The 2026 Vermont City Marathon: A Breakthrough at Long Last

by GRP runner Rachel Schilkowsky

As I began thinking about how to recap this race and what it meant to me, I decided to first read through the recap I wrote last fall following my bittersweet day at the Hartford Marathon. What struck me most while reading that piece was just how different my mindset and approach had been compared to the Vermont City Marathon (VCM) not just in the race itself but also in the leadup. 

Three months before Hartford, I was already deep in marathon training. Three months before VCM, I was trying to break 4:40 for a mile on the indoor track. I signed up for Hartford because the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying window had just opened and I felt obligated to try and qualify. I signed up for VCM because I had just had a big breakthrough in the half marathon and I thought it would be fun to see what I could do in the full off an abbreviated build. My goals for Hartford were entirely outcome-based: hit the OTQ, break the course record, win the race. My goals for VCM were all about the process: get the fueling right (finally), nail the pacing, compete with confidence and heart. 

Knowing that I typically thrive off spontaneity and a genuine love for training and racing, it is little wonder that I struggled at Hartford but excelled at VCM. At Hartford, I was driven by expectation and external validation and tried to force things when I clearly wasn’t ready. At VCM, I was driven by enjoyment and curiosity and let things unfold naturally. While my race at VCM was by no means perfect, there were so many positive takeaways that I will forever remember it not just as the marathon where I finally broke through, but as the one that rekindled my love for the 26.2 mile distance. 

The Good

I ran a nearly two and a half minute PR of 2:35:51 and qualified for the 2028 US Olympic Marathon Trials.

Although I truly did not have a specific time goal for this race, I was extremely happy and honestly even more so relieved to see 2:35 on the clock as I came down the finishing chute. Up until now, my marathon time has been a massive negative outlier amongst all my PRs from the mile up. I knew that this was largely because I kept shooting myself in the foot by not dialing in my fueling, but I still had begun to wonder if I simply was not cut out for the marathon. Finally running a time that reflects my fitness and potential has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders and given me renewed confidence that I belong in this event. Qualifying for the 2028 Trials also means a great deal to me, especially since I qualified for the 2020 Trials but didn’t race and then missed the entire 2024 cycle due to my two pregnancies. 

The Better

I did not bonk or end up in a port-a-potty. 

In every other marathon I’ve done, I have either bonked at some point in the final 10k or ended up in at least one port-a-potty (at Hartford last fall, I somehow managed to do both). So, for me to have completed an entire marathon without either of those things transpiring feels like nothing short of a miracle. The main reason why I was able to avoid my previous fate is because I finally put in the work to dial in my fueling (I used salted strawberry SiS GO Energy + Electrolyte gels which I took every 4 miles). The other reason is that I took two Imodium about an hour before the race began. Not having to worry about if/when I would hit The Wall or need the bathroom was so mentally freeing, especially during the final miles of the race. It allowed me to stay focused and in a competitive mindset, which is ultimately why I was able to hang on for the OTQ.

The Best

I crossed the finish line and immediately said to myself, “I can’t wait to do that again.”

Over the last few years, I have fallen into the routine of running a marathon in the fall and then immediately pivoting to indoor track. This is partly because I genuinely love racing on the track, but also because my recent marathons have been so scarring that I’ve felt the need to get as far away from the event as possible while I recover emotionally. Following VCM though, things have been completely different. The race was such an enjoyable and empowering experience that I genuinely cannot wait to be back on another marathon start line. I spent much of the four-hour drive home from Vermont to Rhode Island looking up races and talking with my husband about my future marathon goals. Less than a week after the race, I had signed up for not one but two fall marathons (Hartford and Philadelphia, which are 6 weeks apart)! Being able to carry this kind of momentum from one marathon to the next is going to help me progress so much as a marathoner. Instead of starting from scratch, which is essentially what I’ve been doing the last several years, I’ll be heading into this next marathon training cycle with confidence, excitement, and clear path forward.