Vermont City Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
A scenic Lake Champlain course with a famous mid-race hill and a festive Burlington atmosphere.
Last updated
- Where:
- Burlington, Vermont
- When:
- Sunday, May 30, 2027
- Course:
- Rolling · scenic · loop
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
Vermont City is gently rolling with one well-known sting: the climb up Battery Street (“the Assault on Battery”) around the midpoint. Otherwise the course tours Burlington’s waterfront, neighborhoods, and a bike-path section along Lake Champlain.
- Start → Finish
- 120 → 130 ft
- Net
- +10 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 430 ft
The certified route
Two loops of a figure-8 through Burlington, from Lake St through downtown and the waterfront, south to Oakledge Park and South Cove, and north along North Ave to Leddy Park and the North Beach bikepath, finishing in Waterfront Park.
- Start
- Lake St west of the railroad tracks, on a line connecting the west edge of electrical box 3394 and the east end of the north marble curb.
- Finish
- Waterfront Park, on the grass 30 inches south of pole A1 at the north end of the park, 12 ft north of a line connecting pole A7 and the west-central electric panel.
Underfoot
Essentially all paved (99.98 percent).
Through, in order
Burlington
What you pass
- Miles 4 to 6 and 16 to 18: the bikepath through Oakledge Park to South Cove
- Miles 11 to 12 and 24 to 25: the North Beach bikepath at Leddy Park
- Waterfront Park at the finish
Worth knowing
- At miles 9.1, 10.0, 22.2 and 23.1, runners use the roadway on the south side of the median in and out of Lakewood Estates.
Transcribed from the USATF certificate for Vermont City Marathon (VT23002JK), measured 29 April 2023. Where the certificate is silent, so are we.
Key moments
- Mile 8–9An out-and-back on the beltline, useful for a pace check.
- Mile 15The Battery Street climb: short and steep, with drummers to pull you up.
- Mile 20–26.2Lakeside bike path to the finish, exposed if it’s warm.
Pacing strategy
Run the Battery Street hill by effort, not pace, and don’t overspend chasing it. Save energy for the exposed lakeside miles late, which bake in a warm year.
Pacing by goal time
Checkpoint splits for four common goals at Vermont City Marathon. These are effort-even rather than pace-even: the paces shift with the course profile, so climbs are slower and descents faster by the amount the grade actually costs. For any other goal time, use the planner below.
| Checkpoint | Sub-3:00 | Sub-3:30 | Sub-4:00 | Sub-4:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 3.1 | 20:596:42/mi | 24:297:49/mi | 27:598:56/mi | 31:2810:02/mi |
| Mile 6.2 | 41:567:09/mi | 48:568:20/mi | 55:559:31/mi | 1:02:5510:43/mi |
| Mile 9.3 | 1:02:237:07/mi | 1:12:478:18/mi | 1:23:109:29/mi | 1:33:3410:40/mi |
| Mile 12.4 | 1:23:447:06/mi | 1:37:428:18/mi | 1:51:399:29/mi | 2:05:3710:40/mi |
| Mile 15.5 | 1:43:326:42/mi | 2:00:477:49/mi | 2:18:038:56/mi | 2:35:1810:03/mi |
| Mile 18.6 | 2:04:217:04/mi | 2:25:048:15/mi | 2:45:489:26/mi | 3:06:3110:36/mi |
| Mile 21.7 | 2:24:356:59/mi | 2:48:408:09/mi | 3:12:469:19/mi | 3:36:5210:29/mi |
| Mile 24.9 | 2:44:586:37/mi | 3:12:287:43/mi | 3:39:588:50/mi | 4:07:279:56/mi |
| Finish | 2:58:316:47/mi | 3:28:167:55/mi | 3:58:019:03/mi | 4:27:4610:11/mi |
Splits assume even effort and are adjusted for this course's climbs and descents, which cost more than they give back. A model, not a promise: wind and heat move real splits around. See how the pacing model works.
Plan your mile splits
Turn your goal time into a mile-by-mile plan for Vermont City Marathon, built from this course's elevation. The even pace approach comes pre-selected, and grade-adjusted pacing evens out your effort across the climbs and descents.
Plan Vermont City Marathon splitsFueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every 2 miles with water and sports drink. Late-May warmth can raise fluid needs — drink early and keep gels on schedule.
Weather
Late-May Burlington is usually mild, but a warm, sunny year on the exposed lakefront is the main risk.
What race morning has actually been like
The last 5 editions of Vermont City Marathon, measured at the start line rather than averaged across the month. Starts have run 48–59°F, averaging 55°F.
| Year | Date | Start | Dew pt | Wind | By late morning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | May 26 | 59°F | 63°F | 9 mph | 70°F |
| 2022 | May 29 | 55°F | 55°F | 5 mph | 72°F |
| 2023 | May 28 | 56°F | 47°F | 6 mph | 77°F |
| 2024 | May 26 | 58°F | 58°F | 2 mph | 69°F |
| 2025 | May 25 | 48°F | 47°F | 5 mph | 54°F |
The gap between the gun and late morning matters here. In 2023 it went from 56°F at the start to 77°F by late morning. A four-hour finisher ran a materially different race from a three-hour one.
Dew point has reached 63°F (2019). Above about 60°F, sweat stops evaporating efficiently and most runners lose pace no matter what the thermometer says. It is the number to watch here, not the air temperature.
Dates derived from the race's published pattern (Sunday of Memorial Day weekend (2020 cancelled, 2021 virtual)), observations at Burlington, Vermont (start). Source: Open-Meteo historical reanalysis (ERA5), 7-11am local at the start line. Reanalysis is modelled from station observations, so treat it as a close record rather than an official one. See how race-morning weather is built.
Is Vermont City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Yes. The course actually finishes 10 ft higher than it starts, so no downhill adjustment applies, and nobody can accuse the time of being gravity-assisted.
This drop is our estimate rather than a figure from the course's certificate. If it sits near a threshold, confirm with the organizer.
Compare every course, how the downhill bands work, or work out your own target.
Dial in your pacing & fueling
New to how training builds toward a race like this? Start with Anatomy of a Running Plan, find your zones with the pace calculator, and plan race-day nutrition with the fueling calculator.
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