Tag: VCM

RunVermont Announces New Title Sponsor

RunVermont Announces People’s United Bank as New Vermont City Marathon Title Sponsor

Burlington, Vermont (September 22, 2014) – RunVermont is pleased to introduce People’s United Bank as the new title sponsor for the Vermont City Marathon. Beginning today, the marathon will be known as the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon.

“RunVermont is excited to be partnering with People’s United Bank as we look to the future,” says RunVermont Board Chair Kevin Dwyer. “We think the partnership is a strong fit with the marathon’s demographic footprint, the shared commitment to community, and the enthusiasm to create a healthy lifestyle. This partnership will leverage the network of People’s United Bank throughout the northeast states and also bring the awareness of the event to a new level within the region.”

“We are thrilled to take on the role of title sponsor of the Vermont City Marathon & Relay beginning in 2015. Through strong partnerships and the hard work of the RunVT staff, this event has grown to be an important milestone kicking off our Vermont summers,” said Michael Seaver, Vermont President – People’s United Bank. “With our locations throughout New England and New York, we hope to bring much more regional awareness and growth to the marathon.”

Several of the key players at today’s announcement. Photo courtesy of RunVermont.

The partnership grew out of the marathon’s need to compete in an ever-tightening market for “destination marathons” and People’s United Bank’s position as a New England based institution.

“At RunVermont, we see that market conditions and competitive influences are offering today’s runners many more choices and we have to be prepared to meet those challenges,” says Executive Director Peter Delaney.  “Consequently, our team opened our discussions up to potential new sponsors, and in the final evaluation decided that a change would provide new opportunities.”

According to Running USA, the number of marathons in the United States grew from 300 in the year 2000 to more than 1100 in 2013. Vermont alone has seen the number of marathons in state double from 2 to 4 since 2009.

“Marathons have evolved, and staying ahead of the pack requires not only our traditional approach to creating a great course with supportive volunteers and spectators, but also new ways of targeting marketing and race promotion,” says Delaney. “Beginning with our 2015 event, we think people will begin to see how we’re strengthening the future of this marathon and all of RunVermont’s events.”

In 2014, Vermont City Marathon attracted 3100 marathoners, 5100 relay runners and more than 1700 volunteers to Burlington. The event is now the centerpiece of a weekend that also includes the Sport & Fitness Expo and the MVP Health Care Yam Scram Youth Running Festival. The combination of all activities associated with the Vermont City Marathon brings an estimated economic boost of $3.5M to the local economy every year.

Based in Connecticut, People’s United Bank is a subsidiary of People’s United Financial, Inc., a diversified financial services company with $33 billion in assets. People’s United Bank, founded in 1842, is a premier, community-based, regional bank in the Northeast offering commercial and retail banking, as well as wealth management services through a network of over 400 retail locations in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Jack Barnes is President and Chief Executive Officer of People’s United Bank. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and received his MBA from the University of Vermont.  Jack, among several other senior leaders reside in Vermont.

RunVermont is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to the promotion of running as a life-long activity through complementary programs that celebrate the athletic spirit, are recognized nationally, and embrace the Vermont community. In addition to its premier Memorial Day weekend events, RunVermont presents the FirstRun Burlington 5k each January 1st; the Half Unplugged half marathon in the spring; Ready, Set, Run spring and summer youth running programs; and consulting, timing and race services support for other Vermont running events.

 

VCM Race Report from the Champion: Tyler Andrews

by Tyler Andrews

Woke up very early for 8am start of Vermont City Marathon. Up at about 3:15am and couldn’t fall back asleep. Out of bed around 4am and made coffee and have a whole plain bagel. Relaxing until getting picked up by Lyman around 5:50am to head down to our staging area.

Relax there for about an hour. Drinking some Gatorade and water, nibbling a bit on some galletas Maria. Head up to the start around 7am and lie on the grass until about 7:20am when I jog about 8 minutes on the road. Take off sweats and head to the start at about 7:45am. Some drills at the starting line, no strides. Get a great spot on the left side of the line and then we’re off.

