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Marathon Details - Vermont City Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > VT > Burlington > Vermont City Marathon

Vermont City Marathon

M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Marathon Relay

Burlington, VT USA

May 25, 2025

http://www.runvermont.org

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Race Details

New 2-loop course in 2022. Still super fast! Mostly flat to rolling course with uphills at mile 6 and mile 19. Last 6 miles of each loop flat/downhill. Includes 7 miles on the Burlington bikepath along Lake Champlain.

Contact Information

Name:
Address:	RunVermont 1 Main Street, Suite 304 Burlington, VT 05401
Phone Number:	(802) 863-8412
Email:	Email the organizers

More Information

These details were last updated by the race director on 2/2/24 and may be out of date.
Number of Runners:	5,500
Number of Spectators:	25,000
Fees & Deadlines:	TBD
Start Time:	7:15 AM
Course Refreshments:	13 on-course aid stations with water and Gatorade. Gels/food at miles 8 and 21.
Race Day Registration:	no
Online Registration:	www.runvermont.org
Packet Pickup Info:	Doubletree South Burlington, Friday 1:00-8:00, Saturday 9:00-7:00
Marathon Ratings:	Course Scenery/Beauty/Interest: Good for First Timers: Crowd Support: Course Speed:

Runner Reviews (303)

Course 4.2

Organization 4.4

Spectators 4.7

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Number of comments: 303 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 31 > ]

