road, part was on a dirt road and a few miles were on non-technical trail which was a nice break on the joints. This was one of the most scenic road halfs I’ve done. It was also one of the hilliest. This was the second toughest road half I’ve done after Amish Country Running Festival. These hills were more than rolling and somewhat unrelenting. I don’t really run to PR so I don’t mind a hilly and scenic race but I wouldn’t plan on PRing this one. There was nothing crazy so I guess if you did a lot of hill training and really pushed yourself you could get a good finishing time. There was only one water stop around the half way point with small bottles of water. It was perfect running weather (cool and cloudy) so I carried water and refilled it there and was fine with only one stop. I do wish there were more water stops though just in case and also gels and electrolytes but this was told to us before. Course was well marked and there were plenty of volunteers and police to direct us and direct traffic since it was an open course. I enjoyed the course but it was a little lonely as it was a small race and I was running by myself a lot. I have a marathon next week so didn’t push myself too hard and walked a lot of hills. I was planning to finish around 2:45 and paced myself perfectly. At the finish line there was a table with medals and a table with snacks and water. The medal is pretty nice for a cheap race. Good size and sparkly though not distance specific. I also wish it had something to indicate the date or say something about it being an inaugural race. Food included fruit, granola bars and pop chips along with water. I did notice they started to close things down as I finished and there were a handful of runners behind me so this may not have been the most turtle friendly for them. After the race I went to Burlington for vegan food at Pingala Cafe and then drove to NH. I thought this was a good inaugural race. It was a little small and hilly but absolutely gorgeous. I’d consider doing this race again or another one of Race Vermont’s races since Vermont is one of my favorite places for a weekend trip. I’d recommend this race for someone who prefers small, beautiful races in the countryside but not for someone who needs high energy, crowded races or someone looking to PR.