VCM Mason AndrewsFirst mile is surprisingly slow (~5’30), though we’re running uphill, which I guess makes sense. I’m in front with Teal and Serafini (the BC kid). Around 1km, a pack of Ethiopian dudes shows up and hangs out with us. We start going downhill around 1.5M and at that point, the Ethiopians move to the lead and take off.

We are now running quite quick ~5’05/mile for the next couple miles through town. I’m hanging off the back of this pack and beginning to let them pull away since they seemed serious about keeping this pace. Teal went with them. I passed 5km in 16’27 and they were probably already a good bit ahead.

We then begin the first big loop out and back on the highway from about 5km to 15km. It’s a fast, downhill out section, so I knew it would be easy to run way too fast. I’m running 3’10-12/km at this point and was getting dropped hard by the 6 guys in front of me (5 Ethiopians and Teal).

Around 7km, Serafini (BC kid) catches up to me. I’m a bit surprised to see him since I’m pretty sure he’s a first time marathoner, but I’m happy to have the company. The course is very quiet and rolling here and I feel very good running in a rhythm and cutting tangents – especially since the pack in front of me is sticking to the breakdown lane and running way longer.

I’m also just surprised by how fast they’re running. Probably 3’00-3’05 pace (under 5’00 per mile). Teal had talked to me about wanting to run 2h18 (an even 5’17 pace) and this is much quicker, so I am really quite surprised to see him up there. I’m still running quick, but hang back out of caution and my own insecurity in my ability to run that fast.

I pass 10km with Serafini in 32’40 (16’13 second 5km). Maybe around mile 7, we begin a longer climb back up into town. At this point, I don’t really feel like I was accelerating, but I can see I’m catching up to the pack in front of me. It seems they’re coming back to me. I keep working and focusing, but not actively trying to catch or accelerate up to them. They just seem to come back naturally.

It works out quite well as I catch them right as we come back into the noise and chaos of downtown Burlington again. I slip right into the middle of the pack and Teal gives me a little pat on the back and I give him a thumbs up. I’m feeling great and actually go into the lead with Teal briefly as we run a very fast downhill km through town (3’04 – the fastest of the race thanks to the downhill and the adrenaline of the crowds and catching the pack). This brings us to 15km in 49’03 (16’22 third 5k).

We then leave town and head out on loop #3, south of the city. I remember Matt P talking about this being a quiet section, and so I try to just tuck in behind Teal and relax and not think about anything. The Ethiopian pack has split up at this point, with two guys (one very short and one very tall) in front of us. Their agent had yelled something at them as we’d left town and they’d taken off for about a minute but their gap didn’t seem to be growing too much after that.

We run a loop through a quiet residential neighborhood, where I watch the lead runners cut the course multiple times (running on the wrong sides of the cones, which was clearly stated to us the day before as being illegal). I try to alert the race official riding along on a segway next to us, but he seems not to really care… weird.

We end up in this large park area right around the half-way (passing 20km in 65’19 – 16’15 fourth 5k) and come to the half in 1’09’05. I am feeling okay, but not great. The smaller Ethiopian has come back to us, but he and Teal start to surge again. I know I’m already running pretty fast and decide to not accelerate to try to stick with them. There are a couple times in these next 2 miles that they have 3-5 seconds on me, but they seem to come back each time without me really doing anything.

Finally, the little guy makes a more serious bid and Teal comes back alone, with the front runner (the taller one, Dejem) now about 30 seconds up, and the littler one about 10 seconds ahead.

We run along another very quiet section through a bike path back into town. I can already see the big battery hill coming up and am actively conserving energy to prepare myself mentally and physically for what people have said is the toughest part of the course.

As we turn back onto the main drag and the hill is right in front of us, Teal suddenly pulls off the road and stops. I shout back to see if he’s okay, but I don’t hear a response. I figure he is out of the race and feel bad but try to just focus on those in front of me.

Now, I get to the hill alone, just the little runner in yellow in front of me is visible, with Dejem way ahead of him. Just like at mile 8 when they came back to me on the hill, I’m closing the gap without even trying. As Jon had told me with Heartbreak Hill in Boston, I actively don’t try to push on the hill, but just maintain effort and don’t look at my watch at all. I pass the little runner in yellow about halfway up and don’t look back. He looks tired.

