What to know for this weekend's Vermont City Marathon & Relay on Burlington's streets

The state's biggest sporting event returns this weekend.

The M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay is slated for its 33rd Memorial Day weekend, and 34th edition overall, through Burlington. Over 4,600 racers, from marathoners, relay teams and handcyclists, will navigate through the streets of the Queen City.

Sunday's race starts and finishes at Waterfront Park.

"This marathon is an incredible race — and so much more," RunVermont executive director Joe Connelly said in a news release. "It embodies community spirit. People from all corners of our state, region, and nation come together with a unified goal: to proudly cross that finish line."

2023 coverage: Course record shattered at the 2023 Vermont City Marathon & Relay

Here's what you need to know ahead of this year's marathon weekend, including details on the new non-binary cash prize, the invited runners field and Sunday's weather forecast:

When and where is the Vermont City Marathon?

► Date: Sunday, May 26

► Time: 7:15 a.m.

► Starting/finish line: Waterfront Park

► Race organizer: RunVermont Inc.

► Race sponsor: M&T Bank

► Past results from the VCM: BurlingtonFreePress.com.

Course map for the Vermont City Marathon

RunVermont has designed a two-loop, 13.1-mile course through the streets of Burlington. The map:

Race-day road closures for Vermont City Marathon

Visit here for RunVermont's street closures map.

How many are registered for the Vermont City Marathon?

►As of mid-week, there are 1,718 runners signed up for the marathon.

►There are 426 2-person relay teams, 413 3-5-person relay squads and eight handcyclists.

►Expected crowds will be in 9,000-12,000 range, according to RunVermont.

RunVermont introduces cash prize for non-binary division

Race organizer RunVermont announced earlier this month an updated policy that "expands its gender diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts" with the introduction of awards to non-binary athletes during Sunday's marathon.

For the first time, there will be a cash prize in the non-binary division of $2,400, which is equal to the award payout for the first-place finishers in the men's and women's open marathon categories.

According to the news release, RunVermont worked with a number of local organizations, including Pride Center of Vermont, to shape the new policy. Previously, athletes were able to register and participate in RunVermont events, including the marathon, with the gender by which they identify.

"This is a significant step forward in our ongoing journey to better serve the needs of our gender-diverse athlete community," Connelly said in a statement. "We are dedicated to working closely with subject matter experts and industry leaders to ensure that our race procedures and policies align with evolving standards and remain at the forefront of progress."

The other cash prizes are:

Open (men/women divisions): First, $2,400; second, $1,300; third, $800.

Masters (men/women divisions): First, $700; second, $300.

Handcycle (men/women divisions): First, $700.

Pushrim wheeler(men/women divisions): First, $700.

Top Vermonter (men/women division): First, $700.

Invited runners for the Vermont City Marathon

Hannah Rowe, a former high school star at St. Johnsbury Academy, is the favorite in the women's open division. The 2014 Dartmouth graduate and current Boston resident has a personal-best of 2:39:34 from last year's Philadelphia Marathon.

On the men's side, Burlington and VCM veteran Teage O'Connor, 40, will battle for the top Vermonter and masters honors. O'Connor has twice claimed the top Vermont award. Blake Ressler of Winooski is O'Connor's chief competition in both divisions, with Burlington's Ben Fishbein a challenger in the in-state category.

In the men's open race, Dylan Gearinger (Scranton, Pennsylvania), Nick Spector (Santa Ana, California), Philemon Terer (Iten, Kenya/Amherst, Massachusetts) and Vermont natives Chris Gish and Matthew Phipps are ones to watch. Gish, who now lives in Montana, hails from Sharon, while Phipps is originally from Hartford but currently resides in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Course records for Vermont City Marathon

►Men: 2:17:03, Michael Kobotov, 2001.

►Women: 2:33:40, Maegan Krifchin, 2023.

Who's getting inducted into RunVermont Hall of Fame?

VCM handcyclist champion Patrick Standen, former University of Vermont track and field head coach Ed Kusiak and U-32 track and cross-country running coach Andrew Tripp will be inducted into the RunVermont Hall of Fame.

Standen is being honored in the "Athletes With Distinction" category for his accomplishments across numerous sports over decades. He's a multi-time champion in handcycle at VCM.

Kusiak spent over three decades leading the UVM track and field program until his retirement in 2003. Under Kusiak, the Catamount women's team captured three straight America East titles (2000-02).

At U-32, Tripp has led the Raider boys XC squad to eight straight D-II titles (2016-2023) and the girls XC teams to state crowns in 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2023. The U-32 boys track teams also seized six team championships, including six straight from 2013-18. Tripp was named the national boys coach of the year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2020.

The class will be formally recognized during a dinner on May 24.

Weather forecast for the Vermont City Marathon

► According to weather.com's mid-week forecast, Sunday's temperature is expected to rise to a high of 81 degrees. There will also be intervals of clouds and sunshine with a 20% of precipitation and winds between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Humidity will be 54%.

Contact Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont City Marathon & Relay: Elite runners info, non-binary awards