Vermont
‘My homeland’: Former local high school star powers to victory at Vermont City Marathon
When it comes to racing, Hannah Rowe favors much cooler temperatures than the sunny and warm climate of the 2024 Vermont City Marathon & Relay on Sunday morning.
Rowe is, after all, a Vermont native.
“I prefer snowy conditions,” Rowe said.
But after navigating the twice-looped, 26.2-mile course in Burlington, Rowe had no problems dealing with hotter weather. Her time and finish tell that story.
In her VCM debut for the marathon, the 2010 St. Johnsbury Academy graduate stormed to first place in the women’s open division, clipping the line at 2 hours, 46 minutes, 56 seconds. Rowe, 32, currently resides in Boston.
“It means a lot. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” Rowe said, who previously ran a two-person relay at VCM with her husband. “Vermont is always my homeland.”
When she did live in Vermont, Rowe was a star high school athlete at St. Johnsbury, located in the Northeast Kingdom. There, she was a four-time Gatorade runner of the year between cross-country running and track and field, and was on SJA’s first girls basketball state championship.
In 2017, Rowe was inducted into the Vermont Principals’ Association Hall of Fame. And last summer, Rowe was the top women’s finisher at the USATF national trail championships held in New Hampshire.
RESULTS: Click here later Sunday for full marathon and relay results
Sunday’s marathon reminded Rowe of her high school days. Stretches on the bike path brought back memories of racing at the Burlington Invitational.
“It was a really cool moment,” said Rowe, a 2014 Dartmouth College graduate.
To avoid overheating, Rowe said she executed a “conservative” race strategy. “I was definitely trying to not blow up and staying within myself,” she said.
“I knew it was going to be a PR day. That didn’t matter to me, it was just being here and being with the crowd.”
Kiplangat Terer, a Kenyan native who spends half the year in Amherst, Massachusetts, captured the men’s open division in 2:23:13. The 37-year-old said he’s won half-a-dozen marathons in his career.
Top Vermont woman overcomes heat, quick start
Joanna Fortier nearly went out too fast.
“I really wanted to push myself and I paid for it,” the 34-year-old from Richmond said.
But Fortier regrouped, motivated by family, friends and thousands of cheering spectators, to complete the 26.2-mile course and claim top prize as the first Vermont resident to finish Sunday’s marathon.
File coverage: Course record shattered at the 2023 Vermont City Marathon & Relay
Fortier completed her fourth marathon in 3:09:04.
“I had no idea,” Fortier said about being the top Vermont woman. “I would say it was very hot. I’ve never blown up so much in my life. But I wanted it. It was rough, but really the community is so special.
“Having everyone cheering you on and screaming — it’s the best feeling ever.”
Nick Orlando of South Burlington was the first Vermont man to finish on Sunday. Orlando toured the course in 2:36:53, which was good enough for 10th overall and just ahead of Ben Groleau of North Ferrisburgh by 16 seconds.
Handcyclist champion raves about Vermont City Marathon course
Devann Murphy has won the handycle division at the Boston, Chicago and New York City marathons. Nothing, though, compares to the nearby Vermont City Marathon for the native of Keeseville, New York.
“This one is home, it’s that home crowd. It’s the race that hugs you,” said Murphy, a cancer survivor.
Murphy praised the race — VCM handcyslists have competed in a half-marathon in each of the last two years for safety reasons with the double-looped course for marathoners — and the atmosphere in retaining her crown from 2023. Sunday, she recorded a performance of 57:33.
“It was a little toasty and few bumps here and there, but the crowds made up for that,” said Murphy, who has raced at VCM for the better part of a decade.
Erik Corbett also repeated on the men’s side for handcylists. The Conway, New Hampshire, resident finished in 57:16.
Contact Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
Vermont
The 7 Best Vermont Events This Week: November 13-20, 2024 | Seven Days
Timeless Tale
Opens Wednesday 20
Northern Stage presents Disney’s consummate musical Beauty and the Beast at Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction. The enduring tale follows bookish Belle, her beastly captor and their unlikely budding romance. The moral of the story rings true no matter your age or creed: Learn to look beyond appearances, and magic just might happen.
Print On
Saturday 16
The Herald’s 150th Anniversary Celebration at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph toasts the White River Valley newspaper’s sesquicentennial in style. Readers mark the momentous occasion with historical storytelling, live music and a canapé buffet — and proceeds benefit the paper’s future operations. From one periodical to another: Let’s hear it for the weeklies!
