Friday, April 18th, 2025
The RunVermont Pulse
In this edition of the RunVermont Pulse:
1. Connelly's Corner - Half Marathon Unplugged
4. Memorial Day Weekend Youth Event Countdown
5. Runner Spotlight - 70 Marathons, 50 States, 70 Years (Almost!)
6. Volunteer Spotlight - Ann Kaiser and M&T Bank
7. Sponsor Shoutouts and new M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon Map
Connelly's Corner
The return of the mighty: Half Marathon Unplugged
In winter 2007, our Director Andréa Sisino proposed we start up a new race, a spring half marathon. She was teaching a class called Marathon 101 at Champlain College. The final exam of that class was that the students ran the Vermont City Marathon. Although she had a 100% success rate for having class members successfully finish the VCM, or nearly so, after a couple years of teaching she learned that for a number of class members, the VCM was not just their first marathon, but it was their first race of any kind outside of maybe a grade school track meet. As you all know, there is so much to know when you start racing, from how to drink at a water stop, to what kind of nutrition works during a race, to what to do after you finish, and even stuff like how to pin your bib on properly so that it both gets read by the chip readers and so that volunteers can see it for backup timing. Out of that, the Half Marathon Unplugged was born. In 2007 we had 265 registered runners and 216 finishers. 4 years later we sold out for the first time, and the year after we had over 1000 entrants. In 2018 we added a relay.
This year was the biggest Unplugged since 2018. In order to avoid over-crowding the course we capped at 1350 and sold out for the first time since 2016. I was the guy standing in the bed of my truck at the start trying my best to communicate to you with the bullhorn, which I know is futile for those of you standing back in the pack, but I still try to do my best. I was blown away by all of you in the Start Corral, what a cool cool cool look that was!!! Thank you to all of you who came out to race.
Also, a big Thank you to the Town of Colchester and City of Burlington. Without their support, races like these don’t happen. We know we have a big impact on the neighborhoods around the start and finish. It can be a hassle for those who live there, but I think we work really hard to get the word out and we try to minimize their delays. Marking the course and setting up, I talked to so many people who live on the course, especially around the start. They want to know what the signs are for, and when I tell them so many say they can’t believe it’s that time of year again and that they like watching y’all running by. “We get a front row seat,” as one resident told me.
We couldn’t do this without the support of our sponsors – for Unplugged that’s Switchback Brewing, Skirack, and UnTapped. They’re all small local businesses, just like us. We hope you’ll patronize them when you’re thirsty, when you need your next pair of running shoes or your next bike tuneup, or when you’re shopping for nutrition to fuel your spring and summer workouts. We also couldn’t do it without the almost 70 volunteers we had on Saturday! We are forever grateful for their support, and I want to thank all the runners who took the time to thank our volunteers. I also want to ask all runners to consider volunteering at a race produced by a not-for-profit in your area this year.Finally, if you missed out on getting a shirt, and would like one, we have put the remaining inventory up in an online store here. They are still $30/shirt and shipping is a flat $5 (or save $5 and come to 1 Main Street to get your shirt(s) instead.
Altra Kickoff Recap
You may have missed our big, exciting announcement from a couple of weeks back, but Altra is now the Official Shoe of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay!
On race day you will see the Race Committee, RunVermont Staff and Board, and other key people involved with the entire weekend (such as our wonderful race announcers) sporting Altra gear and shoes.
To celebrate this new partnership, long-time sponsor of RunVermont events, Skirack hosted a Kickoff Event and Group Run with the M&T Bank VCM Pace Team on April 17th. It was so much fun to see people trying on Altras for the first time, and to see the Pace Team in their new uniforms! We had a strong showing of runners looking to take advantage of the expertise of our seasoned pacers. Jay Lashombe (a long-time participant in RuVermont events) even won a pair of Altra running shoes and NBC5's Jackson Stoever was (literally) running around to cover the event!
Interested in learning more about our Pace Team? We just posted their profiles (and words of wisdom for hitting a goal) to our website. Check them out here and view Altra’s full line of offerings here. You can also plan to learn more about Altra, and meet members of the Pace Team, at the Sports & Fitness Expo on May 23rd and 24th, where each will have booths.
Need additional incentive to visit the Pace Team booth? Courtesy of M&T Bank, we will be giving away temporary pace tattoos to help participants reach one of 21 different goal times (including every BQ time).
Skirack employees fitting Altras for RunVermont; Group photo before running; Members of the RunVermont Board of Directors
Merch Alert!
I’m a child of the 80s, which means that I’m a college kid of the early-2000s. And since I’m not the most fashionable of people, I still feel the most at home in flared jeans (they will come back), flip flops, and a hoodie.
As I have aged, my taste in hoodies has at least gotten a bit more refined, and I am so excited that Thuja Outdoor Clothing will be selling custom hoodies that are cut, sewn, and embroidered in Williston, Vermont with M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay branding this year. These are not mass-produced cotton hoodies! They are extremely high-quality, durable, and technically capable layers.With two different thicknesses to choose from, the race logo embroidered on the front, and an assortment of options to customize the sleeve with your relay team name, finish time, “marathoner,” “finisher,” etc., these hoodies will be a great memorialization of your accomplishment at the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay and something that, like maple syrup energy gels from UnTapped, is unique to Vermont.
