- DATE: 9/23/2018
- RESULTS: 1:42:54
- RACE & STATE: Race #48, State #22
The Vermont Sun Half Marathon is set in one of the most beautiful places on earth, well Vermont! I spent at least five minutes stopping to take pictures or just to admire the view. I truly don’t care about fast times if by running fast you miss all that beauty. Check out a few of the panoramic shots I took, they’re at the very bottom.
The Four State Challenge
Four half marathons in eleven days. Sounds easy enough when you sitting behind a desk in the comfort of Encinitas, CA. But, then, at some point you need to actually go run the races. And, drag the whole family through what will end of being 1,600 miles and four states in the car. Just like all big goals, you have to put one foot in front of the other and charge it. And, that is precisely what we did.
- Race #1: Massachusetts – Cape Cod Trail Race and Half Marathon – Looping the Pond
- Race #2: Vermont Sun Half Marathon – Endless Beauty (THIS ONE!!)
- Race #3: New Hampshire Half Marathon – A FAST Country Stroll
- Race #4: Maine Half Marathon – Counting Miles
Apple Picking & Syrup Tasting DRINKING
Amy absolutely CRUSHED this trip. Two of the most fun things we did all trip was to 1) Pick Apples and 2) do Syrup Tasting, okay, Drinking! As we were driving up through the southern part of Vermont on the way from our Cape Cod portion of the trip, I immediately knew that this state was something SPECIAL. No joke. It’s GORGEOUS.
The day before the race, and, our first activity that Amy planned for us in Vermont was apple picking at Scott Farm in Vermont. What a stunning and fun day of wandering around massive orchards and picking all sorts of varieties of apples. Between “sampling” the product and running and playing, we did eventually pick some to keep and that bag of apples lasted us THE ENTIRE trip. Literally we ate the last two apples on the last day, some 10 days later. So fun!
Our second activity was learning and tasting Maple Syrup at Bragg Farm SugarHouse! And, yes, my wife caught me DRINKING the syrup over at the sample station. I burned 1,750 calories during the run! My guess is that I sucked down 2,000 calories worth of syrup. And, on the way out the door? How about 3 very large maple soft serve ice cream cones. Nothing like loading up the kids with tons of sugar and then jumping in the car for a long drive. 🙂
Moving to Vermont?
It was about this time of the trip that the madness had completely set in. We had TONS of tun, plus, a STUNNING and amazing state to explore. So, the next natural thing for two San Diegans to start thinking about doing? Buying a house in Vermont of course! And, I’m not joking here. We actually spent some time on RedFin (a real estate app) looking at these incredible places on acres of apple orchards and actually seriously thought about buying a place. For about four days or so.
Fortunately, calmer more rational heads prevailed and the idea was abandoned. But, I think the biggest catalyst for this bout of reason? Well, turns out it’s not 80 degrees and sunny in these parts in the winter. Like it is in the summer/fall. The AVERAGE temperature during the three winter months? 22 degrees. Not exactly our average of 59 degrees we get in San Diego.
I thought, maybe we should just come back and visit in the summer or fall. Amy agreed.
The Race
The race, oh yeah, I have to run again. Haha, with all the apple picking, syrup drinking and sightseeing, I almost forgot about the run.
I’m not sure if the race, the location, the weather or the backdrop could have been any more perfect. The setup was AMAZING, the start and finish line which were one and the same, were located right in a park, right on stunning Lake Dunmore at Branbury Park.
I ended up sparking up a conversation with this amazing guy and ran with him for about 5 miles chatting. Which I never do. I wish I could remember some of the jokes he told me but they were funny. I did share them with Amy later in the day and she wasn’t as impressed. Perhaps it was funny “in the moment”. Turns out this gentleman had a son running in the race and he, apparently, was fast since he came in first place.
After most races I just want to eat a banana, drink a gatorade and go home. This time? I didn’t want to leave. So I did an ice-bath in the lake while eating my banana. Much better idea.
What a fun experience. Definitely in my top five races all time. And, this was one of the FIRST RACES that my kids, this time Gage, ran with me to the finish line. Great memories.
