Rolling country roads along a route that alternates between the quaint streets of this small central Vermont town and the countryside framed by the nearby Green Mountains just outside town await runners at the Mad Marathon & Mad Half, set to make its 14th annual running this year.
The race takes runners through a part of New England that’s well-known as a wintertime ski destination, thanks to nearby resorts like Mad River Glen and Sugarbush.
In the summer, visitors trade in their skis for a chance to hike, camp in and explore the state forests that lie just to the north, south and west of this small town, which is home to just under 2,000 residents. Fishing, canoeing and kayaking also are popular here, whether on the Mad River that flows through town or at Lake Champlain, which lies roughly an hour away.
In fact, this race is so rad that National Geographic has included the Mad Marathon among its top world-wide races in its forthcoming book “100 Runs of a Lifetime.”