It’s decently steep and a bit long, but not killer. My splits were 3’21/3’26 for the kms around the hill. I reach the top of the hill and pass 25km in 1’21’56 (16’37 fifth 5km). As I crest the hill and run through battery, I see my parents for the first time.

“ONE IN FRONT!” My father shouts. I had asked for them to tell me what place I was in if they saw me. Now, it’s just Dejem, the taller Ethiopian, out in front. As the ground levels out, my legs suddenly feel light and quick. I know there was a lot left of the race, but I feel like I suddenly have a lot of pep in my legs and I decide to try to hunt leader down.

At this point, I am thinking that Teal is done, Berdan had never been in the race, and all of the Ethiopians but one seem to be cooked from the fast start. As I begin that last long loop, I start thinking realistically about winning the race for the first time. I time the gap on the longer straight sections of road, and he has at least a minute on me and the gap is growing, not shrinking, despite my perceived increase in effort.

This section still ends up as my fastest 5km of the day (16’12 sixth 5k) to bring me to 30km in 1’38’08. But the gap is still growing and I’m starting to feel tired. I’d been running on an unshaded section of highway for a while and the heat and general late race fatigue are beginning to affect me.

We enter a residential area right around 20 miles and I’m feeling quite bad. The turns made it impossible to see Dejem up ahead and I’m now thinking less about catching him, but about not being caught and not imploding too hard. I know if I get to the bike path, it’s a fast, straight shot all the way home, but it just seems like the bike path will never come.

There is one moment I remember specifically in this stretch. I come down a steep, steep hill and my stride feels choppy and awkward. The road turns to the left and suddenly there’s literally no one there. I’m totally isolated. No one in front, no one behind, no spectators anywhere.

Did I take a wrong turn? Did I run off the course? I start thinking about how embarrassing it’ll be to explain how I ran a half mile off course before realizing I had to turn around and head back.

But after this quick and total isolation, a few cheerful Vermonters appear again in front of me and I’m back in the moment.

I finally see it. The bike path. This is manageable. It’ll be over soon. I’m slowing a bit, passing 35km in 1’55’09 (17’01 7th 5km, the slowest of the day so far), but I figure maybe all these weird little hills and all the turns had chopped up my stride a bit. Though, just as in Boston, a little piece of me is just waiting for the wheels to really fall off.

I had been hearing people over the last few miles comment about my position in the race, but for the most part, it had sounded like “Yay, you’re doing great! But that guy is WAY ahead of you.” But, suddenly, the tone of peoples’ comments changes.

Now, people are saying things like “You’re gonna catch him! You got it!”

And at first, I don’t believe it. I don’t think these people are correct. They CAN’T be, right? I can barely see the dude – though, he does seem to get getting closer, doesn’t he? And it’s not just one person who doesn’t have a good sense of distance. Now everyone is shouting the same thing. “You got him! He’s coming back to you!”

And he is. For the first time, I can see him clearly and he looks closer than he has in a while. And also for the first time in recent memory, he’s close enough that I can time the gap. I watch him run by an orange cone and look down at my watch. Some surprisingly difficult arithmetic tells me he’s about a minute ahead of me. His lead has already shrunk by half.

A few minutes later, I time the gap again and it’s down to 40 seconds. I may be a rookie in the marathon, but I know that when you start to slow down, it’s almost always a terminal event. There is no recovery.

I begin to think not about IF I’m going to catch him, but when – and what I’m going to do at that point. He seems to be running backwards towards me and within a matter of a few minutes, I’m pulling up behind him, just a few strides away from taking the lead.

I guess the distraction of having a real race on my hands has been distracting me for a little while. But I’m still 22 miles deep into a Marathon and I am fairly tired. I decide that the only danger at this point would be running out to the front and not running fast enough to drop Dejem. So, I decide to sit behind him and catch my breath for a few minutes before I make a decisive move.

After the slowest km of the race, I decide it’s time to go. I’ve waited long enough behind him that I feel comfortable that I can make a very strong surge and hold onto the lead.

