⏵ Course guide · Green Mountains trail marathon
The Von Trapp Mountain Marathon sends its field up and down about 3,800 feet of the Trapp Family Lodge trail network in Stowe, Vermont, capped by a scrambling climb to the Round Top summit with views of Mount Mansfield. I will walk you through the terrain first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a technical fall mountain marathon. Free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Ironwood Adventure Works race page. Race logistics change year to year, so confirm the current specifics before you commit.
The course mixes a significant amount of winding singletrack with rugged dirt and gravel road and trail sections across the Trapp Family Lodge trail network, gaining and losing about 1,900 feet per loop.
The centerpiece of the course is a scrambling climb to the summit of Round Top Mountain, hands-on-rock in stretches, that delivers breathtaking views of Mount Mansfield at the top. This is not a runnable switchback climb, treat it as a genuine scramble and budget real time for it rather than expecting to run through.
The race's own course notes flag this directly: the final 4 miles run downhill. Knowing that in advance changes how you pace the climbing sections earlier, since you can afford to work a little harder on the way up knowing there is a real downhill stretch waiting to close out the race.
The full marathon runs roughly two loops of the terrain for about 3,800 feet of total gain and loss, while the half marathon runs a shorter version starting an hour later at 9:00 AM. Both share the same trail network and the same Round Top character, just at different total volume.
With an 8-hour cutoff for the full marathon, you have room to respect the Round Top scramble without racing the clock, but flat-marathon pace expectations will mislead you here.
A grade-adjusted pace target works for the runnable climbing sections, but the Round Top scramble itself is closer to hiking and hands-on-rock movement than running. Plan your overall time with that section treated separately rather than folding it into an average pace number that will not hold up on the rock.
Knowing the last 4 miles are downhill changes the pacing math: a vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for the climbing-then-descending structure gives a more honest number than a flat average. Check that estimate against the 4:00 PM cutoff early enough that you can adjust effort on the earlier climbs if needed.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Mid-October in Stowe generally means cool, comfortable temperatures, more forgiving on fluid needs than a summer mountain race but still demanding real fueling discipline through the climbing.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and if you are running the full marathon, use the halfway drop bag station to stage exactly the fuel you want heading into the second half's climbing and the Round Top scramble.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners in cool fall conditions. Plan your layering around the two aid stations at miles 4 and 9 as much as your fueling, since a cool October morning in the Green Mountains can feel very different than a sun-exposed afternoon descent.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a crisp Vermont fall day with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness and this exact Round Top climbing profile. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the scrambling legs the summit push demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
It is a genuinely tough single-track marathon, not a scenic jog through the Trapp Family Lodge grounds. Each loop gains and loses about 1,900 feet, which stacks to roughly 3,800 feet for the full marathon, and the signature feature is a scrambling climb to the summit of Round Top Mountain, hands-on-rock in places, that rewards you with views of Mount Mansfield. Winding singletrack mixed with rugged dirt and gravel sections keeps the technical difficulty up even outside the summit scramble.
The course runs through the Green Mountains on the Trapp Family Lodge trail network, combining a significant amount of winding singletrack with rugged dirt and gravel road and trail sections. The centerpiece is a scrambling climb to the summit of Round Top Mountain, with breathtaking views of Mount Mansfield at the top. The race's own course notes flag that the last 4 miles are downhill, a welcome detail to know is coming as you work through the climbing earlier in the race.
Mid-October in Stowe means crisp fall temperatures and colorful foliage, generally cooler and more forgiving than a summer mountain race. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range. Aid stations sit around miles 4 and 9, and full marathon runners get a drop bag station at the halfway point, worth using to stage exactly what you want for the second half's climbing before the final downhill stretch. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The course closes at 4:00 PM, giving full marathon runners starting at 8:00 AM an 8-hour window to cover the distance and roughly 3,800 feet of climbing. Given the technical singletrack and the Round Top scramble, respect that window rather than assuming a flat-marathon pace will translate directly.
Only with some technical trail and scrambling experience already banked. The Round Top summit push involves real hands-on-rock terrain, and roughly 3,800 feet of gain and loss over marathon distance is a serious step beyond a typical road or rolling trail marathon. If you have trained on technical New England singletrack and want a scenic fall race with genuine mountain views as the payoff, the 8-hour cutoff gives a well-prepared runner real room to finish.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/von-trapp-mountain-marathon">The Von Trapp Mountain Marathon course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/von-trapp-mountain-marathon" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Von Trapp Mountain Marathon course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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