In this edition of the RunVermont Pulse:
1. Go/No-Go for (Registration) Launch
2. Halloween Howl Youth Run this weekend!
4. M&T Bank VCM and Half Marathon Unplugged Lodging Partners
5. RunVermont Strategic Planning Consultant
6. Sponsor Shoutout: Leonardo's Pizza
Go/No-Go for (Registration) Launch
We’re coming up on my one-year anniversary with RunVermont. Last year, I came to the RunVermont offices on Friday, November 1, 2024, to be interviewed by NBC5 about starting as the Executive Director and registration for the 2025 M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay opening. It felt a little bit disingenuous to talk about the work that had gone into opening registration because my first day with RunVermont wouldn’t be until the following Monday. Little did I know then just how much work goes into opening up registration for multiple races where we expect to have more than 7,000 total registrants.
Like Ed Harris's character and the rest of Mission Control in Apollo 13, we need to test all the different ways that someone (or multiple people) might register, update the text for the registration platform and our own website, bring on lodging partners (more on that below), create new graphics, program automated emails, and so on.
Motivational sign (and earned banana) at the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay
This year, we are so fortunate to have long-time sponsors taking ownership of more parts of the weekend, and that has also necessitated updates. With M&T Bank becoming the title sponsor of the Memorial Day Weekend Youth Events (M&T Bank Vermont City Two Mile and Mini Marathon), we have combined registration platforms, making a one-stop shop for the entire family to register for all of the Memorial Day Weekend races. With Darn Tough Vermont becoming the presenting sponsor of both the 2 Person and 3-5 Person Relay events within the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay we have added the very important question of “what is your sock size” for the first 100 relay team captains.
We’re also in the very exciting position to bring back the two-wave start for Half Marathon Unplugged, presented by Switchback Brewing Co. With the support of both Switchback Brewing Co. and the Town of Colchester, we’re going to be able to increase our field size by about 300 and have a less congested start experience for participants. This is especially good news for those of you who were not able to participate last year because the race sold out. While these changes may seem simple on paper, additional work goes into figuring out shuttle bus times and capacity, adding additional waves to the registration platform, and more testing before we can open registration.
A huge thank you to the whole team for all their work over the last few months!
~ Anthea “Has It Really Been Almost a Year?” Dexter-Cooper
Register for Half Marathon Unplugged
Halloween Howl Youth Run This Weekend
Start of the 2024 Halloween Howl
Join us at Oakledge Park on Saturday for the second annual Halloween Howl Youth Fun Run, brought to you in partnership with Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront.
The course is a 1/2 mile loop, with the option to complete it once or twice. Costumes are encouraged and parents/guardians may accompany their runner.
Stick around after the run for plenty of Halloween activities to enjoy!
From the Blog
Some of our staff’s favorite things include running, running in Burlington, and watching movies about running (sometimes in Vermont, movies about running in Burlington as a genre is probably a bit too niche). If you are also someone who likes running and movies, then you should give our two most recent blog posts a read. Resident Burlington-running-route guru, Joe Connelly goes through some of his favorite (summer) running routes in and around Burlington. There is a mix of trails and paths, gorgeous views, and one historic landmark. One of the routes is even perfect training for Half Marathon Unplugged and the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon because it shares miles with both races.
Runner participating in the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon on the Burlington Bike Path
And Anthea Dexter-Cooper highlights seven of her favorite running movies in obscure categories such as “favorite movies about fastest-known-time attempts on the Long Trail.” Going for a run and then curling up with a bowl of popcorn and a movie sounds like a “pretty nice little Saturday” (quote from a non-running movie).
M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon and Half Marathon Unplugged Lodging Partners
With registration for both the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay and Half Marathon Unplugged now open, it is the perfect time for our out-of-town visitors to start thinking about where they are going to stay before and after the race.
In addition to having more than ten lodging partners that are offering discounted rates for the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay (details and booking links), we also have three lodging partners that are offering discounted rates for Half Marathon Unplugged (details and booking links).
Some of our lodging partners, like the Best Western Plus Windjammer Inn, have been long-time supporters of RunVermont events and are the homes-away-from-home for some of our out-of-town contractors that come in for the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay.
Windjamer Restaurant and Upper Deck Pub
RunVermont Strategic Planning Consultant
RunVermont is looking for a strategic planning consultant to lead the development of a strategic framework to guide RunVermont and drive objective decision-making over the next several years. More information and the request for proposal are posted on LinkedIn. If this is your area of work and you want to help an organization that is supporting running as a lifelong activity, then please consider submitting a proposal. If you know someone who might be a good fit, then please pass along the link to the request for proposal. Responses are due by November 14, 2025.
Sponsor Shoutout: Leonardo's Pizza
Then & Now: Leonardo's at Start/Finish of the Vermont City Marathon
Our partnership with Leonardo’s Pizza dates back to the early days of the Vermont City Marathon. While recently browsing through old VCM photos, we found a snapshot from our third year—1991—taken at the start and finish area in Battery Park, with a Leonardo’s booth in the background. Their first shop opened on Pearl Street in the fall of 1990, making them one of our earliest supporters.
Leonardo’s joined us as a sponsor a bit later on and partnered with us to support our Expo volunteers—a tradition that’s continued for more than 30 years. About a decade ago, they also became part of our Runner Food sponsor group. We always hear how much runners love having pizza waiting for them at the finish line! Thinking back to my own racing days, I know I would’ve appreciated a slice after crossing the line, too.
More than just the food support, Leonardo’s has had relay teams at VCM for years. It’s a great chance for their staff to bond outside the kitchen. Two of the owners, Phil George and Sara Byers, have run the full marathon, and their 3rd owner, Kelly Byers, has not only run in the VCM and a lot of our other races, but he’s been a Board member of RunVermont for almost a decade. If Kelly isn’t running, he’s always at our races volunteering.
In the 35 years since Leonardo’s opened its first location, countless pizza shops have come and gone from the local scene. We’re proud of our long-standing partnership and thrilled to have watched Leonardo’s grow and thrive for so many years.
~ Joe Connelly
Leonardo's Relay Team