J. G. from Williamsburg, Virginia (5/30/2024) "Beautiful Vermont1" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A wonderful race to do to get Vermont in if you are trying for 50 states as I am. Logistics are easy as the airport is only a few miles to downtown Burlington. Plenty of motels, Airbnbs and restaurants to choose from. The town is clean and safe, although there are some homeless folks in the area like most cities. The expo was the best I have attended of the 3 marathons I have done this year. A nice selection of vendors and free samples of items from several venders. I really liked they had a CPR brief training you could take, just in case you need to use it on another racer. The two loop course was very nice. It was hillier than I thought, not a lot of elevation gain, but long gradual up hill climbs. Also a bit warm, especially during the 2nd loop. The fan support was much greater than I anticipated and the 'cherry on top' was running down Church Street. The neighborhood areas had residents out with water cooling hoses and freeze pops! Race organization was excellent and a special thank you the bicycle EMT that helped me when I took a fall around mile 19! The swag was very good with a nice shirt, medal and a runners hat at the end. The finish area had pizza, beer, soda, chocolate milk and snacks. I thought for sure they would offer Ben and Jerry's or a maple creamee as they are a local favorites, but they did not. I really liked this race and highly recommend it.
C. C. from NH (8/7/2022) "Double Loop Course" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this marathon 20 times and have always loved it UNTIL this year. Organizers changed course to a double loop and added more neighborhoods. I was extremely disappointed.
Stuart Cartwright from Wayland, MA (6/21/2022) "Spectacular run along Lake Champlain" (about: 2022) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 2 loops through beautiful Burlington were terrific fun. The spectators were wild: drum kits and deep bases on many front lawns! The mix of relay runners ensured big spectator crowds. Running up Main St.'s short hill, 2 city blocks, was a breeze with loud throngs yelling their lungs out. I liked the loop format, as you knew what to expect in the back half, and could really let it out on the bike path return to the city. So pretty to view boats, lake, and long views of the Adirondacks. Very well organized. Terrific support. Don't miss New England's 2nd largest marathon! (Only gotcha: The tracking app does not allow your fans to track you if you don't carry a phone. Splits could be posted online, no?)
H. M. from NW Arkansas (6/7/2022) "Hilly but scenic" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a much larger race than I had expected for Vermont. Organization is fantastic with several email reminders in the weeks leading up to the race. The area is absolutely beautiful, and the crowd support was amazing. I think some families in the neighborhoods just sat out and cheered for 4 or 5 hours. The course is tough, and the double-loop (figure 8) means you get to 'enjoy' a big hill at mile 6 and again at mile 19. There's also a smaller hill within the first mile that comes up again before mile 6, around mile 14, and before mile 19. The weather was beautiful on race day, but it warmed up quickly. I don't think there were many negative splits this year! I recommend staying in one of the downtown hotels or B&Bs. Everything is very walkable if you're in the downtown area. The Church Street Market is a neat, car-free shopping district in the center of downtown (and part of the racecourse). Pascolo was a good place to carbo load the night before the race, but you'll definitely want to make reservations in advance.
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (5/30/2022) "Beautiful hilly course" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 We've been waiting since the postponed 2020 marathon to run this marathon. Pros: Beautiful, scenic course of rolling hills through downtown Burlington, neighborhoods, parks and along Lake Champlain. Enthusiastic, friendly spectators, especially in neighborhoods and downtown. Expo was easy to navigate. Nice kids runs the day before race. Nice medal. Cons: Course is two loops repeated, psychologically hard to know that a long steady hill is going to be waiting for a second go at mile 19-20. I loved the scenery but wish that not all of it was repeated. This race has many more relay runners than folks running the full. So fresh runners are constantly zipping by and exhausted marathons almost immediately spilled out into a crowd of spectators and relay runners and had to totter over to a line for runners food tent. I wish that had been set up as one chute instead. Hotel HQ not close to race start- had I realized that sooner I would have booked a hotel downtown instead. A bit warm this year- 50s at start, 70s when I finished. Overall a lovely, challenging run with terrific local support. I'm glad I came to run it!
S. K. from Fort Lauderdale, FL (6/3/2019) "race is ridiculous" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 3 years ago I did this race and they cancelled after a few hours because it got hot. In the summer...Seriously. WTH? After 3 years of being angry about it I signed up again, mostly because it was the only Vermont race I could make work with my schedule and as we're waiting for the start they announce they need to evacuate the park, because rain is coming. Are you serious? The rain came and went and we started about an hour late so it was hot, but surprisingly they didn't cancel again, but all those angry feelings came back. Only do this race if you want to go to Burlington for no reason, and treat the race as a happy accident IF it happens. This race is utterly ridiculous.
S. E. from MA (5/31/2019) "Great course, fans, and city!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running the Vermont City Marathon and wow - what a race! First off, Burlington is a great little New England city with wonderful restaurants, breweries, and shops all located in a city center that is near the start and finish of the race. The spectator turn out was beyond my expectations (genius idea for the race to have a 'spirit competition' between the various neighborhoods that are featured on the course) and my personal favorite was running through Church Street and high-fiving the patriotic drag queens. Course is smartly planned out with only two major hills, no easy feat for a race in New England. Racers all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the pacers added a lot of excitement. Aid stations were plentiful and the party at the finish line was awesome. Overall, this ranks up there with Boston and Twin Cities, MN as one of my favorite races to date!
J. D. from Land O Lakes Fl (5/27/2019) "Great Changes" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my second VT city marathon. I ran it back in 2016 during the heat wave. The 7:00am start time was nice, can't control the weather delay. The bike path from miles 22 to the finish were in much better shape as was the lower leddy park road since I was last here. I loved the change going to the bike path after Oakledge park instead of doubling back up on pine street. Good job Burlington another good experience. I finished almost 7 minutes faster than my first time here. I will be back for sure.
M. W. from North Carolina (3/25/2019) "Great Tour of Burlington" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Vermont City Marathon is a terrific event. First off, scoring Meb Keflezighi as not only a race ambassador, but a participant in the relay, means this is a quality race. The course features varying semi-out & back loops (I say semi since only one is a true out and back, the others a combo out/back loop). This gives you a nice tour of Burlington, which is quaint New England city / college town. Yes, there are some hills, but given you are in the foothills of the Green Mountains, you can't really expect it to be flat. That being said, it is flatter than I expected, especially the last leg. I ran as both a member of a relay team and a marathon participant. This was a great treat for me as our relay team was my wife, daughter and son. Since none of them are ready, or at least willing, to run a marathon with me, this was the next best thing. It's the first time I've done a relay, but this ran like clockwork. The relay stations were well placed so there was ample room to pull off and find your teammate, transfer the timing chip, and head back out on the course. I will note that the timing chip is on an ankle strap, which by leg three gets wet with sweat, which is a bit skeevy even if it is family sweat. The event is extremely well supported by the community, this includes the water stops, supporters along the course, and downtown Burlington. The expo is well run with multiple vendors. We got free samples of Untapped energy products, which has become my go to for my long runs (both the gels and the waffles). The airport is very close to the downtown, though isn't necessarily cheap to fly to. Burlington and the surrounding area, Winooski in particular, has great food and drink, as well as other attractions. So add a couple extra days to your stay if possible. You can watch our video of the race and weekend on our YouTube channel Race The Nation.
Ingrid Sell-Boccelli from southern Vermont (6/26/2018) "Race with heart!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this twice - in 2017 and 2018. I had a bad race in 2017 - blew up really early on. Slogged through just to earn the damn T-shirt because I'm old-school like that. Friendly volunteers who were packing up their aid stations in the later miles would go into their cars to get me water; race staff checked on me in the final miles, and I was completely surprised and moved that a couple of volunteers hung out at the finish, long after it was dismantled, with food, water and a medal after one of the most grueling race days I ever had. So I came back in 2018 to redeem my race. This time I got to experience it all - selfies with the drag queens on Church Street, the Taiko drummers on Battery, the nonstop party in the north end, and the finish line!! I was the last official finisher this year and am used to having few people other than my family at the finish but there was a raucous crowd and I felt like a Rockstar this year. People complain about Battery hill, but it's pretty short and 'it's just a hill - get over it'. (or maybe since I live in Vermont, that does not bother me). The part I hate is the 4+ mile out and back on the Beltline, a closed-down highway. BORING and disheartening for us back of the packers. The only bright spot are wonderful Samba drummers near the turnaround. The rest of the course is lovely and the last 4 miles on the bike path along Lake Champlain are soothing and wonderful. I'll be back - it's a great race, where they take care of the turtles as well as the gazelles!