To sweeten the deal, Thuja makes business decisions based on a commitment to fostering positive ecological practices and sustainability, which means maximizing how many hoodie parts can be cut from a single piece of fabric to minimize scraps and finding creative ways to use those scraps.
The M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay Burrow Hoodie will sell for $130 and the Burnt Rock Sun Hoodie will sell for $80. You’ll be able to order your one-of-a-kind hoodie through Thuja’s website with 30% ofeach sale of the Burrow Hoodie and 25% of each sale of the Burnt Rock Sun Hoodie going to RunVermont’s Youth Programs. Make sure to stop by Thuja’s booth at the Sports & Fitness Expo to peruse their existing merchandise and find out what Thuja size you are.
If this sort of hoodie isn’t your style, then make sure you visit the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay Merchandise Shop virtually, at the Expo, or at the finish line.
~ Anthea “it’s always hoodie weather” Dexter-Cooper
Memorial Day Weekend Youth Event is in 36 days!
We are weeks away from the Mini Marathon and the Vermont City Two Mile! Save the date for Saturday, May 24th at Waterfront Park in Burlington.
The Mini Marathon includes a 1/2 mile and 1 mile fun run for kids ages 4-14, and a hilariously entertaining Mascot Dash. Registration includes a vibrant tie-dye tshirt (shown below) for the first 400 kids to pickup their bib and medals for all finishers.
The inaugural Vermont City Two Mile is a timed 2 mile run for youth ages 9-14. Registration includes a unique tech shirt (shown below) for the first 100 kids to pickup their bib, medals for all finishers and overall awards (M/F/NB).
Food trucks and fun galore! Join hundreds of kids from all over to celebrate running on the day before the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon.
To ensure we have a safe, successful and fun event, we require the help of volunteers.
We are in need of volunteers for the following tasks:
- Bib and shirt pickup at the Sports & Fitness Expo on Friday and in Waterfront Park on Saturday;
- Serve as a course monitor to keep participants, spectators, and the general public safe;
- Help in the secure Reunion Zone for the Mini Marathon;
- Hand out medals to participants; and
- Distribute food to participants.
If you have any questions about volunteering roles, please contact youth@runvermont.org
Runner Spotlight: 70 Marathons, 50 States, 70 Years (Almost!)
On May 25th, when you see a 70-year-old in bib 70 with a huge smile on his face running through the streets of Burlington, you should give him an extra loud cheer because he will be steps away from accomplishing the most impressive of goals. The M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon will be Leon Niebrzydowski’s 70th marathon and it will be completed on his 70th birthday and be a big checkmark by his 50th state. And then Leon will be part of the exclusive 50 Stater Club. In addition to celebrating with all his fellow participants and the spectators lining the streets, Leon is coming to Vermont with a group of family and friends, many of whom are also participating in the marathon or one of the relay. So, here’s to Leon and everyone else planning to tackle momentous and audacious goals at all ages!
Learn More About the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay
Volunteer Spotlight: Ann Kaiser and M&T Bank
We’re huge fans of M&T Bank here at RunVermont, and not just because M&T Bank is the title sponsor of the Vermont City Marathon & Relay. It’s because M&T Bank embodies running, cheering, and volunteering and brings a spirit of community to its entire engagement with the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay and all of the events of the weekend.
Whether it is fielding more than 30 relay teams, hyping the race at branches, or providing giveaways to participants at the Sports & Fitness Expo, M&T Bank is involved in all facets of the weekend. That includes providing a significant number of volunteers.
One group of volunteers has been led by M&T Bank employee Ann Kaiser for a number of years. We call Ann’s group our roving volunteers because they go from task to task all Sunday and take on short, but meaningful assignments, such as sorting gear check bags, handing out athlete appreciation items, and ferrying things (like pizza) all over Waterfront Park in a golf cart. Under Ann’s organization and leadership, this group is making race day run more smoothly for everyone. Thank you, Ann, for all that you and your group does!
Learn More About Volunteer Opportunities
Sponsor Shoutouts and New M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon Map
My kids love maps, especially ski maps, maps of Vermont, and maps of time zones. My oldest likes to highlight all of the trails he has skied and lifts he has been on, and there is a 50/50 chance that, when given the opportunity to bring something in for show and tell, he is going to pick a map. He even spent several days pouring over a 2017 A Basin map that his uncle gave him and a 2024 A Basin map that one of my old coworkers gave him trying to spot the differences. And his kindergarten class is studying a map of Vermont that is so enormous it fills an entire large room.
Taking a map page out of my kids’ Road Atlas, I knew that when I started with RunVermont I was going to give our racecourse maps a little update. Courtesy of designer extraordinaire Jeff Kent, we now have wonderful maps for both Half Marathon Unplugged and the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon. I’m especially pleased with the map for the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon because it now shows things like the official cheer zones and where on-course entertainment is. The new map has also given us an opportunity to highlight some of the amazing sponsors that make the entire race weekend possible. The map is above, and you can always find it on our website here.
How many sponsor names/logos can you spot?
~ Anthea “let me check my map” Dexter-Cooper