Shawn Otto's Staging Area

This run is a nice way to ring in the new years, and start your year off with a shiny (literally) new medal. Course is on a paved rail trail and consists of two loops totaling the half marathon distance. Water stops were spread out nicely and there were volunteers doing traffic control at road crossings. All runners received a zip up jacket and a pair of socks, and the finishers medal was covered in gold glitter, which was awesome! Post race had water, fruit, sandwiches and cookies.

This half is an out and back, mostly on a rail trail, but there is a section (about 3 miles) that you run on the dirt path the mules used to tow the old time barges up river. Cool concept, until it downpours on race day. This is also where the turn around is, so on top of turning into a mid slick, its also the narrowest part of the course. The technical difficulty of not trying to fall is complicated by other runners coming at you. Its actually kinda dangerous if one were to fall the 6 ft or so down into the canal. Im sure its completely different when dry, and I know the race directors have zero control of the weather, but it presented for a very tricky situation. 3 runners headed out and 3 others headed towards you on a 5 ft wide path of mud and deep puddles is not safe. The actual execution of the race was great though! Packet pick up was quick and easy and parking, although tight, really wasnt an issue. 2 aide station (pass each twice) were well stocked w/ gatorade and plenty of gu gels, and the finish had a great announcer and tons of volunteers. The medal, IMO, wasnt as good as years past, but its definitely not anywhere near the worst Ive gotten. Long sleeve tech shirt was nice too! Id definitely run it again, as long as the weather is dryer!

This is a great quintessential “Vermont” run that starts at a nice park, runs through the small town of Manchester, winds you through some back roads (paved and gravel), and ends back at the park. You get to experience Vermont’s “small town” feel and the countryside in the same race, while looking at beautiful mountains in the background. There are 2 sections of the course that are pretty long, grueling mile long hills (miles 1-2 and 8-9) but your then rewarded with an equal amount of easy down hill glides and a fairly flat last couple miles to the finish. Post race had an ok spread of snacks like fruit and chips along with gatorade and water. Medal was nice too, and was part 3 of a 3 year series and shows the state of VT w/ a small rind stone where the race took place and ribbon custom to the race. Would definitely run this race again!

This race is a great scenic and flat course. You park at the finish and are shuttled to the start. The course winds through the bay inlets and farmland. Aide stations were great and the running lane was coned off from vehicle traffic, but there was hardly any cars anyway. Finish was great with snacks and beer. The only real disappointment was the medal. In past years it was a nice medal with an actual sliding draw bridge but the years was a generic round medal with a sticker on it. I travel for a lot of races and past medals is definitely a factor in my race selections. Had I known this was going to be a cheap generic medal I probably would have not picked this race.

Great race through a very scenic and historic place! The start and finish are at the same place, and post race activities are so-so but the medal was awesome and creative and depicts a scene from a past race with a historic building in the background and a blue “stained glass” effect. Very unique! The course was pretty hilly, but gorgeous! Aide stations were frequent and port o potties spread throughout the course.

First off, I cannot say enough about this running company. They really have their sh*t together! There was a lot going on at this event and it was so well coordinated. The ambiance was killer. The start/finish arch glowed bright neon green. There was live music and food trucks and really cool swag available for purchase. The run itself was in a state park that is considered a “dark park”. Not much really to see around you bc its so dark. Headlamps are required. The course was two 6.55 mile loops to make the half marathon distance and it was surprisingly hilly. Like very hilly. The finishers medal was great too, very high quality and is of the races logo.