Vermont City Marathon

Vermont City Marathon
Vermont City Marathon
Date	May
Location	Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon
Primary sponsor	People's United Bank
Established	1989 (35 years ago)
Official site	https://www.runvermont.org/vermont-city-marathon-relay/
Participants	1813 finishers (2019)

The Vermont City Marathon (VCM) is an annual marathon in the city of Burlington, Vermont, in the United States, first held on May 28, 1989. The race is generally held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and attracts people from the New England area.^{[citation needed]} It is produced by RunVermont, a not-for-profit organization.

History

The race was first held in 1989.

The race record for men, set by Michael Khobotov in 2001, is 2:17:03. The women's record is held by three-time champion Heidi Westerling, who ran 2:35:02 in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, there were 2737 marathon finishers, 690 two-person teams and 706 three-to-five person teams.^{[citation needed]}

The VCM was the first marathon to incorporate relay teams which consists of 5 members.^{[citation needed]}

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all marathon registrants given the option of running the race virtually or transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022.^[a]^[3]

Hall of Fame

There has been a long-standing disagreement between the race's Board of Directors and one of the runners. In 1998, for the race's 10th Anniversary, a club called the "Hall of Fame" was formed to honor runners who had been a part of the event each year. Membership is a mix of those who have completed every marathon, some who have started but not finished all years, some who have run on a relay team in various years, and still others who for various reasons registered for all of the VCM races but did not start some of the races. The disagreeing runner wore a cone shaped hat proclaiming "Hall of Farce" as he ran the race, reflecting his belief that the Hall of Fame should honor only those who had finished every race.^[4]^[5] This runner's streak of 19 consecutive KBVCM finishes ended in 2008 when he did not pick up his bib, show up at the starting line, or make any public statements about the race.

In 2008 the race's Hall of Fame was renamed the RunVermont Hall of Fame and membership was expanded to include individuals who have been instrumental in the success of the race over the years such as the original Race Director, Gordon MacFarland and long-standing volunteers such as Don and Betty Lacharite. The RunVermont Hall of Fame also includes the 13 runners who completed the full 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) for the first 19 editions of the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon.

Course

The USATF certified course has remained the same since 2001. It starts in Battery Park (44°28′53″N 73°13′09″W / 44.4813°N 73.2192°W / 44.4813; -73.2192 (Vermont City Marathon, start)) overlooking Lake Champlain, does a 3.1-mile (5.0 km) loop through downtown Burlington, then heads out the Burlington Beltline (VT 127), a highway that is closed to traffic only once a year for the marathon.^{[citation needed]} The course then climbs back into downtown Burlington before heading south and joining the Burlington bikepath at Oakledge Park, where the halfway point is reached. The course follows the bikepath north to the "Assault on Battery Hill", the largest climb on the course. After going through Battery Park at mile 15.1, the course does a final loop through residential neighborhoods in the north side of Burlington, then follows the bikepath back to the finish at Waterfront Park beside Lake Champlain (44°28′40″N 73°13′15″W / 44.4779°N 73.2209°W / 44.4779; -73.2209 (Vermont City Marathon, finish)).

Other races

Runners in the Vermont City Marathon can compete in the full marathon, on a two-person relay team running half marathons, or on a three-to-five person relay team running legs ranging from 3.1 to 6.2 miles. Due to overwhelming demand in the relay events, relay team spots are available only through a lottery while spots for the full marathon can be acquired through the standard entry process.^{[citation needed]}

Community impact

The race is produced by RunVermont, a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting running in Vermont. RunVermont also organizes several other races including First Run Burlington and the Half Marathon Unplugged, as well as adult training programs, and a youth running and health education program called Many Milers.^{[citation needed]}

