The Skirack 5 person Vermont City Marathon Relay Team: John B, Ethan, Clarke, Cory and Wondu.
The Skirack 5 person Vermont City Marathon Relay Team (from left to right): John B, Ethan, Clarke, Cory and Wondu.

The Vermont City Marathon was almost two weeks ago and we're still reeling from Team Skirack's win of the 5-person relay! Since 1989, RunVermont has been bringing the Vermont City Marathon & Relay to Burlington, Vermont, with much of the course running along the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain. Skirack has been an event sponsor from the beginning and is proud to actively participate and outfit runners with shoe fitting, moisture wicking clothing, nutrition and anything else they need to prepare for the big day, such as training and fueling advice. The race draws about 5,000 runners and over 20,000 spectators each year.

Wondu Summa runs the first leg of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. Photo Credit: RunVermont / Kinney Drugs
Wondu Summa runs the first leg of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. Photo Credit: RunVermont / Kinney Drugs

Skirack and our partner store Patagonia Burlington curated three, 5 person relay teams, with one person running the full marathon. One team comprised of 5 runners of current and former staff with an impressive run resume: Clarke Shedd (our run category manager), Wondu Summa (Skirack run ambassador), as well as John Benner, Ethan Boutin and Cory French. Based on their minute per mile pace, Clarke estimated this relay dream team would get in the top ten. So we were all pumped to see them winning the 3-5 person relay instead! Here's a short recap of race day.

The Start + First Leg

Sunday, May 26 was race day with start times of 7:15AM for handcyclists and a few minutes later for runners. Wondu took his place in the "Preferred Start Corral", right up front with other elite runners and the eventual marathon winners, when the starting horn was sounded.

Skirack is the PLACE TO BE Marathon Day! The store is along the course, where runners pass by four times at miles: .3, 6.2, 13.5 and 19.3. The crowd on Pine and Main Street cheered with excitement as Wondu was the first runner to pass by the store at mile 6.2, getting ready to hand off to the second leg runner - Ethan.

Handoff

After a quick bib exchange, Ethan sprinted up Main Street, being met with hundreds of people cheering along Church Street. He headed out to the New North End, then along Bike Path to Waterfront Park for the next handoff, where John anxiously awaited. John zoomed past Skirack at mile 13.5, so fast you barely saw him, looping right back to Skirack at mile 19.3.

Just after 9AM, John handed off to Cory, the fourth leg. Like Ethan, Cory sprinted up Main Street to begin his 4.1 mile leg. This was the last time we'd see any of this relay team's runners pass by Skirack, so it was time to head to Waterfront Park for the finish. The good news is with a 2-lap marathon course - we were able to see runners pass the store from the second Skirack 5-person relay team (Chloe, Riley, Molly, Doug and Kelsey), Patagonia Burlington's relay team (Kate H, Cedar, Jack, Kate C, and Gabby) and Bryan Chisholm running the full Marathon representing both stores.

Clarke Shedd crosses the finish line, completing the last leg of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. Photo Credit: RunVermont / Kinney Drugs
Clarke Shedd crosses the finish line, completing the last leg of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. Photo Credit: RunVermont / Kinney Drugs

Cory proceeded to race up Church Street to even more people out cheering on runners, then up North Ave as temperatures began to rise. Clarke was the last leg, with the bib exchange at Leddy Park, situated on the Burlington Bike Path. Offering some shade, the flattest stretch and one nice gradual down hill, Skirack's 5 person relay team had just 2.8 miles left to go!

Photo Finish

With a team average pace of 5:36 per mile and overall time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 33 seconds, Clarke crossed the finish line to a roaring crowd. It was so exciting to hear "Skirack" over the loud speaker and digitally spelled across the leaderboard. Even though we were very focused on Skirack's relay teams, Marathon winner, Kiplangat Terer's crossed the finish line at 2:23:13, just a few minutes prior, with the second and third place finishers coming in just before Clarke. Can you imagine running 26.2 miles at a pace of 5:28 per mile? Incredible!

Once Clarke completed his leg, he met up with the rest of his teammates and joined thousands of spectators on the sidelines to cheer on the remaining runners to cross the finish line. A HUGE congratulations to all runners and hand cyclists who ran in this year's M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon! We can't wait to do it all again next year.





In The Media

The Burlington Free Press: PHOTOS: 2024 Vermont City Marathon & Relay in Burlington

WCAX News: Vermont City Marathon finishers reflect on the race

NBC5 News: Thousands compete in Vermont City Marathon