Mad Marathon 2015
The Mad Marathon, starting and finishing in Waitsfield but also running through parts of Moretown and Warren, is an iconic race not just for the challenge provided by running in Vermont, where no road is ever flat for long, but also for the incredible opportunity to run through one postcard-perfect scene after another.
From scenic Main Street to the bucolic hillsides of Common Road, the Mad Marathon puts runners to the test in one of the most picturesque races in the country. Runners will start in Waitsfield’s historic downtown, enjoying a brief downhill before turning across the first of two covered bridges on course and then beginning the challenging ascent up Joslin Hill Road, which will bring runners to Waitsfield’s original town common. From the common, runners will turn towards Moretown village, enjoying an incredible view across the valley as they descend North Road, continue onto gravel and cross the Pine Brook Bridge. The course then turns around near the outskirts of Moretown Village, giving runners a second chance to enjoy the riverside gravel road as it winds by the iconic Neill and Carpenter Farms as they climb back to the common and return to gravel as they travel Common Road, where, on any other day of the year, the cows, chickens and other farm animals outnumber the humans at least three-to-one, courtesy of Von Trapp and the Mountain Valley farms.
After the race returns to the pavement of East Warren Road, runners enjoy a rolling descent through more iconic farms before turning up Roxbury Gap Road for the brief climb to Senor Road, where more gravel (and incredible views for those still able to notice after over 15 miles of racing). A downhill swing on Fuller Hill Road and Plunkton Road will return racers to East Warren Road, where they will climb back to the Common Road intersection before descending back to Main Street, making one more brief climb, and finishing on the Mad River Green.
The Mad Half course is no less scenic, beginning with the same six-tenths of a mile on Main Street before crossing the covered bridge and up Joslin Hill to North Road, also crossing the Pine Brook by covered bridge before turning around just before the Meadow Road junction and returning to the common, running a short out-and-back on East Road and then continuing across Common Road before turning right and continuing downhill on East Warren Road to Bridge Street and then to the finish.
For more information on this spectacular race, visit the race website.