As summer kicks into high gear, it’s that time of year again when many area residents will be participating in the fantastic array of running and biking races hosted across the Upper Valley. The Standard’s sportswriter will be lacing up his running shoes and heading to Waitsfield on Sunday for the Fourteenth Annual Mad Marathon — and with 2,100 feet of rolling hills ahead of him, he may well be mad for doing so.
Meanwhile, here’s a rundown of even more local races happening in our backyard over the next eight weeks.
The Prouty
Leading off is The Prouty, with a weekend-long series of events taking place July 11-12 in Hanover, New Hampshire. Now in its forty-fourth year, this annual fundraiser for the Dartmouth Cancer Center, which features routes of 20, 35, 50, 77, or 100 miles, is more than just the headline summer event for cyclists in the Upper Valley. There are also opportunities to raise money by walking or rowing, and in 2024, organizers added a mountain biking loop to round out the menu of options.
Feeling particularly adventurous? Try the Prouty Ultimate, back-to-back days of scenic 100-mile rides through the White Mountains. Shorter routes on day two are possible, too.
Technically, The Prouty is not a race: there is no official timekeeping in any of the events, and the weekend’s only winner is cancer research. In 2025, it looks to be winning big: as of press time, more than 3,400 registered participants had pledged nearly $8.5 million for the cause. Registration is typically possible up until event day; check The Prouty website for availability.
Ragnar
Also getting underway this weekend, July 11-12 at the Ascutney Outdoors Center, is the Ragnar Trail Vermont team race. Ragnar trail races are a cross between long-distance relay runs and a music festival. Participants compete in teams of four or eight, with each individual runner taking turns completing three progressively more difficult loops that add up to a total of 118 team miles over the course of a day and a half.
Vermont 100
Next up on the summer calendar is the Vermont 100, Vermont’s signature endurance race and one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious 100-milers, which has been drawing runners from around the world to our neck of the woods since 1989. Part of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, the Vermont 100’s grueling, two-day test of mind and body sees runners climb a back-breaking 17,000 feet in elevation, as they wind their way through Windsor County’s rugged hills and scenic valleys.
The race kicks off as always at Silver Hill Meadow in West Windsor, where this year’s crop of 450 entrants will gather for the starting gun on Saturday, July 19 — at 4 a.m.
STOAKED
Less daunting but no less fun is the STOAKED Trail Race, held this year on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Oak Hill Outdoor Center in Hanover. One of nine summer events in the annual Western New Hampshire Trail Running Series, STOAKED is a 12-kilometer delight for runners who prefer to stay off the beaten path. The challenging course, which traverses cross-country and single-track mountain bike trails through wooded terrain, is a favorite of the Upper Valley’s trail running enthusiasts — but is also a manageable introduction for the trail running-curious.
Registration is open until July 30.
Vermont Youth Cycling
Kids take center stage at the next event on the summer calendar: the Vermont Youth Cycling League’s first mountain biking race of the season, held Saturday, Aug. 16 at Ascutney Outdoors. The VTYC was founded in 2018 in response to the surging popularity of mountain biking in the state — especially among young Vermonters like the boys and girls at Woodstock Union High School and Middle School, whose club team won last year’s Northern New England Mountain Biking Championship and will be looking to defend their title in 2025.
Triple Crown Throwdown
After the VTYC riders kick things off on Saturday, the crew at the Woodstock Area Mountain Biking Association (WAMBA) will kick it up a notch on Sunday, April 17, at Saskadena Six with the first-ever Triple Crown Throwdown. Taking the format of its popular Triple Crown Challenge from recent years — which has riders tackle three trail networks at Mt. Peg, the Woodstock Aqueduct, and Saskadena Six in a single day — WAMBA’s Throwdown now adds cross-country and “enduro” stages to the mix and promises “all day stoke and good times.”
Registration is available through August 10 on the WAMBA website.
The Overland
Having a hard time choosing between running and biking? Do both and compete for the Overland Trophy at this year’s installment of The Overland, held Aug. 23-24 at Ascutney Outdoors. The Overland was launched in 2014 as a 55-mile gravel bike race and is now generally thought of as one of the premier such events in the country. In 2022, event organizers added a 15-mile run and called it the Overland Trail. The competition is stiff in either race — but participants who complete both and have the best combined times in the Saturday run and the Sunday bike will take home the Overland Trophy.
Both races are all about rough terrain: bikers this year will tackle nearly 7,000 feet of climbing and navigate eight sections of Class-4 roads, while runners are biting off more than 2,500 feet of elevation across all surfaces. Registration for most competition groups is still available.
The Sprouty
Last but certainly not least on the summer race calendar is The Sprouty, held on Saturday, Sept. 6 in Sharon. Runners can choose either a 5-kilometer or 10-kilometer option — but no matter what, all participants go home with a free lettuce plant from Dandelion Acres Garden Center in Royalton.
