By JoAnn Hanowski

In the heart of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont lies the sleepy village of Craftsbury and the nearby Craftsbury Nordic Center, home of the Craftsbury Ski Marathon. The race, held the last Saturday of January for the past 27 years, is the largest and oldest of the New England marathon races and is also a member of the American Ski Marathon Series, which includes 13 events – covering every weekend from January through March – across the country from Vermont to Alaska.

On most winter days, traffic into and out of Craftsbury includes mostly skiers traveling to the Craftsbury Nordic Center. However, on the last weekend of January for the past 27 years this sleepy little village bustles with color and excitement when up to 1,000 cross country skiers and their families come to town to tackle the Craftsbury Ski Marathon. Many of the participants come from Vermont and the remainder from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. Most of the skiers are between 45 and 49 years of age and men are slightly more likely to participate (58 percent) than women (42 percent).

This region of Vermont is a working landscape of family farms, woodlands and sugar woods. Its geographical location, safely between the steeper terrain of the Green Mountains to the west and the White Mountains to the east, provides rolling hills with open fields and both boreal and hardwood forests. It is this nicely undulating terrain, with both open and forested areas, that make this region of the country ideal for cross country skiing.

This variety, plus picturesque red barns and pastoral views, make the Craftsbury Marathon unique among marathons of the American Ski Marathon Series according to race director John Brodhead.

Brodhead should know. He has been the race director for every Craftsbury Marathon to date. He commented, “Putting on the marathon each year is probably the most stressful experience of my lifetime. The week before, I swear to myself that I am not going to ever do it again. A week later, after reading the cascade of appreciative emails, cards and online feedback, I start looking forward to another year.”

Although the terrain here is not steep, the skiing is challenging. The marathon’s website suggests that participants have an intermediate-to-advanced skill and fitness level to compete in the 50km event. They are not kidding. There is a training plan on the web site to help skiers get in shape. In addition to the stamina required for the long but skiable climbs, skiers need to negotiate equally long downhills, some with un-forgiving turns that can send the timid skier into the sugar bush.

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