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 31 > ]



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J. G. from Williamsburg, Virginia (5/30/2024) "Beautiful Vermont1" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A wonderful race to do to get Vermont in if you are trying for 50 states as I am. Logistics are easy as the airport is only a few miles to downtown Burlington. Plenty of motels, Airbnbs and restaurants to choose from. The town is clean and safe, although there are some homeless folks in the area like most cities. The expo was the best I have attended of the 3 marathons I have done this year. A nice selection of vendors and free samples of items from several venders. I really liked they had a CPR brief training you could take, just in case you need to use it on another racer. The two loop course was very nice. It was hillier than I thought, not a lot of elevation gain, but long gradual up hill climbs. Also a bit warm, especially during the 2nd loop. The fan support was much greater than I anticipated and the 'cherry on top' was running down Church Street. The neighborhood areas had residents out with water cooling hoses and freeze pops! Race organization was excellent and a special thank you the bicycle EMT that helped me when I took a fall around mile 19! The swag was very good with a nice shirt, medal and a runners hat at the end. The finish area had pizza, beer, soda, chocolate milk and snacks. I thought for sure they would offer Ben and Jerry's or a maple creamee as they are a local favorites, but they did not. I really liked this race and highly recommend it.
C. C. from NH (8/7/2022) "Double Loop Course" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this marathon 20 times and have always loved it UNTIL this year. Organizers changed course to a double loop and added more neighborhoods. I was extremely disappointed.
Stuart Cartwright from Wayland, MA (6/21/2022) "Spectacular run along Lake Champlain" (about: 2022) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 2 loops through beautiful Burlington were terrific fun. The spectators were wild: drum kits and deep bases on many front lawns! The mix of relay runners ensured big spectator crowds. Running up Main St.'s short hill, 2 city blocks, was a breeze with loud throngs yelling their lungs out. I liked the loop format, as you knew what to expect in the back half, and could really let it out on the bike path return to the city. So pretty to view boats, lake, and long views of the Adirondacks. Very well organized. Terrific support. Don't miss New England's 2nd largest marathon! (Only gotcha: The tracking app does not allow your fans to track you if you don't carry a phone. Splits could be posted online, no?)
H. M. from NW Arkansas (6/7/2022) "Hilly but scenic" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a much larger race than I had expected for Vermont. Organization is fantastic with several email reminders in the weeks leading up to the race. The area is absolutely beautiful, and the crowd support was amazing. I think some families in the neighborhoods just sat out and cheered for 4 or 5 hours. The course is tough, and the double-loop (figure 8) means you get to 'enjoy' a big hill at mile 6 and again at mile 19. There's also a smaller hill within the first mile that comes up again before mile 6, around mile 14, and before mile 19. The weather was beautiful on race day, but it warmed up quickly. I don't think there were many negative splits this year! I recommend staying in one of the downtown hotels or B&Bs. Everything is very walkable if you're in the downtown area. The Church Street Market is a neat, car-free shopping district in the center of downtown (and part of the racecourse). Pascolo was a good place to carbo load the night before the race, but you'll definitely want to make reservations in advance.
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (5/30/2022) "Beautiful hilly course" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vermont City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 We've been waiting since the postponed 2020 marathon to run this marathon. Pros: Beautiful, scenic course of rolling hills through downtown Burlington, neighborhoods, parks and along Lake Champlain. Enthusiastic, friendly spectators, especially in neighborhoods and downtown. Expo was easy to navigate. Nice kids runs the day before race. Nice medal. Cons: Course is two loops repeated, psychologically hard to know that a long steady hill is going to be waiting for a second go at mile 19-20. I loved the scenery but wish that not all of it was repeated. This race has many more relay runners than folks running the full. So fresh runners are constantly zipping by and exhausted marathons almost immediately spilled out into a crowd of spectators and relay runners and had to totter over to a line for runners food tent. I wish that had been set up as one chute instead. Hotel HQ not close to race start- had I realized that sooner I would have booked a hotel downtown instead. A bit warm this year- 50s at start, 70s when I finished. Overall a lovely, challenging run with terrific local support. I'm glad I came to run it!
S. K. from Fort Lauderdale, FL (6/3/2019) "race is ridiculous" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 3 years ago I did this race and they cancelled after a few hours because it got hot. In the summer...Seriously. WTH? After 3 years of being angry about it I signed up again, mostly because it was the only Vermont race I could make work with my schedule and as we're waiting for the start they announce they need to evacuate the park, because rain is coming. Are you serious? The rain came and went and we started about an hour late so it was hot, but surprisingly they didn't cancel again, but all those angry feelings came back. Only do this race if you want to go to Burlington for no reason, and treat the race as a happy accident IF it happens. This race is utterly ridiculous.
