Course change in Vermont City Marathon results in fewer spectators congregating downtown

Longtime Burlington Free Press sportswriter Alex Abrami, who has covered the Vermont City Marathon for many years, noticed lately there seemed to be fewer and fewer spectators on Church Street for the event − maybe even beyond what one would expect from a race that's much smaller than it used to be.

Turns out he was right.

First, the race is smaller, which means fewer spectators. RunVermont Executive Director Joe Connelly expects about 4,800 runners this year, which would be a 9% increase from last year, but far fewer than the nearly 9,000 runners the race attracted in the early 2000s, during its heyday.

Beyond the size of the race, Connelly said the number of spectators downtown has also been affected by the course changing after the pandemic to two loops in a figure-eight pattern, rather than the four-leaf clover pattern it previously followed.

The old course, which the marathon used for almost 30 years, hit all the highlights of Burlington, Connelly said, encompassing the hill section, the Beltline highway and both the south and north ends of town. It was a fast course and runners liked it, except for the Beltline, which felt too isolated, according to Connelly.

"The veterans are really happy we're not out on the Beltline highway any more," Connelly said. "It was their least favorite part of the course."

The new course connects two 13.1-mile loops in Burlington's south and north ends the runners do twice to complete a full marathon.

"It's getting very good reviews from the runners, surprisingly good," Connelly said. "I thought it would be more mixed."

Once you're on the waterfront, you tend to stay on the waterfront

Runners hit Church Street twice on the new course, but the race starts on the waterfront now, rather than Battery Park, which pulls spectators away from downtown, according to Connelly.

"Now crowds tend to stay near the waterfront," Connelly said. "In the past, the crowd tended to be more mobile. Back in the day, so many (spectators) in Battery Park would walk to Church Street to see the runners coming through."

Customer acquisition, good vibrations are main payoffs for Church Street businesses

Mark Bouchett, owner of Homeport on Church Street, said from his perspective, it's what spectators do after the race, not during the race, that counts. The race starts early in the morning on Sunday and is mostly over by the afternoon. That's when there's time for shopping and/or eating.

"As I recall I'm almost never here for it," Bouchett said of the marathon itself. "I don't recall it affecting us other than bringing folks to the town. Did they spend a bunch of money? Never did, but any attraction teaches a new group of people to beat a path to the (Church Street) Marketplace."

Customer acquisition is expensive for businesses, according to Bouchett, and the marathon crowds help a lot in that respect. Homeport always offers discounts for marathon watchers.

"We get these new people who may otherwise never have occasion to come to the Marketplace," he said. "If we make it appealing for folks, they learn about us. That pays us for years."

Vermont City Marathon creates good vibrations to counteract negative downtown narrative

Even more important than sales for Bouchett is the vibe the marathon creates.

"No matter how crappy the city is that year, you get a good vibe and it improves the feeling each time it happens," Bouchett said. "We take the long view on that. When you come down for one of those events − just like the (Christmas) tree lighting proves every year that families can come down and have a good time − it destroys the 'Burlington is going to **** narrative.' I want everything to destroy that narrative, and make people think of Church Street as a fun place."

Resources may not be there for Burlington to return to a marathon with thousands more runners

Connelly said he would love to return the marathon to the heights it enjoyed two decades ago, bringing even more people and positive vibes to Burlington, but he doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

"The thing is, the community resources have to be there," Connelly said. "At this point they're not proven to be there yet."

At its peak, the Vermont City Marathon required 1,700 volunteers, and had 28 aid stations. Now there are about 700 volunteers and only seven aid stations. Back in the glory days, there were more groups wanting to volunteer for aid stations "than we had room for," Connelly said. Today, not so much.

"We still need volunteers," he said of this year's race.

Then there's the Burlington Police. In the past, 55 officers worked the marathon. That's when the BPD had 100 to 105 officers on the force. Today, Connelly said there are 20 officers available from a force that the Burlington Free Press reported totaled 66 officers on April 1, 2024.

"That's a number that makes a lot more sense to them when they approve a permit, to make sure they staff all the traffic positions and important spots," Connelly said. "There are all these factors out there. We'd love to be at 8,000 or 9,000 runners again, but more important we want to right-size the field for the community to deliver a good experience for everybody."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DanDambrosioVT.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Marathon director says course change shifted spectators to waterfront