And so, I accelerate and quickly pass Dejem and do not look back. The police bike that’s been leading the race seems excited and radios something back to his cronies. I’m still running very hard but don’t look back. I look at my watch and see I’m running under 3’20 pace again and feel pretty good.

After a few minutes, I shout to the bike next to me, “How far back is he?” But my cycling friend doesn’t seem to hear. I decide not to press the issue and instead shout again at a few spectators I’m passing on the side of the road. “How far back is he??”

But, again, I’m ignored. I can’t figure it out. Am I speaking Spanish or something? In retrospect, I figured that the bicyclist probably isn’t allowed to talk to me and the spectators may not have seen anyone behind me because I already had a substantial lead.

I must know. So (ignoring the often spoken running truism), I turn around and see that he is, in fact, out of sight. I wonder if he’ll finish. I’ve passed 40km now and I’m less than 10 minutes away from winning this race. I still take nothing for granted, though. I’ve seen marathons won and lost in the last mile and it’s never too late for the wheels to fall off. I can’t let up.

I’m on the familiar part of the bike path now – the part I’d run the morning before. It’s surprisingly quiet given how close I am to the finish, but I just keep pushing. I’m not thinking about pace or time. I know I’m still running pretty quick, even with a couple of 3’30+ kilometers, but I just want to win. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

And there it is. The end of the bike path. I actually don’t really know where I’m going at this point nor how much exactly is left. I make my way around the waterfront park where it seems all of Vermont has gathered to watch the conclusion of the race. The energy is incredible and I hear every individual voice separated and then quickly blended back together into a chaotic fugue.

I can see the turn onto the grass up ahead which means I only have about 200m left. My eyes are flooding – the emotion is too overwhelming. I’m on the grass and I know it’s over. I’m going to finish. I’m going to win the race. I can see the finish line. The tape. I point to the sky and thank G-d for giving me the strength to come this far. I close my eyes and let it wash over me.

And then I break the tape and fall down.

As much as the newspapers (and even Jon’s blog) seem to make a big deal of the fact that I collapse and am carried to the medical tent – it really isn’t such a big deal. Honestly, I’m just tired and really want to sit/lie down for a minute. Is that so much to ask? I probably could get up and walk if you give me a few seconds, but I guess you guys really want to clear out the finish line area. That’s cool.

About six guys carry me (they probably don’t need that many) over to the medical tent where I’m wrapped in a mylar blanket and talked to by a very calm-sounding young nurse. I want a gatorade. And I’d like to call my parents. The calm woman gives me her cell phone and I dial my father’s phone number – with only minor difficulty.

Before it starts ringing, I see my mother coming towards me. She’s crying and seems happy to see me not on a stretcher.

The next 30 minutes go by in a daze. I’m assaulted by the local media, which gives me a newfound sense of empathy and respect for the seemingly inarticulate and out-of-breath athletes forced to speak into the camera just seconds after crossing the line in the 100m or Boston Marathon.

Finally, we make our way away from the finish line and back to the elite hospitality area where I can change out of my soaking singlet – I’m freezing and can’t stop shaking. I walk, slowly. That’s all I have for now.

This article first appeared on the Strive Trips blog.

VCM Finish Notes & Analysis

VCM Mason Pelletier II

Matt Pelletier, looking sharp in the Level singlet and on his way to a 2:25. Courtesy of Scott Mason Photo.

There’s a lot to talk about still from the Vermont City Marathon. Doing more posts on it also just gives us another chance to share some of Scott Mason’s amazing work from the event. That being said, here are some quick notes on finish results from the VCM:

  • 4 of the top 10 men ran pr’s (Andrews, Ferenc, Sanders, and possibly Njeri unless he has some international results)
  • 2 of the top 10 men were debuts (Leuchanka and Serafini)
  • 3 of the top 10 women ran pr’s (Diacont, Jokela, Ahokas)
  • Duhon (5th woman) was a debut. I don’t even see a half marathon anywhere for her, but she did run a 4:221500m while racing for Stanford.
  • Our cash places, top 6…5th fastest Top 6 time for men ever, 4th fastest Top 6 time for women
  • 4 women under 2:50, first time ever
  • At least 1 Vermont single-age record was set. Have not had time to go through all the ages yet, probably over the weekend.
VCM Mason Bard

Sarah Bard cruises along the water en route to a second place finish. Courtesy of Scott Mason Photo.

