A soft drizzle did not keep almost 1,900 runners from participating in the Sunday, May 10th, Covered Bridge Half Marathon. Indeed,  the rain seem to let up just in time for many of the runners who completed the  13.1 mile picturesque course. The route of the marathon starts at the Suicide Six Ski Area in South Pomfret, just outside Woodstock. It runs through open farmland past the Meadow Covered Bridge into Woodstock, where it crosses the Covered Middle Bridge. It then follows the Ottauquechee River downstream to  the Taftsville Covered Bridge and on into the village of Quechee, past the Quechee Covered Bridge and ends up at the Quechee Polo field.

This was the biggest turnout ever with 50 per cent of the runners coming from Vermont and New Hampshire and 40 per cent from Connecticut and Massachusetts.  There was even a foreign contingent from Canada. Despite the number of participants and the rain, there appears to have been only one minor injury. Of course, the  offer of a free massage after such exertions is not to resisted. Almost two  hundred runners took advantage of a free massage provided by volunteers organized  by the Strong House Spa in Quechee.

The  winner of this year's marathon was Joe McNamara from Huntington, Vermont, who completed the course in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 42 seconds. Though not a  record, the time (1:18:38) set by Mirabel Sanchez from Lebanon, NH was a record  for a woman in this marathon.

The  marathon seems to draw more and more people every year, leading to sudden and  unexpected traffic jams on normally quiet thoroughfares that are almost deserted at other times of the year. You can find out more about this event by going  to:
http://www.coolrunning.com/