Winners

Men's

Year	Winner	Country	Time	Notes
1989	Joe Kreutz	United States	2:29:11	Course record
1990	Felix Pinto	Colombia	2:27:09	Course record
1992	Robert Hodge	United States	2:22:11	Course record
1993	Brad Hawthorne	United States	2:18:04	Course record
1994	Angel Moreno	Mexico	2:21:34
1995	Michael Slinskey	United States	2:21:40
1996	Dan Verrington	United States	2:21:10
1997	Tim Schuler	United States	2:18:58
1998	Jerod Neas	United States	2:21:22
1999	Weldon Johnson	United States	2:24:45
2000	Greg Hill	United States	2:22:56
2001	Michael Khobotov	United States	2:17:03	Course record
2002	Chad Newton	United States	2:26:27
2003	Greg Wenneborg	United States	2:24:02
2004	Peter Fleming	United States	2:24:02
2005	Chris Juarez	United States	2:25:27
2006	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:24:27
2007	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:19:00	Second victory
2008	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:20:44	Third victory
2009	John Crews	United States	2:19:31
2010	John Crews	United States	2:17:51	Second victory
2011	Dan Vassallo	United States	2:24:09
2012	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:21:30	Fourth victory
2013	Christopher Zablocki	United States	2:18:24
2014	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:20:27
2015	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:19:12	Fifth victory
2016	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:23:02	Sixth victory
2017	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:19:41	Second victory
2018	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:17:44	Third victory
2019	Sergio Reyes	United States	2:17:40

Women's

Year	Winner	Country	Time	Notes
1989	Lea Sikora	United States	2:48:22	Course record
1990	Shirley Silsby	United States	2:51:24
1992	Carol Virga	United States	2:47:28	Course record
1993	Laura Konantz	Canada	2:49:28
1994	Cindy New	Canada	2:43:52	Course record
1995	Gordon Bakoulis	United States	2:38:32	Course record
1996	Cindy New	Canada	2:48:16	Second victory
1997	Mary Lynn Carter	United States	2:42:20
1998	Gordon Bakoulis	United States	2:42:51	Second victory
1999	Regina Ronan	United States	2:49:14
2000	Charlene Lyford	United States	2:46:10
2001	Charlene Lyford	United States	2:54:33	Second victory
2002	Véronique Vandersmisse	Canada	2:41:20
2003	Heather Gardiner	United States	2:45:31
2004	Caryn Heffernan	United States	2:46:52
2005	Susan Loken	United States	2:51:09
2006	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:44:02
2007	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:48:56	Second victory
2008	Caroine Chemwolo	United States	2:47:38
2009	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:35:02	Course record; third victory
2010	Heidi Westover	United States	2:40:04	Fourth victory
2011	Heidi Westover	United States	2:46:49	Fifth victory
2012	Kasie Enman	United States	2:43:13	Highest-finishing Vermonter
2013	Heidi Westover	United States	2:42:02	Sixth victory
2014	Dihininet Demsew Jara	Ethiopia	2:43:14
2015	Kasie Enman	United States	2:49:03	Highest-finishing Vermonter; second victory
2016	Madeline Duhon	United States	2:50:07
2017	Kasie Enman	United States	2:50:26	Highest-finishing Vermonter; third victory
2018	Bizuwork Kasaye	Ethiopia	2:42:24
2019	Rachel Schilkowsky	United States	2:45:59

By nationality

Country	Men's Open	Women's Open	Total
United States	26	22	48
Colombia	1	0	1
Mexico	1	0	1
Canada	0	4	4
Ethiopia	0	1	1

Sources:

"Archive of Results (1989+)". Vermont City Marathon. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
"TOP TEN RESULTS". 27th Peoples United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Marathon Relay Race Results. Cool Running. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.

Notes

^ It had initially been postponed to October 25 before being cancelled.^[2]

References

^ "Vermont City Marathon Race Results 2019".
^ https://www.runvermont.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "RunVermont - COVID-19 Race Updates".
^ Freyne, Peter. "New Top Prosecutor". Seven Days. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^ Sam Hemingway,Burlington Free Press, May 26, 2005

External links

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

[3] It had initially been postponed to October 25 before being cancelled.^[2]

[1] "Vermont City Marathon Race Results 2019".

[2] ttps://www.runvermont.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2020.cancellation-4] "RunVermont - COVID-19 Race Updates".

[5] Freyne, Peter. "New Top Prosecutor". Seven Days. Retrieved 2018-03-29.

[6] Sam Hemingway,Burlington Free Press, May 26, 2005

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