LOCATION: Vermont is a beautiful state with lots of nice scenery (mountains! farms! rolling hills!). This particular area of Vermont, Waitsfield, is just filled with everything picturesque that one can imagine. The town is quaint and during the whole race, it felt as if the only folks in existence were the runners. If you get into town early, go check out Burlington as it's a charming town with lots of cool places to eat and shop and you can even see Lake Champlain.

North of the Waitsfield area, one can find Ben & Jerry's, Cabot Cheese and Cold Hollow Cider (think donuts, cider, cider slushie, etc). I went to these place after my race and enjoyed lots of samples of cheese. So good!

RACE MORNING: At most races, the DJ is pumping the tunes to get everyone as excited and crazed as possible. They play the loudest music with the most beats per minute. But this race....oh, not this race. The music flowing was nice soothing music that sounded like it was flowing from a tropical isle.The DJ even said he wanted to keep things calm so everyone starts off relaxed. Wow, I never imagined that that would be a great way to start a race. No one was pushing or shoving to get near the front (it's a small race so no need for that anyways). They even had free coffee before the race for runners so that was nice.

THE RACE: The race itself was through some gorgeous areas. I felt relaxed during the whole race. There was no traffic to contend with, loud cheering crowds (don't get me wrong...I love cheering crowds but this race didn't need them), buildings, and everything else you'd see in a city. This was the countryside. You could see (and smell) the cows. You passed farms. Ooh, the covered bridge (I definitely stopped for a selfie) was so reminiscent of what I picture in my head about New England.

The website says to prepare for rolling hills. Oh indeed...there were hills. I'm not sure I would call them rolling. I would probably say something like: giant hills -- come prepared. Rolling to me makes it sound like they gently flow. No matter what you call them, this race has hills!

THE FINISH: The finish chute was incredibly charming and welcoming. Can a finish chute be charming? Yes it can at the Mad Marathon. the "arch" over the finish area looked like that of a barn. But the best part of the finish was race organizer Dori standing there with a smile and gave me a hug. A hug when I'm all sweaty? You bet. Dori stands there until the last runner comes in so she can give them all a hug.

And then I went on to grab some food which was awesome. The one thing I remember most was Cold Hollow Cider Donuts. Oh, a cider donut post race was perfect.

Would I run this race again? Absolutely. I already signed up to return in 2016. When I signed up, i received an email from Dori welcoming me back. That's the thing about this race. It's small and completely unpretentious. Could it be the best half marathon in all of New England? I think so...I sure hope those donuts are back at the finish line again. I already know I'll get a hug from Dori.

Link to this review