The Birds of Vermont Museum is hosting the second annual Race Around Birds trail run! There are two options for runners (and walkers), and you can even do both:
Race Day run: Saturday, November 6th, at 10a.m. This is a typical trail run, although there is both a one-lap and two-lap option. We can welcome up to 50 runners.
On-Your-Own (Virtual) Race: choose a day between October 23 and November 5th, run one or two laps, and record your time on the paper forms (available at the Museum’s front door).
Race results are in, and posted in our blog.
To Register
While registering is free, we encourage donations to cover the cost of post-race snacks and water. You may register for Race Day (group race), Virtual (self-timed) race, or both.
Course Description
This is a trail race with some steep uphill climbs. Some segments are more like single-track mountain trails. This is a HARD course.
One lap or two? There are two options, short and long, using the same course (trails): a one-lap 3.6-mile race, and a two-lap 7.2-mile race. (Distances are approximate.)
The course is well-marked and you will return to the Museum in the middle of each lap. There are no supplies and no first aid stations on the course. Bathrooms and water are available only if the Museum is open (Wednesdays through Sundays, 10am – 4pm, in October only).
The course is essentially a loop on each side of the road. Think of it as a figure 8 (although the loop on the north side of the creek is more convoluted than a simple loop).
If you are doing the short race, you will run the course once (lap one uses green numbers on the map). For the longer race, you cover the course twice, but on the second pass you run the opposite direction (lap two is labelled in purple on the map).
How It Works
You may run or walk the course.
On the November 6th Race Day, runners will start at 10 a.m.
For the On-Your-Own (Virtual) Race, runners and walkers may come to the Museum at any time from daylight to dusk from October 23 to November 5. No dogs and no nights. You may run (or walk) the course multiple times on different days, in order to improve your times, and you may enter both the short (one-lap) and long (two-lap) race. You may run in groups of up to three or four.
For this option, you will keep track of your own start and finish times. Time-keeping forms will be in a marked box to the left of the Museum’s front door. Fill out a form for each day you race. Then, when you’re ready to run, take a map (if you needed), get to the start line (the west end of the parking lot by the parking sign), mark your starting time, and GO! Afterward, fill in your finish time (you’ll finish on the other side of the road) and drop it in the box.
If you are running on Race Day, please carpool. We have limited parking.
But wait, there’s more!
If you share photos or comments online, we encourage you to use these hashtags:
#RaceAroundBirds #RaceAroundBirds2021 #birdsofvermontmuseum #runningisforthebirds #trailrace #virtualrace #huntingtonvt #trailrunning #trailrunner
Send questions to trailrunning@birdsofvermont.org!
Printable race packets (trail map, course notes, entry form, waiver) are available as PDFs:
- Full info packet (6pp with info, course map, entry form, waiver): Race Around Birds 2021: full printable info packet
- Race info and course description only (4pp): Race Around Birds 2021: info and course description with map
- Entry form and waiver (2pp): Race Around Birds 2021: Entry Form and Waiver (useful if you are running more than once!)
- Just the course map: Race Around Birds 2021: course map (shows laps)
- A detailed trail map which doesn’t show the race laps: Trails at the Birds of Vermont Museum (map)
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