Mad Marathon

The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon! Take it easy or take it tough…we have a race for every runner at any level.The Tenth Annual Mad Marathon, Mad Half and relays are scheduled for September 12th, 2021 in the gorgeous Mad River Valley, located in Central Vermont.
Voted by Runners World a must as a Top Ten Bucket List World-Wide Marathon in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
You will be running through this extraordinary rural community on back and dirt roads, with breathtaking views of the Green Mountains, challenging rolling farmlands with tough climbs and descents, quaint villages, historic barns, covered bridges and fields of our famous Vermont cows!
The Mad River Valley is the winter home of Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski areas, and the summer offers a host of sport opportunities in golf,
biking, kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing and of course, running in a pristine natural setting.
The marathon course is certified and sanctioned by the US Track & Field. Our certification number is VT11012RF and therfore a Boston Marathon qualifier. Walkers are more than welcome for the Mad Half and there is a category for Mad Half Walkers..
Thank you all for your amazing support of this exciting “World’s Most Beautiful Marathon”.
Course Highlights
The race starts at the Mad River Green in central Waitsfield Village, and the course travels north on Route 100 for a short .6 mile before turning onto our first secondary road and through a covered bridge…on yes, Bridge Street. You will face your first climb about one mile into the race running up past an aid station and hitting a second station at the top of your climb on Joslin Hill Road and 2.2 miles into the race. Joslin Hill meets North Road and rolls along gently down hill for about another 2.5 miles, through Pine Brook Covered Bridge to your third aid station at Meadow Road. You are now traveling within Neill Farm on dirt roads and an absolutely fabulous introduction to our farmlands. When you reach Meadow Road you will turn left and run a short out and back section, and the turn left continuing along North Road until you reach the turnaround location at just over 6 miles into the raceat Carpenter Farm.. Back along North Road you retrace your path up North Road and hit 9.4 miles at the Common Road intersection. You will run a short out and back section on East Road before hitting Common, a lovely dirt road with more extraordinary views of barns, farms and country homes all in a delightful rural setting. This stretch of the run is just under 3 miles and joins East Warren Road just over 12 miles into the run. You will then turn left onto East Warren and run along this rolling countryside road for about 3 miles of stunning vistas. When you reach Roxbury Mountain Road you begin a four mile loop along four charming backcountry lanes (Roxbury, Senor, Fuller Hill, Plunkton) with amazing views, farms, barns and exquisite homesteads. Returning to East Warren Road 19 miles into your marathon, you begin a gentle rolling downhill slope (including one famous “dip”) back to Bridge Street and then a short mile sprint to the FINISH LINE!