In this edition of the RunVermont Pulse

1. Some words from our Director, Connelly's Corner

2. NYE Highlight Funrun Recap

3. Freezy Cheeks 2024

4. Marathon Coaching Program 

5. Motivation with Moe: Hello from Moe

6. Community Connection: Our Colorado friends who keep coming back!

Connelly's Corner

RunVermont’s mission is stated as: RunVermont supports running as a lifelong activity by producing exceptional events and programs that engage our community and celebrate the athletic spirit. As we move into 2024 we continue to be challenged by our mission on a daily basis. Our organization started 35 years ago with a single race, the Vermont City Marathon, and in 2023 we produced 16 running events. We wrapped up the year on New Year’s Eve by joining Burlington Community Arts’ Highlight Festival and adding a community fun run/walk to their entertainment programming. This is an idea that came along rather quickly, first mentioned in early October. As our staff talked through the logistics of this fun run, we settled on an expectation of maybe 75 runners and walkers to join us in something we love doing – just getting out the door and getting our daily miles in. Our community blew us away by having close to 250 people turn out for the fun run!! It was inspiring to see all ages there, from little kids maybe 5 years old all the way up to super seniors. There were fast runners, plenty of mid packers, and plenty of slow runners and walkers. Patrick Standen joined us on his handcycle! We marked courses at 5 miles, 5k, and 1 mile. I had a blast running the 5k with one of my college teammates from fall 1986. We may not be anywhere close to how fast we used to be, but we’re still getting the miles in, still smiling. 

We aspire to produce running events that inspire you to get out the door and be a part of this great sport. We get it – not everybody is going to be running 26.2 miles at the VCM on Memorial Day weekend. This sport has a place for all of us and I hope we’ll see you at another race soon. Next on our agenda is our winter Freezy Cheeks 5k series. If you’re fast there aren’t a lot of opportunities to test yourself this time of year, we welcome you to come see what kind of time you can post on these courses. If you’re a veteran, maybe training for a big spring race, why not join us to get in a harder effort to add to all your base miles? If you’re a newbie these races are a perfect way to dip your toes in the water, to give racing a try in a low-key atmosphere and have some fun as you expand your horizons. Click the link below to register. 

To all our running community and our community partners, we hope your 2024 is off to a good start and we look forward to seeing you soon!! 

Highlight NYE Funrun Recap

This was our first Highlight New Year's Eve Funrun and it was a great success! We were looking forward to seeing a handful of runners show up at ECHO, where the run started. What we didn't expect was to see over 200 people show up! We are still blown away by the participation. It was extra special to end 2023 alongside so many runners! There were runners, walkers, older people, youngsters, super seniors, entire families, our "regulars" that we love seeing at all of our events and the newcomers, who had never done a race with us before. This is the kind of community that we work on building, one that is welcoming and inclusive. We hope to see all of you again in 2024. 

We want to give a big thank you to Burlington City Arts for including us in your Highlight festivities!

Freezy Cheeks 2024

Saturday, January 20 at Zero Gravity Brewery

Saturday, February 17 at Foam Brewers

Saturday, March 16 at Switchback Brewery

Open start from 11:00 AM - Noon

Runners and walkers welcome

$60 registration for all 3 races, plus get a buff to keep you warm this winter!

$25 for individual race registration

REGISTER HERE

Marathon Coaching Program

If you are interested in some training guidance for the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon, we are here to help!

We offer our Rdy2Run program for those who register for our marathon. During the registration process, you will be given the option to signup for the program. Upon registration, you will be invited to a private Facebook group where online discussions will take place. You will also be connected to your coach via email where you will receive training tips and develop your personalized training plan.

Sam Davis, the Leader and Coach of our Rdy2Run program, has worked with RunVermont for countless years. His knowledge, personal experience and expertise in marathon training has allowed him to train dozens of runners to successfully complete their VCM.

We also have free 26.2 beginner and intermediate training plans available here.

