Friday, May 20, 2011

Possible Changes to the Vermont City Marathon Course

This is not going to be a post about me obsessing about the extended forecast on the 29th. Whatever the weather is, it is. There is nothing I can do I about it. Truth is, what I'm about to write about, is also something that I can do nothing about but I think it's important to mention.

The organizers of the Vermont City Marathon have been informing runners via their Facebook page, Twitter feed, and blog that a portion of the marathon course will be re-routed due to high waters and flooding of Lake Champlain. The high waters and flooding are due to snow melt and higher than normal rainfall in the Burlington area. The race organizers posted this on their blog yesterday:

"We are working diligently with Burlington city officials, the Burlington Parks and Rec and the Department of Public Works to make the necessary repairs to the Marathon course in hopes that we will be able to run the course as originally planned, aside from one small detour at Perkins Pier where runners will pass through the Vermont Railway lot.  Our ability to run the course as planned depends somewhat on what Mother Nature throws at us for the next several days, however, there are contingency plans in place that address all areas of potential concern."
 
I am sure that the race organizers are obsessing about the weather a lot more than I am at this point. As of right now, only a small change to the course will be made. However, if the weather doesn't cooperate, then other course modifications might be necessary. Whatever the outcome, the race organizers have assured us that the course changes will not result in significant elevation changes and will be USATF certified. 
 
The race organizers and Burlington Parks and Recreation are asking anyone in the Burlington area to help clean up the course this Saturday between 10am and 2pm. Volunteers should meet at the bottom of College Street near the information booth. 
 
One thing I am sure of is that regardless of what the final course looks like, I am sure that the Vermont City Marathon will be a top notch race. 

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