Pitch Perfect
Friday 15 & Saturday 16
Opera Vermont’s world premiere of Truman & Nancy at Barn Opera in Brandon brings the haunting story of Truman Capote’s legacy to the stage. Based on Andre Parks’ graphic novel Capote in Kansas, the poignant one-act explores the iconic yet troubled writer’s artistic choices and relationships as he grapples with his crowning literary achievement, In Cold Blood.
Euro Trip
Friday 15-Sunday 17
The spirit of the season is alight in the heart of downtown Burlington with the return of BTV Winter Market at City Hall Park. The annual European-style outdoor market showcases a rotating group of local makers and vendors every weekend through December 22. The festive atmosphere is made even merrier with cozy fires, games and music.
Tickled Pink
Saturday 16
Pink Floyd tribute band Floydian Trip rocket to our side of the moon for an evening of stellar ’70s sounds and visuals at Barre Opera House. The group combines lasers, projections and special effects with stunning note-for-note renditions of crowd-pleasing favorites. The end result? An authentic conjuring of psychedelic vibes from the real-deal tours of yore.
Communal Offering
Saturday 16
After sold-out screenings at the Vermont International Film Festival last month, Far Out: Life On & After the Commune is back by popular demand at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier. The documentary illuminates 1960s counterculture in rural America, using both contemporary interviews and original archival footage to highlight communes in Guilford, Vt., and Montague, Mass.
Snapshot Decisions
Ongoing
Vermont artist Ross Connelly‘s “Protest” exhibition at T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier couldn’t be more pertinent to election month. Taken in the late 1960s, the black-and-white photographs showcase historic moments of social upheaval and political unrest. The artist hopes these images encourage dialogue, noting: “Democracy depends on that.”
Vermont
Historic Vermont Ski Area Will Be Without One Of Its Core Chairlifts This Winter
South Pomfret, Vermont – Saskadena Six’s oldest chairlift could be knocking on heaven’s door.
As part of Ski Vermont’s What’s New press release for the 2024-25 season, Saskadena Six (formerly known as Suicide Six) announced that Chair Two won’t operate this season due to mechanical issues. Saskadena Six is currently assessing whether it’s better to repair the nearly fifty-year-old lift or replace it with a new one.
Opened during the 1978-79 season, Chair Two services beginner and intermediate terrain. It’s the next step for beginners who have become comfortable skiing around the Snow Day covered conveyor lift. In addition, the Chair Two area is home to their terrain parks.
I think this would’ve been a bigger deal a few years ago. Before last winter, when Chair Two wasn’t open, the only way to get guests to this terrain pod was by going on The Gully trail. However, The Gully doesn’t have snowmaking, leading it to rarely being open, and if it’s open, it typically has thin coverage. However, the opening of Duane’s Drop (pictured below) last season gives guests coming from the top of Chair One the ability to reach the terrain over at Chair Two. In addition, Duane’s Drop has snowmaking coverage.
However, it’s still a loss for them, as it gave beginners riding the Snow Day lift an easier lift to try out before heading up to the Summit. Getting to Chair One from Snow Day is a long skate or walking experience, especially for novices.
Other offseason projects at Saskadena Six included a flatter unloading ramp from Chair One, widening the Easy Mile trail, cleaning up the Porcupine glade, and adding more low-energy snowmaking guns.
Image/Video Credits: Saskadena Six
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Vermont
David Elliot Butler – VTDigger
Birth Aug. 6, 1960
Berlin, Vermont
Death Oct. 28, 2024
Johnson, Vermont
Details of service
A memorial service will be held on Dec 21, 2024, at Lamoille Valley Church of the Nazarene in Johnson, VT. The service will begin at 10 a.m.
Raised in Berlin, VT, David graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in forestry. David was known for his work in the maple sugar industry, his love of the woods, training retrievers and helping others to learn how to work their dogs.
He was the President of the Lake Champlain Retriever Club. As an American Kennel Club Retriever Hunt Test judge, he was known all over New England. His passion was training retrievers and also encouraging and instructing their owners. He was a Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Hunter safety instructor as well as a member of the planning board of Johnson.
Best of all, he will be remembered for his ready smile, grand story telling and indefatigable optimism, particularly in the last couple of years as he courageously battled cancer.
He died at home, near his woods. In addition to his three siblings, Bruce Butler, Mary Asper, Raechel Patch, and their children, he is survived by two daughters, Kathryn and Rebecca. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the David Butler Memorial Fund to help with their education. Donations should be sent to 23 Foothills Dr, Jericho, VT 05465.
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