The race also served as a regional championship. Here’s the release direct from the VCM:

After many years of serving as the Road Runners Club Of America’s Vermont State Championship, we were honored when our regional rep Mark Grandonico informed us that for 2014 the RRCA had selected the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon to be the Eastern Region Championship at the marathon distance. This honor is a testament to the effort our Race Committee and volunteers have put in over the last 26 years to produce a race that embodies excellence in every area. We are proud to announce the following 8 runners as your 2014 RRCA Eastern Region Marathon Champions:

  • Male Open: Tyler Andrews
  • Female Open: Dehininet Jara
  • Male Masters: Michael Wardian
  • Female Masters: Karen Benway
  • Male Grand Master: Tom Thurston
  • Female Grand Master: Mary-Lynn Currier
  • Male Senior Grand Master: Ockle Johnson
  • Female Senior Grand Master: Gail Schnaars

Speaking of Mike Wardian, we received a statement direct from the 2014 Masters Champion:

VCM Mason Wardian Sanders

Mike Wardian (L) and Will Sanders (R) match each other stride for stride, both on their way to top ten finishes. Courtesy of Scott Mason Photo.

The Vermont City Marathon is a must do and a race that I always try and have on my calendar. This year I was looking for the win but came in 6th overall however I won the Masters Race. I pushed from the gun but was careful with the warm conditions and that meant I was able to work my way through the field as the miles wore on. I plan on improving my turn over and aiming for that victory next time.

Can’t thank the race organizers, volunteers and spectators as would have been possible with them.

Cheers, mike

VCM Mason Ferenc II

Josh Ferenc post race, possibly pondering some Fight Club quotes. Courtesy of Scott Mason Photo.

The guy is a machine! It’s amazing what he can do, seemingly without ever taking a break. While we were getting quotes, we had to check in with Josh Ferenc. His response?

His name is Robert Paulsen… His name is Robert Paulsen… His name is Robert Paulsen… His name was Robert Paulsen….

Followed a few hours later by:

Fight Club did come into mind as I was hit with reality and my prior plan to run smart disintegrated. Once I was out there I committed myself to slave all I had.

His responses aren’t usually that abstract, so once we received the first part we knew there would be more to follow. Couldn’t help but notice the tense change from present to past in the first one, which gave us a clue as to the status of Robert and how Josh’s race unfolded. RIP, Robert Paulson. Although it was a tough one, kudos to Josh for gutting it out and nailing down a new PR of 2:29:56.

Thanks to Jess Cover and the VCM for contributing to this piece.

Joan Benoit Samuelson Leads Relay Team at VCM

As with all big races, there are sure to be many good stories that come out. With the Vermont City Marathon that is especially so because there’s also the relay races all going on at the same time as the marathon. It’s tough to keep up with all of story lines and luckily we had some help from Jess Cover, who brought this one to our attention. Running legend Joan Benoit Samuelson took part in the relay races in Burlington, joining forces with a talented group of three young ladies: Emma Elyse Farrington, Katherine Cook, and Autumn Eastman. Together they formed the supergroup Joan’s Team.

Jess explains how they came together:

When we confirmed that Joanie wanted to run the first two legs I started to work on who would run with her. I reached out to my girls XC team at South Burlington and Katherine Cook immediately responded that she would be thrilled for the opportunity. As Katherine is one of the speediest girls in VT I thought how cool would it be to get some other lady speedsters to run on the team. I am good friends with Emma Farrington’s Dad Jim and as she is a Freshmen from Essex HS and has been having a super first year both in XC and track I reached out to them and got and exuberant YES! Now for the cherry on top-could I get Autumn Eastman from CVU? I called Coach Scott Bliss to see if he would ask Autumn. The message I got back from him was funny…He said.. “Did I hear correctly (cell service is a bit sketchy on the back road of VT)…running in Joan Benoit Samuelson’s Relay Team”? After not long of a wait Autumn was confirmed and we had our dream team. I told them all there was no pressure and it was more about  women coming together from three high schools to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Inaugural Women’s Olympic Marathon than it was about running fast and winning. When I asked Joanie what her pace plan was she said she hoped to run between 6.15 and 6.30’s for the 9.1 miles. The girls looked at one another and I could tell it was game on.

