The motto of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay is “run, cheer, volunteer.” There is a way for everyone to participate in this quintessential Vermont running race and the entirety of the weekend. Whether you are running (or walking, plodding, jogging, or yogging) in the race, volunteering to help ensure the race can safely happen, or spending five minutes on your street corner cheering, we need all three pillars in place for this community event.
"Run, cheer, volunteer" is also a good life motto for supporting running as a lifelong activity—something I try to embrace in day-to-day life.
Getting Involved: Run, Cheer, and Embrace Volunteer Opportunities
Over the fall, I have tried to fit in a mix of all three. For example, when my husband was doing trail work one Sunday with my two older kids, I ran with the youngest to the turnaround point on the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon. We cow belled and cheered for all of the half marathoners, including witnessing the spectacular David Sinclair with a 7+ minute lead before he went on to win by 17 minutes.
Participants at the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon
A couple of weeks later, the whole family jumped into some great Vermont volunteer opportunities at the Trapp Lodge Mountain Marathon for the second year in a row. My kids love a trail race aid station because it is basically a gigantic snack table, and stopping to chat with a little kid about a PB&J is perfectly acceptable in a trail race. I then picked up many dozen donuts donated by Cold Hollow Cider Mill for finishers and headed to Burlington to help out at the adorable Halloween Howl.
Volunteering at the Trapp Lodge Mountain Marathon
Bib Pickup for Halloween Howl
I finally rounded out the fall by running one of my favorite running races: the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon & Squirrelly Six Mile. As the runner, I got to be out on course with my fellow runners, benefit from the amazing volunteers, and see my husband and kids and all the other spectators cheering us along. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my fall any other way!
Winning an Age Group Award Cookie at the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon
Find Your Role This Winter
As we head into winter, there are plenty of ways that you can get involved and run, cheer, or volunteer with RunVermont.
We have opened registration for four fantastic Vermont running races: the Run/Walk to Highlight on New Year’s Eve and the Freezy Cheeks 5K Series (three 5Ks in January, February, and March). These races are about as welcoming as they come: multiple distance options, open-start windows, festive host locations, and more.
As low-key and welcoming as these Vermont running races are, we do still need volunteers to time, monitor the course, and check runners in. And of course, no race is complete without the cow belling and cheering! Explore our various Vermont volunteer opportunities today—it’s the best way to support the running community—or register yourself and keep getting out there through the winter.