Running in Burlington, VT area

I don't personally know anyone in the area, but I know the UVM mens track teams were cut a couple of years ago. A few of the guys still train and run unattached in indoor meets and road races in the area. You might want to check around UVM to find some of those guys when they're not in XC season.

Don't run in VT. Howard Dean used to run, but he threw his back out and he's been angry ever since.

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Hey dude, yeah i am from vermont and there are great places to run here. You can go to shelburne and run at shelburne farms which is awesome and you can go to Essex and there are great runs at catamount xc-skiing and biking center. you can also run in burlington on the bike path down by lake champlain. Also if you want to go a longer distance you can always go to Harwood Union High School in Duxbury/Waterbury (exit 10 off of I-89) and run on the trails there, they are amazing. You can also find other great places ever

Alright, buddy, I can give you some help.

I am assuming you have never been to Burlington before. There isn't a huge running scene there, but there are some nice places to run.

Most people will tell you to run on the bikepath, it's right along the beach of Lake Champlain. You can get some good mileage in there, but it's totally flat. It will probably be paved, though. To get there, just drive down to the water once you're in Burlington... you just keep going downhill and you'll hit the water. It's well marked.

I run around trails called "Red Rocks", it's near a retirement home outside of Burlington. Giving you directions would be a nightmare over the internet, so just ask some people for directions.

Honestly, running outside of the city is the way to go. Go a couple of exits north on 89, and mark out a loop. There's a lot less traffic and the countryside is gorgeous. Williston is a nice area, I'm sure you can figure something out there.

I remember that there is a kid that goes to Cornell that is from the area, but I don't know his name. Maybe email the Cornell coach?

Hope this helps.

The head coach at Toledo is from Burlington and ran for Vermont back in the day. I'll bet he can fill you in.

Why are you moving there..??..we want to know

Forget Burlington. The best place to train in Vermont is in the Northeast Kingdom. From Hanover NH up to the CA border, what a great place to run!

Thanks so much for the replies so far.

No, I havent been there yet. My mom just got a house there, as she is moving from North Jersey. I am going to be there over college breaks and the summer, and I think it has the potential to be a great training center.

I do like the sound of meeting someone or more to run though. Im a soph who ran 4:04 and 8:55 before college (15 and 3k, sadly not there in yards yet), and after a illness filled frosh campaign and summer, Im getting back to full volume and intensity. I am pretty flexible about training paces. I do pretty high volume, mainly in singles, and really like trails, but can handle the roads as well. So, if anyone thinks they would like to meet up for some runs, or know of a group that would work well with that sorta running, Im all ears. Wow, that sounded like a classified ad.

Anyway, keep the info coming. I could use anything you could provide.

I think the kid from Vermont who runs for Cornell is Bruce Hyde. I believe he's from Harwood. I'm pretty sure he's taking a year off from school right now and is training in Flagstaff w/ Wejo or at least running w/ him once in a while.

yeah man i am from vermont and i run for bates college in maine but i am here now for X-mas break until jan 12. if you would like to run some time let me know. Oh yeah bruce hyde is the kid from harwood...he is one of my good friends but is back staying at cornell right now. He did take a simester off during the fall.

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Vermont is a great place to run. I am the director of Craftsbury Running Camps about 30 minutes north and east of Stowe. There are plenty of great trails and dirt roads to run.

I'm always looking for someone to do some mileage with, so if you are around during the summer let me know. We may even have an opening for counselors if you are interested...

Trials of miles,

Greg Wenneborg

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Not much in the way of indoor tracks. UVM has an 11 to the mile track but access can be challenging. Racket's Edge fitness center in Essex Junction has an 8 to the mile, but it only has 2 lanes. St Michael's College also has an 8 to the mile but the corners are kind of squarish so it's more of a fitness track than a running track.

For outdoor tracks, Colchester HS is the best. It's well sheltered from the wind, new surface, top quality. Plus they have miles of trails right next door. Great place to do speedwork. The UVM outdoor track is horrible, beat up, exposed to the wind, just awful. The Essex HS track was just resurfaced and I have heard good things, plus that's closer to Williston than Colchester.

For running clubs check out gmaa.net. They seem to be getting more serious, attend most of the NE Grand Prix races and the bigger NE XC races.

If you are around next summer you will want to check out the weekly XC races at Catamount (www.catamountoutdoor.com). They use 2 different 5k courses, both very challenging. Turnout was great last summer, 150+ many weeks.

For places to train, lots of dirt roads north and west of Burlington. St Albans (25 miles north) has a 30+ mile gravel bike path. In the Williston area give Indian Brook Reservior a shot. It's in Essex Center. Great place to run, although only about a 2 mile dirt loop. Still, I could do half my miles there and not get bored.

Any other questions feel free to drop a line.

In addition to Bruce Hyde, David Shenk from Essex Junction HS is at Cornell. David was one of the top HS runners in the state last year.

run5k wrote:

Don't run in VT. Howard Dean used to run, but he threw his back out and he's been angry ever since.

Boy, yer tellin' me. That guy just can't take a joke.

I hope to be getting some guys in the Essex area together over break for some runs. It will probably all be road running since, as posted, the indoor tracks aren't really that great and all the trails have 2 feet of snow on them. Let me know if you want to join us.

Greg, how old do you have to be to be a counselor?

Unfortunately running in VT during the winter sucks. Lets be serious. Basically in Burlington you are limited to running road loops and a few dirt roads. The indoor track at UVM is ok, its a nice surface but 10 laps to the mile. Unfortunately they wont let you in unless you are a student. If you really need to go indoors your best bet is heading down to Norwich, VT and running on their indoor track. Its a flat 200m track with a shitty surface but it gets the job done, and they used to let me in when i was in high school. If you want to run a tempo run the bike path in burlington is your best bet, its windy as hell, they have markers every half mile and i think its about 7 miles long. So you could even do a medium length run out and back... I am planning on being home as little as possible over break. But if you want to run in the waitsfield, waterbury area send me an email and maybe we can meet up. Basically running in VT during the winter sucks. If you are in vt druing the spring/summer/fall it is possibly one of the greatest places to train in the country, if you dont give a shit about altitude. during the summer i really dont touch pavement. good luck, bundle up, it makes you tough.

Bruce