They ended up winning the female relay division in a time of 2:51:57, good enough for 7th out of all the 3-5 relay teams.

The local news did a segment on the team ahead of the race, and the video of that can be seen here. Thanks to Jess Cover for putting this together.

Tyler Andrews Wins VCM

In case you didn’t know already, Tyler Andrews won the Vermont City Marathon in a blazing 2:20:27. This was only a few weeks after Tyler ran a 2:21:33 at the Boston Marathon. More on this to come, no doubt. For now, we just needed to share this:

VCM Mason Andrews
Photo courtesy of Scott Mason Photo

Bard Looking Strong at VCM

Getting some great Twitter updates from Jordan Kinley at the Vermont City Marathon. Let’s hope is phone battery makes it through the end of the race!

 

Start following Jordan (and Level Renner) to stay on top of it all.

VCM Preview: David Berdan

We continue our lightning round of Vermont City Marathon elite runner previews with David Berdan. We basically just asked one simple question to many of the elites: Are You Ready? They had free reign to answer in any way they saw fit. Here is David’s response:

I guess I can give a quick introduction for those of you who do not know me. My name is Dave Berdan and I live in the Baltimore, Maryland area with my wife (Amanda) and two boys (Evan-5 and Colin-3). I am currently a middle school science teacher and varsity cross country coach at the Garrison Forest School. In a few weeks I am excited to be starting a new position as the Head Cross Country and Assistant Track (Distance) Coach at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Am I ready for Sunday’s Vermont City Marathon? I think I am as ready as I can be… I have had a shorter buildup for Vermont City than previous marathons, but it has gone really well. In March I went to the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach with the hopes of running under the 2:18 Olympic Trials standard, but a case of the norovirus and later a cold that turned into a sinus infection ended that goal as I dropped out half way into the race.

I would say that I have two goals for tomorrow. Goal number one is to run under 2:18 (qualifying for the Olympic Trials) and if sub 2:18 does not happen I want to be competing for the win. I do not care about place if I run under the standard. Qualifying for the Olympic Trials has been a goal of mine since graduating from Elizabethtown College in 2004. Unfortunately USATF keeps making the standard a little bit faster. Back when I first started marathoning the standard was 2:22, now it is 2:18. During the fall of 2011 I was able to run 2:21 at the Baltimore Marathon. 4 years earlier that would have been enough to qualify, but in 2012 they lowered the standard to 2:19.

I feel like I have yet to figure out the marathon, or at least the specific training for myself when it comes to the marathon. I have completed buildups where I feel like I did too many marathon specific workouts and not enough shorter workouts, ones where I did the complete opposite and did not get in enough marathon specific workouts, and this time around where I feel like I have had a good mixture of both. Coming off of dropping out at the Shamrock Marathon I took one week completely off and then started building back up the following week….this left 9 weeks of training before Vermont City. I started the buildup with some shorter workouts touching on paces that I had neglected in my buildup to Shamrock. You can check out the details of my training on my blog at www.daveberdan.wordpress.com or from updates on Twitter @Dave_Berdan. In the beginning I did some shorter workouts like 200s, Renato Canova style hill circuits, and vO2 max workouts. From there I started adding in some longer workouts that had a higher volume and had a lot of miles at marathon race pace or faster. Races during my buildup included a 10 mile race in Alexandria, VA (George Washington Parkway 10 miler) on April 13th in 51:24 and the Frederick Half Marathon on May 4th in 1:07:17. I was happy with both races as the first one was only a few weeks after starting training again and the 1:07 included splits of 4:55-4:54-5:05-4:54-5:00 for miles 2-6.

