Friday, May 29, 2009

2009 Vermont City Marathon~ Race Rating

#7 Vermont City Marathon Race Ratings!!! (See CB's & Sacco's Race Ratings... linked below!!!)

Overall Race Rating: 4.5/5

~ To date this is my favorite marathon overall. It has a fast course, great crowds, a scenic route. Although I missed my Boston time, I won't take it personally!

Organization: 4.5/5
The marathon was very well put together. Directions to everything were available and all runners were even sent a book of information on the marathon, city, and travel. The only negative I saw was a semi-hectic start. The race was too small for corrals but without them it as a jam right before the start. I also had to take a little off for providing "Carb Boom" on the course instead of GU. Carb boom has a terrible texture and doesn't provide the same boost GU does.

Course: 4.5/5
This course was great for me: Rolling hills, lots of turns and the course took you through different areas of town. The course seemed to move fast and you had 2 opportunities to pass by your fellow runners and cheer them on! The first 22 miles would get a 5/5, but I took .5 off for the last 4 miles! The last 4 is a flat black bike path that was boring and provided a flat course at the WRONG time.

Spectators: 5/5
I was very impressed by the amount of spectators supporting the runners! Often in marathons, the runners can feel like we're a burden on the city shutting down the roads for hours at a time. Burlington really seemed to not only come out for the race, but also seemed genuinely excited about the marathon! During the 1 "bad" hill in the race, there was a pack of drum players at the base providing support and a nice beat to get you up the hill!

Pace Groups: 2/5
I know there were pace groups available but I only saw one the entire race. I saw (I believe) the 3:30 group but I never saw one for 3:40. Being that I JUST missed 3:40 I SHOULD have seen the group pass right in front of me. I know this was the first year for pacers so I wouldn't rate the race based on this quiet yet.

Expo: 3.5/5
~Being a smaller marathon the expo wasn't that big. They didn't have some of the bigger expo tents like One More Mile. They DID have: Ben & Jerrys and one company carrying a few Gracie's Gear items. The Vermont City Marathon clothes were a decent price too! I know they also had a foot rub station that MB took advantage of!!!

Results...
Stephanie
Chip Time: 3:41:12
Overall: 542/2410
Gender:110/1109
F/Age: 24/122
More Race Rating...
Sacco gives her RUNdown of the race...
Overall Rating: 5.0/5.0!!! (WOW!)
"I really enjoyed this experience, it felt much more personal than other races I've participated in!..."
For Sacco's full race rating click here...
CB Gives her RUNdown of the race...
Overall Rating: 4.5/5.0
"Perfect amount of water stops, Gatorade mixed perfectly (sounds silly but after the Cytomax disaster of Nashville you learn to appreciate it). Didn't get a full five because..."
To hear why the organization didn't get a full 5 and for CB's full race rating click here...

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, the only pace groups were 3:30, 4:00, and 4:30. I think it caused a lot of confusion - I'm going to recommend that next year, the RD post the pace group times on the website so people know what to expect.

    If you thought there were many spectators this year, though, you REALLY have to come back and do it another (non-rainy) year. This year I actually found kind of disappointing after how crowded it was last year. Still a great race though!

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