Hello from Moe

Hello, I’m Moe Brown! I’m on the RunVermont Race Operations team. For my first contribution to the Pulse I thought I would introduce myself. It’s likely that I’ve crossed paths with many of you at some point over the years as I’ve been participating in road races since 1983. I ventured into competitive running in high school and have never looked back (well maybe a few times as I was nearing a finish line). I ran my first VCM in 1990, which was also my first ever marathon. Despite crossing the finish line and stating those immortal words;” I’m not running another marathon”, I have nonetheless run a total of 26 marathons to date as well as countless other distance races. 

Now as a member of the (gulp!) Master’s division, I am enjoying the sport more than ever. Time has enhanced my awareness and appreciation of the myriad of physical and mental health benefits running offers. I can’t imagine my life without it! 

 I have always had a passion for running and fitness, so much so that for the past 20 years I have been self-employed as a Personal Coach, Trainer, and Medical Exercise Specialist. I joined the RunVermont staff in December of 2022 because I love being involved with the running community and helping others experience the positive power of running.  

 I love talking all things running, so in upcoming editions I’ll be sharing my experiences and knowledge on a wide variety of running topics to hopefully help motivate and inspire. I look forward to connecting with more of you in-person at one of our many great events. In the meantime, happy running!  

Community Connection: Our CO friends who keep coming back!

This past summer we were joined by a returning family from Colorado for one of our Summer 6 Pack 5k races. We were so excited to hear that this is the second summer in a row that they lined up their vacation to be able to attend one of our Summer 6 Pack races. 

 Lauren, our Youth Director, was able to get in touch with one of the family members for a call to hear more of their story. Salim is the husband to Micol and father to two daughters. His spouse, Micol, his mother-in-law and his daughter Anna are pictured above. 

 Salim began the conversation by sharing how much he and his family loves Vermont, and specifically running in Vermont. When he met his now wife at Brown University in the early 90’s, they would take trips to Vermont. They had such fond memories of their visits that they ended up getting married in Vermont in 1999. Also, congratulations to Micol and Salim for their upcoming 25th wedding anniversary! 

 Micol and Salim soon realized their affinity for competing in running races here. Micol even completed her first road race here! Several years into their marriage, they moved out west to Colorado but they still come back as a family to visit. They have done a couple of different events with us, but most recently, they raced in our Summer 6 Pack 5k in 2022 at Trucks, Taps and Tunes in Essex and the Summer 6 Pack 5k in 2023 at Switchback Brewery in Burlington. Salim shared with Lauren that he loves the laidback and friendly vibes at our RunVermont races, something we certainly pride ourselves on, so it was awesome to hear that. Last summer, they were able to coordinate their daughter’s college tour at UVM on the same weekend as our Summer 6 Pack 5k. Their daughter, Anna, had also been taking up running so she was looking forward to alongside her parents in the 5k. We also want to send a congratulation to Anna for her acceptance to UVM! Go Catamounts! 

 Lauren asked Salim if his family is involved in the running community in Colorado where they reside. He said absolutely and that he also really enjoys competing in triathalons and trail races in the Colorado mountains. He made a point to say that it is great to come to Vermont and race at sea level, where exercise is far less difficult than it is at the higher elevations of Colorado. Lauren, having previously lived in CO, could relate to that sentiment. Back in Colorado, Salim works in the beer business so he loves how the majority of our summer 5k’s take place at local breweries. The brewery scene is another reason he loves it here. Salim even shared that we “perhaps there is even better beer in VT than in CO.” Lauren told him she would quote him on that. 

 When asked if they have ever attended our largest event, the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon, Salim said, “I have heard such wonderful things about that race but we haven’t been able to line it up. We hope to in the future and especially if our daughter ends up choosing to go to UVM!”

 We want to thank Salim for taking the time to chat with us and for being a part of our RunVermont community. Not only is it incredible to see runners come from outside of Vermont, but also to come back! We hope to see all of you again really soon!

Click here to donate to RunVermont's Youth Programs

We hope your 2024 is off to a runderful start!

We love hearing from you. Please contact info@runvermont.org with any questions.

RunVermont is a not-for-profit organization that supports running as a lifelong activity by producing exceptional events and programs that engage our community and celebrate the athletic spirit for adults and children.