Leaf Peepers to descend on Waterbury-Duxbury Oct. 1

September 23, 2023 | By Waterbury Roundabout 

Runners start and finish at the State Office Complex in downtown Waterbury. File photo by Gordon Miller

Fall is officially here and that means leaf peepers of all varieties will be in Vermont soon. In Waterbury and Duxbury, that means the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon and 5K is fast approaching. 

The annual foot race is set for Sunday, Oct. 1. Registration is open through 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28. Each race is open to 500 participants. 

Organizers also say they could still use more volunteers to help things go smoothly. Volunteers serve as course marshals and assist with registration, water stops, post-race food, etc. Anyone interested in helping out can sign up using this online form. 

The state office complex on South Main Street is the starting and finishing spot with Duxbury’s River Road making up a large part of the courses. 

Runners can check in starting at 7 a.m. The half marathon start is 9 a.m.; the 5k starts at 9:15 a.m., both from Horseshoe Drive. 

The course runs from Main Street across the U.S. 2 Winooski River bridge to Vermont Route 100 into Duxbury to Main Street and River Road. The return sends runners along the Cross Vermont Trail back to the finish at the state complex. Alert to motorists in the area to be aware of race activity starting at 7 a.m. 

The race course takes runners along the cornfield on the Cross Vermont Trail. File photo by Gordon Miller

The Leaf Peepers Half Marathon began in 1984 and the 5K was added in 1990. Registration and more race details are online at leafpeepershalfmarathon.org. Results will be posted online at cvrunners.org.