S. E. from MA (5/31/2019) "Great course, fans, and city!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running the Vermont City Marathon and wow - what a race! First off, Burlington is a great little New England city with wonderful restaurants, breweries, and shops all located in a city center that is near the start and finish of the race. The spectator turn out was beyond my expectations (genius idea for the race to have a 'spirit competition' between the various neighborhoods that are featured on the course) and my personal favorite was running through Church Street and high-fiving the patriotic drag queens. Course is smartly planned out with only two major hills, no easy feat for a race in New England. Racers all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the pacers added a lot of excitement. Aid stations were plentiful and the party at the finish line was awesome. Overall, this ranks up there with Boston and Twin Cities, MN as one of my favorite races to date!
J. D. from Land O Lakes Fl (5/27/2019) "Great Changes" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my second VT city marathon. I ran it back in 2016 during the heat wave. The 7:00am start time was nice, can't control the weather delay. The bike path from miles 22 to the finish were in much better shape as was the lower leddy park road since I was last here. I loved the change going to the bike path after Oakledge park instead of doubling back up on pine street. Good job Burlington another good experience. I finished almost 7 minutes faster than my first time here. I will be back for sure.
M. W. from North Carolina (3/25/2019) "Great Tour of Burlington" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Vermont City Marathon is a terrific event. First off, scoring Meb Keflezighi as not only a race ambassador, but a participant in the relay, means this is a quality race. The course features varying semi-out & back loops (I say semi since only one is a true out and back, the others a combo out/back loop). This gives you a nice tour of Burlington, which is quaint New England city / college town. Yes, there are some hills, but given you are in the foothills of the Green Mountains, you can't really expect it to be flat. That being said, it is flatter than I expected, especially the last leg. I ran as both a member of a relay team and a marathon participant. This was a great treat for me as our relay team was my wife, daughter and son. Since none of them are ready, or at least willing, to run a marathon with me, this was the next best thing. It's the first time I've done a relay, but this ran like clockwork. The relay stations were well placed so there was ample room to pull off and find your teammate, transfer the timing chip, and head back out on the course. I will note that the timing chip is on an ankle strap, which by leg three gets wet with sweat, which is a bit skeevy even if it is family sweat. The event is extremely well supported by the community, this includes the water stops, supporters along the course, and downtown Burlington. The expo is well run with multiple vendors. We got free samples of Untapped energy products, which has become my go to for my long runs (both the gels and the waffles). The airport is very close to the downtown, though isn't necessarily cheap to fly to. Burlington and the surrounding area, Winooski in particular, has great food and drink, as well as other attractions. So add a couple extra days to your stay if possible. You can watch our video of the race and weekend on our YouTube channel Race The Nation.
Ingrid Sell-Boccelli from southern Vermont (6/26/2018) "Race with heart!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Vermont City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this twice - in 2017 and 2018. I had a bad race in 2017 - blew up really early on. Slogged through just to earn the damn T-shirt because I'm old-school like that. Friendly volunteers who were packing up their aid stations in the later miles would go into their cars to get me water; race staff checked on me in the final miles, and I was completely surprised and moved that a couple of volunteers hung out at the finish, long after it was dismantled, with food, water and a medal after one of the most grueling race days I ever had. So I came back in 2018 to redeem my race. This time I got to experience it all - selfies with the drag queens on Church Street, the Taiko drummers on Battery, the nonstop party in the north end, and the finish line!! I was the last official finisher this year and am used to having few people other than my family at the finish but there was a raucous crowd and I felt like a Rockstar this year. People complain about Battery hill, but it's pretty short and 'it's just a hill - get over it'. (or maybe since I live in Vermont, that does not bother me). The part I hate is the 4+ mile out and back on the Beltline, a closed-down highway. BORING and disheartening for us back of the packers. The only bright spot are wonderful Samba drummers near the turnaround. The rest of the course is lovely and the last 4 miles on the bike path along Lake Champlain are soothing and wonderful. I'll be back - it's a great race, where they take care of the turtles as well as the gazelles!

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Marathon Details - Vermont City Marathon