The KeyBank Vermont City Marathon

I’m not sure what “Vermont City” means, but I had a LOT of fun on May 27.

6:45 AM: Alarm sounds.

6:45:17: snooze, baby, snooze.

7:00: 2nd warning, time to get up. I shut the alarm off, close my eyes and try desperately not to fall back asleep- I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

Coffee would help, but the carafe is empty and time is ticking, so I work through the cobwebs and get moving.

Normally at this time on a Sunday, my street is pretty deserted. On Marathon Sunday, however, people come out of the woodwork. Never before have I had to merge my bike into the bike lane. As I made my way downtown, I couldn’t help but notice the hundreds of orange cones lining Pine Street, each with “VCM” sharpied on the side. My ride to downtown is only about a mile, the race is 26.2 miles… I still feel bad for the poor bastard that had to sharpie all those cones.

Such a simple bracelet, such a fun day…

By 7:45 I had parked in a secret downtown spot and had stopped into my office to pickup my KeyBank Vermont City Marathon VIP Pass. A 32 oz. iced coffee (easy on the ice) later, and I was set up on Church Street just in time to catch the water volunteer team running over last minute details during one of the only quiet times they saw all morning.

1, 2, 3, Water! Seriously, they yelled that before breaking…

Within a half an hour of this little pow-wow, it can be certain that the volunteers had forgotten it ever took place.

The funny thing about marathons is that they are really long races. But Burlington is such a small town that runners had to come through the Church Street Marketplace not once, but twice. By setting up near the first turn onto the pedestrian mall, I placed myself in prime position to see the runners hit the bricks.

But when the first runners came through, I was truly unimpressed. “This is it???” I thought. “This is so boring.” What I failed to realize is that there are very few people on this earth that can contend for a spot at the top of a marathon leader board.

The running of the bulls, er… humans…

About 10 minutes later though, I learned that there are many, many more people who are middle of the pack runners.

Suddenly, it was like the running of the bulls, human style, had descended upon my little corner of the race.

There were so many people coming through that I couldn’t figure out where to look next. It didn’t really matter where I looked though, because my perch outside of City Hall gave me a hilarious view of people pouring drinks down their throats and over their bodies.

Two points…

And though I should have probably been paying rapt attention to the race itself, time and time again I found myself watching runner after runner try to properly dispose of their water cups by aiming for a trash can without breaking stride.

Without knowing it, I had put myself in a prime spot for entertainment. Notice the two to the left of the pillar… they moved about 4 runners later after getting drenched by an errant throw. Priceless.

After watching the runners come through twice, and speaking with the smiling and excited owner of The Scuffer (great wings, check them out), I decided to check out a little known perk offered to friends of the marathon.

While I can’t necessarily tell you were I was or how I got there, I can tell you that if you get the chance to have a birds eye view of a marathon, you should take it.

The view of the race and my city was so spectacular that on two separate occasions during the day I spent over an hour on the deck enjoying cold beverages and watching racers toil up the hill and through the finish line.

Knowing that I couldn’t spend the whole day on the balcony (namely because I had friends waiting for me down below), I made my way to the VIP area at the finish line.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t really understand how cool the VIP area would be. “Big whoop,” I thought, but I was wrong to be so nonchalant. The truth is, there are so many people in Burlington on race weekend, that you could lose anyone you are with. The VIP area is a great way to combat this problem, though my friend learned that is not impossible to lose your loved ones in the masses.

She’s more of an athlete than I’ll ever be…

But, as usual, I digress. The point is, the area is less crowded and offers a TON of space to get close to the runners and cheer them on as they approach the finish line. Instead of having to stand three or four rows deep, my friends on I stood on the fence, about 20 feet from the Mayor of Burlington, and cheered our asses off for the finishers. Add in a semi-private bathroom that never had more than 3 people in line, and free food and drinks and you have yourself a truly unique and all around fun experience.

Kelly Devine, of the Burlington Business Association, talks economic development with tourists on her day off…

However, one can only cheer on runners in the hot sun for so long when there are cold beers and spectacular views waiting. And that is how two hours later, with one hoarse throat and an ear to ear grin, I found myself back on the balcony once again observing a beautiful day while spending some quality time with friends.

The next time the marathon comes to your town, do yourself a favor and find a balcony. Or at the very least, go VIP.

Until next time,

A Stranger Observing Burlington, Vermont – Elek