Vermont City Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Burlington, VTMay 30, 2027
The Vermont City Marathon runs two laps of the same 13.1 mile loop through Burlington, which means you meet every hill on it twice, and the second time is at marathon fatigue. It starts and finishes at Waterfront Park on Lake Champlain at 7:15 a.m. on Memorial Day weekend.
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The elevation figures say the course climbs about 855 feet and drops about 856, a net change of one foot across 26.2 miles. Everything you climb, you give back. That sounds fair until you notice it also means there's no long descent waiting to bail you out of a bad patch.
248 days to race day
Vermont City Marathon · May 30, 2027 · about 35 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the Vermont City Marathon 2027
Race day is May 30, 2027, which is 248 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildStart November 1, 2026
- 24-week buildStart December 13, 2026
- 18-week buildStart January 24, 2027
- 16-week buildStart February 7, 2027
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart March 7, 2027
You have about 35 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to May 30, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Vermont City Marathon course facts
- Course
- Multiple Loops · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 855 ft gain, 856 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 232 ft / 98 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,472 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 13.9% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 58°F at the start, 77% humidity, partly cloudy
- Race day high / low
- 71°F / 48°F on average
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the Vermont City Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your Vermont City Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: a 13.1 mile Burlington loop, run twice
The Vermont City Marathon starts and finishes at Waterfront Park in Burlington at 7:15 a.m. and covers a 13.1 mile loop twice. About ten of those miles run on the bike path beside Lake Champlain with the Adirondacks across the water, and the route also takes in Church Street Marketplace and four of Burlington's parks.
The profile is rolling rather than dramatic. The course sits between about 98 and 232 feet of elevation and accumulates 855 feet of climbing in pieces, none of them long. What makes it bite is repetition. A rise you barely registered on lap one is a different animal on lap two, when you've already paid for it once.
This race also draws a crowd out of proportion to its finisher count. Around 5,000 participants across the marathon and its relay divisions, roughly 20,000 spectators and about 800 volunteers, with Taiko drummers on course. The relay here is one of the largest in the country, which means fresh legs will come past you late in the day. Expect it, and don't chase them.
How to train for the Vermont City Marathon
Train for the Vermont City Marathon two ways: continuously rolling long runs, and heat you haven't earned yet. The course climbs and gives back about 855 feet with no net change, so it's a pacing test rather than a strength test, and a late May date in Vermont usually means race day is the warmest running you've done all year.
For the terrain, find a route that undulates for two hours and run it by effort. Your splits will swing and that's correct. The specific skill is meeting the same hills a second time on tired legs, so at least twice in a build, run a loop course twice instead of an out and back. The rehearsal is as much mental as physical.
For the heat, the problem is the calendar. You'll do a northern spring build in cool air and then race with a start near 58F climbing toward an average high around 71F. Overdress for a handful of long runs in your last six weeks, or move them to the afternoon, so your body has met that condition before it counts.
Last, plan for company. With around 5,000 people taking part and relay runners rotating in fresh, the course stays busy. Practice holding your own pace while people stream past you, because a good number of them are only running half as far as you are.
Getting in
Entry goes through RunVermont, and the marathon shares its start with two person and larger relay teams, which absorbs a good share of the field. Around 5,000 people take part across the event's divisions. Sign up early and book somewhere to stay at the same time, because Burlington is a small city and this is a holiday weekend.
Where does the Vermont City Marathon get hard?
The second pass through the loop's rises, somewhere between miles 16 and 22, where hills you dismissed first time round come back with a Memorial Day sun on you.
What is the weather like at the Vermont City Marathon?
Race morning here has averaged about 58F with 77% humidity under partly cloudy skies, and the day climbs to an average high near 71F. For a Memorial Day weekend race that follows a cool northern spring, that's a warm finish for anyone out past three and a half hours. Do some long runs in afternoon heat rather than only at dawn.
Is the Vermont City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The Vermont City Marathon is a Boston eligible course and a more productive qualifier than its rolling profile suggests. 13.9% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026, 11.2% in 2025 and 10.9% in 2024, and the rate hasn't dropped below 10% since 2022. That's a strong showing for a course carrying 855 feet of climbing.
Is the Vermont City Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a good first marathon. The start and finish are in the same place, the crowd support is large for a race this size, and rolling terrain treats your legs better than either a flat grind or a big descent. The thing to respect is warmth, because a first timer running longer will be out in the hottest part of the day.
Vermont City Marathon questions, answered.
Is the Vermont City Marathon hilly?
It's rolling rather than hilly. The course climbs about 855 feet and descends about 856 over 26.2 miles, staying between roughly 98 and 232 feet of elevation. Because it's a 13.1 mile loop run twice, you meet every rise on it a second time, and that repetition is what actually makes it demanding.
Is the Vermont City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Better than its profile suggests. 13.9% of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2026, 11.2% in 2025 and 10.9% in 2024, and the rate hasn't fallen below 10% since 2022. It's a Boston eligible course and a well run one, so times posted here hold up.
How hot does it get at the Vermont City Marathon?
Warmer than most of your training. The start has averaged around 58F with 77% humidity, and the average high for the day is near 71F. Since the race falls on Memorial Day weekend after a cool northern spring, that finish temperature is often the warmest running a competitor has done all year.
What is the Vermont City Marathon like to run?
Busier than its finisher count suggests. Around 5,000 people take part across the marathon and relay divisions, with roughly 20,000 spectators and Taiko drummers on course. Ten of the miles run on the bike path beside Lake Champlain, and the route also passes Church Street Marketplace and four of Burlington's parks.
Where does the Vermont City Marathon get hard?
The second pass through the loop's rises, somewhere between miles 16 and 22, where hills you dismissed first time round come back with a Memorial Day sun on you.
What is the weather like at the Vermont City Marathon?
Race morning here has averaged about 58F with 77% humidity under partly cloudy skies, and the day climbs to an average high near 71F. For a Memorial Day weekend race that follows a cool northern spring, that's a warm finish for anyone out past three and a half hours. Do some long runs in afternoon heat rather than only at dawn.
Is the Vermont City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The Vermont City Marathon is a Boston eligible course and a more productive qualifier than its rolling profile suggests. 13.9% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026, 11.2% in 2025 and 10.9% in 2024, and the rate hasn't dropped below 10% since 2022. That's a strong showing for a course carrying 855 feet of climbing.
Is the Vermont City Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a good first marathon. The start and finish are in the same place, the crowd support is large for a race this size, and rolling terrain treats your legs better than either a flat grind or a big descent. The thing to respect is warmth, because a first timer running longer will be out in the hottest part of the day.
When should I start training for the Vermont City Marathon 2027?
Race day is May 30, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around January 10, 2027, a 16-week build around February 7, 2027, and a 12-week build around March 7, 2027. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Vermont City Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Vermont City Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to May 30, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
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