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2009 TD Bank
CRAFTSBURY MARATHON XXVIII
A COMMUNITY EVENT
Release: October 8, 2009
From: John Brodhead
802-586-7767 x 26
johnbrod@Craftsbury.com
The TD Bank Craftsbury Marathon Race and Tour, presented this winter on January 30, 2010 by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont, attracts 1000 cross-country skiers to the area the second Saturday after Martin Luther King Weekend each year.
The event's success is largely attributable to the outpouring of support from local residents and businesses. In the past local inns such as, The Highland Lodge, Craftsbury Inn and Historic Craftsbury General Store have pitched in to provide hearty home style food stops along the course. Sterling College, with help from Environmental Learning For the Future, opens its doors to feed hundreds of hungry people as they finish skiing 25 or 50 kilometers. The Craftsbury Academy donates use of its gymnasium for registration and race day headquarters. The United Church of Craftsbury donates space for a pre race pasta dinner the night before. The Morrisville Vermont National Guard unit has monitored the numerous road crossings. The Craftsbury Road Department clears snow from a huge field for parking hundreds of cars on race day. The Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club prepares and serves the pre race meal and helps with the event's timing and scoring. The local snowmobile clubs provide on-course safety working in conjunction with the Hardwick Rescue Squad. School students and Scout Troops from Craftsbury and other nearby communities help to hand out thousands of cups of steaming hot drinks along the course. Local businesses donate cash and merchandise prizes to reward the many race-class-winners.
Last year two hundred volunteers helped before during and after the event. The Craftsbury Marathon donated over $7000 dollars to eleven nonprofit organizations in the area. Five hundred marathon participants came from fourteen provinces and states other than Vermont. The business community has enthusiastically greeted this influx of tourists who often stay for several days in the area and return in the future for a visit or vacation.
We hope that school classes, teams, booster clubs, service, church and fraternal organizations looking for fundraising opportunities will volunteer again for this event. Most importantly, the community comes together for a day of excitement and camaraderie in a beautiful winter setting with stories enough to last for an entire year.
Please contact John Brodhead at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 802-586-7767 x 26 or email johnbrod@craftsbury.comif you or your organization is interested in sponsoring or volunteering for the marathon.
