Vermont City Marathon facts for kids

The M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon (VCM) is a big running race held every year. It takes place in Burlington, Vermont, in the United States. The first race was on May 28, 1989. This marathon happens on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Runners from all over the world come to join. A group called RunVermont organizes the event. They are a non-profit organization.

About the Vermont City Marathon

The Vermont City Marathon is a popular yearly event. It's a full marathon race. This means runners cover a distance of about 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers). The race is known for being the first marathon in the USA to include relay teams. This allows groups of friends or family to run parts of the marathon together.

Race History and Records

The first Vermont City Marathon happened in 1989. Over the years, many fast runners have set records. The fastest time for men was set by Michael Khobotov in 2001. He finished the race in 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 3 seconds. For women, the record is held by Maegan Krifchin. She ran the marathon in 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 40 seconds in 2023.

In 2020, the in-person race was canceled. This happened because of the coronavirus pandemic. Runners could choose to run the race virtually. They could also move their entry to a future year.

RunVermont Hall of Fame

In 2008, the race started a special Hall of Fame. It's now called the RunVermont Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame honors people who have helped the race become successful. It includes people like the first Race Director, Gordon MacFarland. Long-time volunteers, like Don and Betty Lacharite, are also honored. Great runners from Vermont's history are part of it too. The Hall of Fame also celebrates 13 runners. These runners completed the full marathon for the first 19 years in a row!

How to Participate

Runners can join the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon in different ways.

• You can run the full marathon by yourself.
• You can join a two-person relay team. Each person runs a half marathon.
• You can be part of a three-to-five person relay team. Each team member runs a shorter part of the race. These parts range from 3.1 to 6.8 miles.

The Vermont City Marathon was the first marathon in the USA to have relay teams. This made it a unique and fun event for many people.

Community Impact

The race is organized by RunVermont. This is a non-profit group. Their main goal is to encourage running in Vermont. Besides the marathon, RunVermont organizes other races. These include the Half Marathon Unplugged and Island Vines 10k/5k.

RunVermont also helps people train for races. They have programs for adults. They also offer special programs for kids. These youth programs teach about running and health. Examples include Mini Milers, Mini Marathon, and Junior Milers.

Marathon Winners

Many amazing athletes have won the Vermont City Marathon. Here are the lists of past winners.

Men's Winners

Year	Winner	Country	Time	Notes
1989	Joe Kreutz	United States	2:29:11	Course record
1990	Felix Pinto	Colombia	2:27:09	Course record
1992	Bob Hodge	United States	2:22:11	Course record
1993	Brad Hawthorne	United States	2:18:04	Course record
1994	Ángel Moreno	Mexico	2:21:34
1995	Michael Slinskey	United States	2:21:40
1996	Dan Verrington	United States	2:21:10
1997	Tim Schuler	United States	2:18:58
1998	Jerod Neas	United States	2:21:22
1999	Weldon Johnson	United States	2:24:45
2000	Greg Hill	United States	2:22:56
2001	Michael Khobotov	United States	2:17:03	Course record
2002	Chad Newton	United States	2:26:27
2003	Greg Wenneborg	United States	2:24:02
2004	Peter Fleming	United States	2:24:02
2005	Chris Juarez	United States	2:25:27
2006	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:24:27
2007	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:19:00	Second victory
2008	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:20:44	Third victory
2009	John Crews	United States	2:19:31
2010	John Crews	United States	2:17:51	Second victory
2011	Dan Vassallo	United States	2:24:09
2012	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:21:30	Fourth victory
2013	Christopher Zablocki	United States	2:18:24
2014	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:20:27
2015	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:19:12	Fifth victory
2016	Matt Pelletier	United States	2:23:02	Sixth victory
2017	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:19:41	Second victory
2018	Tyler Andrews	United States	2:17:44	Third victory
2019	Sergio Reyes	United States	2:17:40
2020	Cancelled due to COVID-19
2021	Virtual due to COVID-19
2022	Sergio Reyes	United States	2:19:50	Second victory
2023	Lou Serafini	United States	2:17:55

Women's Winners

Year	Winner	Country	Time	Notes
1989	Lea Sikora	United States	2:48:22	Course record
1990	Shirley Silsby	United States	2:51:24
1992	Carol Virga	United States	2:47:28	Course record
1993	Laura Konantz	Canada	2:49:28
1994	Cindy New	Canada	2:43:52	Course record
1995	Gordon Bakoulis	United States	2:38:32	Course record
1996	Cindy New	Canada	2:48:16	Second victory
1997	Mary Lynn Carter	United States	2:42:20
1998	Gordon Bakoulis	United States	2:42:51	Second victory
1999	Regina Ronan	United States	2:49:14
2000	Charlene Lyford	United States	2:46:10
2001	Charlene Lyford	United States	2:54:33	Second victory
2002	Véronique Vandersmissen	Canada	2:41:20
2003	Heather Gardiner	United States	2:45:31
2004	Caryn Heffernan	United States	2:46:52
2005	Susan Loken	United States	2:51:09
2006	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:44:02
2007	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:48:56	Second victory
2008	Caroine Chemwolo	United States	2:47:38
2009	Heidi Westerling	United States	2:35:02	Course record; third victory
2010	Heidi Westover	United States	2:40:04	Fourth victory
2011	Heidi Westover	United States	2:46:49	Fifth victory
2012	Kasie Enman	United States	2:43:13	Highest-finishing Vermonter
2013	Heidi Westover	United States	2:42:02	Sixth victory
2014	Dihininet Demsew Jara	Ethiopia	2:43:14
2015	Kasie Enman	United States	2:49:03	Highest-finishing Vermonter; second victory
2016	Madeline Duhon	United States	2:50:07
2017	Kasie Enman	United States	2:50:26	Highest-finishing Vermonter; third victory
2018	Bizuwork Kasaye	Ethiopia	2:42:24
2019	Rachel Schilkowsky	United States	2:45:59
2020	Cancelled due to COVID-19
2021	Virtual due to COVID-19
2022	Annmarie Tuxbury	United States	2:39:18
2023	Maegan Krifchin	United States	2:33:40	Course record

Winners by Country

This table shows how many times runners from different countries have won the marathon.

Country	Men's Open	Women's Open	Total
United States	28	24	50
Colombia	1	0	1
Mexico	1	0	1
Canada	0	4	4
Ethiopia	0	2	2

Repeat Marathon Champions

Some runners have won the Vermont City Marathon more than once! This table lists the athletes who have won multiple times.