I have also spend some extra time paying attention to some details that I have not cared about in the past. The number one detail that I changed was my diet. In the past I would eat like most other marathoners, not caring about anything because of all the miles I was running. This time around I focused on a diet that was higher in “good” fats and on the lower end carbohydrate wise. With that being said, I did adjust my diet based on the length of the workout completed that day or scheduled for the next day. I also took out pretty much all processed carbohydrates and sugar from my diet. I did “cheat” sometimes, but overall this was a HUGE change to my previous diet. I also completed nearly every single run and longer workout without eating any carbohydrates before or during the workout. Now, with all of this being said, I did make a complete 180 degree change to my diet in the past two days. I have been eating a significant amount of carbohydrates with hopes of topping off my muscle/liver glycogen stores before the race. I am hoping that in doing all of this my body has become more efficient at tapping into my fat stores and will benefit me in the later stages of the marathon.

Another detail that I have added is massage. My previous experience with massage was a random one after a race sometimes. This time around I scheduled a massage 4 times with my massage therapist Nic Ebright. My last massage was yesterday morning and I feel like they have had a significant impact on my recovery from training/racing.

I am looking forward to my time in Burlington! I have never been there before, but have heard a ton of great things about the city and the race!

VCM Preview: Tyler Andrews

We continue our lightning round of Vermont City Marathon elite runner previews with Tyler Andrews. We basically just asked one simple question to many of the elites: Are You Ready? They had free reign to answer in any way they saw fit. Tyler was living/working/training at altitude in Ecuador before coming home to run the Boston Marathon this past April.

I think I’m about as ready as I can be. This race is going to be an experiment for sure. I would say of all the people I’ve spoken to about my plan to run another Marathon five weeks after Boston, the majority (runners or non-runners) say something along the lines of “are you crazy??” I think there’s a lot of truth to that. There aren’t many people who can turn around and run another race that quickly after what was a very hard effort in Boston just five weeks ago. I don’t know if I’m going to be one of the people who can, but there’s only one way to find out, right?

In terms of my preparation, I did recover very quickly from Boston. I was surprised by how quickly I went from feeling extremely sore – like, not being able to walk down the stairs – to feeling pretty good and doing some quicker, easy runs. My coach and I began talking pretty quickly about running a second race (either a half or another full Marathon), but we didn’t want to commit to anything before I had a couple weeks of recovery under my belt.

I took it super easy for a week or so and then started “testing the waters” with some faster running. About 10 days after Boston, I did a 12km progression run in ~38’45 (averaging about 5’12 pace) starting easy and finishing at about 4’45 pace. This was a great confidence booster that I was able to mechanically run quick and my aerobic capacity still felt great.

The big test came in the one longer workout I did at about the halfway point between the Marathons. I did a 20 mile run, starting moderate (~5’50/mile) and then 15 miles of fartlek with 1km at “tempo” pace (3’03/km or about 4’55/mile) and 1km at “uptempo” (3’33/km or 5’44/mile). So this was 15 miles of work at an average of 5’18 pace and the whole run was 20 miles at about 5’30 pace with the warm-up.

This workout was the real “I’m ready” signal for me and my coach, and so it wasn’t until after this that we announced publically that I’d be running at the KBVCM. I’d been talking to the race director already at that point and they knew my situation and were super accommodating to my reticence to commit, but were excited to hear I’d be competing.

Then, the last few weeks have just been maintenance and tapering. I ran the Bedford Memorial 12km 8 days ago, but used it as a workout really, trying to average about goal Marathon pace on a very hilly course. Other than that, just some easy running and light workouts.

I’m really excited for tomorrow. The course looks great – very spectator friendly – and the KBVCM folks have got a great field put together here. It’ll be really fun to mix it up at the front of the race and see what I can do against some other really great runners. It’s an honor to be invited here and I’m just going to do my best to represent STRIVE well and see what happens!

You can follow Tyler’s training and progress with STRIVE on his blog at www.strivetrips.org/the-blog. You can also read contributions from Tyler on the Level.

