I ran the 4- mile footrace at Shelburne Orchands 9/24/11. The course was not marked enough and many…read morerunners, including myself were lost as a result. I appoached race director Rayne Herzog after the race to tell him what happened. He was imidiatly defensive, blamed me for the confusing on the course, and demanded that I show him where we were all lost. After a 15 minute argument (in which I repeated 3 times I did not wish to argue) Rayne said that he'd "give me my goddamn money back" and called me a "pain in the ass" in front of his staff and other runners. The whole experience was appalling and infuriating for me. I have never been treated with that amount of disrespect by a race director, much less another human being. I would have more than happy with "I'm sorry you had a bad experience, how can I make it better" but instead was insulted and blamed for Herzog's failure as a race director. Bottom line, I will never participate in another Race Vermont event again. Also the owners of Shelburne Health & Fitness.

From the owner: RaceVermont.com offers local 5K, 10K and Half Marathons in addition to Triathlons. These races are…read moreheld in some of the most beautiful back roads of Vermont.

July 10, 2011 was the first Mad Marathon, and it was a great inaugural event! The staff and…read morevolunteers were super-friendly, as well as everyone else in town. This event really had a friendly small-town feel and I felt very welcome. The course itself was beautiful and scenic, and there were plenty of water/Gatorade/Gu stops on the course. However, the hills were much more challenging than the website let on. In their defense, they do have an elevation chart on the website, but it's hard to really tell how difficult the hills are from the chart, and the course description really downplayed their size. These definitely are not "rolling hills", and anyone who does not live and/or train in this kind of area is in for a rude awakening. I was lucky that I drove the course the day before or else I would have planned a really ill-advised running strategy. The solution is really easy: the course description just needs to be revised before next year to more accurately prepare runners for what is to come. More bathrooms would be a good idea, as would more free food at the finish. I'm not a big stickler about race swag, but after 26.2 miles I really need something more substantial (and gentler to my stomach) than donuts and cider. Some fruit or bagels would be nice. There were a few food vendors in the finish area, but I don't normally carry money during a race. I love the technical T-shirt and the fact that the medals for the marathoners and half-marathoners were different. However, the two goodie bags (one at the expo and one at the finish) were a little excessive. My advice would be to keep the grocery bag (useful) and ditch the drawstring bag. Give it to us at the expo with all the swag, and use the money saved for more food at the end. For an inaugural event, the race was well-organized with few real problems. I would recommend it to others, with a sharp warning about the size of the hills.

Great Marathon in an awesome small town environment. The locals are great and are happy to…read moreencourage you along. The hills are no joke though...you don't get it...they're NO JOKE.

Just finished up the 2014 Adirondack marathon in upstate NY! It was my 49th state and 73th lifetime…read moremarathon/ultra. Race morning was 09/28/2014. First time traveling up to upstate NY, Niagara Falls, Lake Placid, and the entire Adirondack experience. What better way to end this 50 states marathon journey than to experience the Adirondacks than to run 26.2 miles! The Adirondack marathon starts and finishes in Shroon Lake, a small energetic town in the heart of the Adirondacks. A friend and fellow marathoner & 50 states marathon finisher 2x was pacing the full marathon and recommended this race to me for the state of NY. It was either this one or the Wineglass marathon, but thankful that I chose this one to do. While it was a challenging and hilly course, it was a one to remember and a great way to end this 50 states marathon journey from Hawaii. The Adirondack marathon has been in existence for quite a few years now and it continues to grow and attract runners from across the country. I spoke to the race director, Joel, and as it turned out, I was the first finisher at this event from Hawaii, so it was a big deal to them to draw someone from Hawaii to this race. The race features the full marathon, which circles Shroon Lake in its entirety, the half marathon, and a marathon relay on Sunday. They also had a 5K and a 10K on Saturday, which benefited local charities. Half of the marathon was not even close to the water' sedge at Schroon Lake, but the course was all road and the challenging spots was basically in the 1st half and I wasn't lied to. Miles 4 and 10 were particularly challenging. They were moderately short hills, but sharper inclines to make it challenging when you had a good chunk of the race still to cover. I am glad that other fiends of mine told me that it was a tough course and I took comfort in that it wasn't just me. The expo and packet pick up was held at the Shroon Lake central school gymnasium. Possibly a high school, but I don't really know. I was surprised that it was as big of an expo as it was. There was a few running clothes vendors, as well as running shoe vendors as well. What I particularly liked was the small town vibe that welcomed me to the area and to the race. I guess my marathoner friend have me some behind the scenes press since they haven't had someone from Hawaii enter the race field yet. The race was challenging and very beautiful at the same time. You don't run into the actual lake side views till mile 10, but only glimpses of it and not a full frontal view. It made me sad a bit that I was running alongside the water, but only trees and private residences obstructed my view. At mile 17-18, we ran through a religious school campus - Word of Life - before returning on US-9 back into the town of Shroon Lake. Temperatures that day was a cool 50 degrees and foggy at 7am, but quickly reached into the mid 80's at 10:30am, which made things more difficult than previously thought. This small marathon brought out the best in small town marathons and I would consider running this one again, if my schedule were to agree with. Crowd support was minimal, which was okay. It was just an experience just couldn't be categorized or labeled. It has to be embraced and lived. So grateful to be here in the Adirondacks and run this beautiful race. Too bad it had to warm up the way that it did, but a well organized race with a small town flavor. The finish line festival was nice. Right along Shroon Lake, where you can dip your tired feet in the lake! The food spread was pretty good, but I just wanted to get my fill of the area and how wonderful it was just to finish another freaking marathon! I am almost done! I can taste the final finish line (of the 1st circuit). ;) Run more! Support local! A+

09/15/24: The Spartan Race (Sprint) took place at the Bear Mountain portion of Killington, VT. This…read moreobstacle 5k race had 20 obstacles right on the side of the mountain. The Spartan Beast and Ultra took place a day prior. There were plenty of parking at the lot when we went; however, the lot was full at one point and people had to park at a different location and took the shuttle to the race area. There were tents to check in at. At this race, I was a spectator with my children; toddlers were free but it was $30 for me. There were vendor tents, a food truck, and food/drinks inside the ski lodge, for purchase. We purchased hot dogs and a corn dog and it was expensive. There were many photo ops for the Spartans; a stage and a DJ was onsite. There was a coaching station; you can rope climb and throw spears there. My husband and some family ran this race and they said it was super hard due to the incline. As a spectator, there weren't many areas to sit (except for inside) and it was very sunny out. However, I was able to find a shaded spot in a grassy area while we waited for our family to finish the race. They had a Spartan Kids race as well. There were plenty of porta potties which was much appreciated. After the Spartans finishes the race, they are given a shirt and medal. There are drinks and bananas for them at the end too. I've done a Spartan sprint in Florida before so I am a big fan of the race. This landscape definitely seems more challenging than the very flat landscape in Florida. I'm in the process of training for it again and look forward to doing the next race.