VCM Preview: Bard & Nedlo

We continue our lightning round of Vermont City Marathon elite runner previews with Sarah Bard and Meagan Nedlo. We basically just asked one simple question to many of the elites: Are You Ready? They had free reign to answer in any way they saw fit. We thought it appropriate to lump them together since they carpooled up to the race.

Sarah Bard

Writing this from the car up to Burlington with my husband John and Meagan Nedlo.  To answer your question, ‘am I ready?’ I would say, ‘Yes’.

I’ve had a hilarious (and distracting) week. I was in two bike accidents in the past week, had a lot of crazy stuff going on at work, and then yesterday on my way home – a bird pooped on me. I’ve heard that’s good luck – not sure if that’s just a consolation superstition, but I’m gonna go with it.

After pulling out of Boston at mile 16.5 a month ago, I spent a few days regrouping and preparing for another 5 weeks of training. Luckily, Meagan, who I had trained with through most of the winter, was running VCM, so I had some excellent company for the last few weeks of mileage and workouts. I was a bit under the weather going in to Boston, and feel much better going into VCM. We’re leaving on our honeymoon in 2 weeks, so no third chances. But I don’t think I’d need it. I’m ready.  And if you’re wondering – Meagan is too – I know because she’s been kicking my butt in workouts since January.

Meagan Nedlo

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to chime in before the race this weekend! I think I’m as ready as anyone can ever truly be going into a marathon. My training the past few months has been solid, if unremarkable, and while I don’t believe I’m in PR shape just yet I do believe the OTQ standard is well within reach.

I think the weather might be a little warmer than I’d prefer, but I’ve intentionally not allowed myself to dwell on it or analyze it too much because there’s nothing I can do about it now. (When soliciting advice for racing in warmer conditions from two of the marathoners I most highly respect, my coach/boyfriend Jordan Kinley and my good friend Kim Smith, both simply said “Run faster and you’ll be finished before it gets too hot.” Well okie dokie.)

I’m excited that one of my main training partners, Sarah Bard, is joining me in Burlington as well-she dropped out of Boston due to alleged “quad cramping” but I think she secretly just didn’t want to miss out on the fun of training with me for another five weeks. Between the two of us, a few other women and my friend Aaron Linz from Charlotte, we should have a solid pack clipping off the miles with a low-2:40 goal in mind.

To be clear: I want to win. But honestly, I would be thrilled to finish in 20th place as long as I was able to achieve the OTQ in the process. And if Sarah and I both get the standard, then mimosas on me at brunch!

VCM Preview: Quick Hits from the Elites

We continue our lightning round of Vermont City Marathon elite runner previews with some quick responses we received back from a couple of the invited runners. We basically just asked one simple question to many of the elites: Are You Ready? They had free reign to answer in any way they saw fit. Unfortunately, it’s not good news from the men’s side.

Matt Pelletier

After missing 2 months with a sacral stress fracture, I’m not expecting much tomorrow. My plan is to be conservative and hopefully pick off some of the front runners later in the race. I’d like to be able to run with those guys, but I’ve only had about 2 months of running and won’t be able to sustain the pace they plan to run.

Jonathan Charlesworth

Unfortunately I had a bad case of achilles tendinitis during my marathon buildup. I finally took some time off over the last few weeks in the hopes that it would recover before the marathon, but it’s still pretty bad, so I won’t be racing this weekend.

Karen Benway

I’m feeling relaxed and ready to give it my best shot. My expectations aren’t super high. My training was kind of spotty, and I’m nursing a hernia that’s going to need to be repaired soon. It’s worse when I run fast, so I haven’t done any speed. I’m definitely not in my best shape. I’ll do the best that I can with the fitness I have and let the cards fall where they may.

Joanna Johnson

I’ve been looking forward to this race for months! I’ve never run Vermont City before but I’ve heard great things about it and I’ve been impressed with their hospitality. This is my fourth marathon and training has been going better than ever so I’m looking forward to an exciting race!

Three out of four of the responses here just weren’t the type of thing we wanted to see. Kudos to Matty and Karen for gutting it out, and here’s to a speedy recovery for Jonathan. Hopefully they’ll be healthy and ready to roll for the next one.

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