On Belonging
The Vermont 100 supports participants from all walks of life, backgrounds, and abilities. We truly believe that everyone belongs on the trails and hope to encourage as many folks out there to explore the outdoors. We also acknowledge that this is an evolving process and we welcome open dialogue and feedback from folks regarding how we can improve the sense of belonging, or how we can take steps to support those who need supporting. We know it’s not as easy as a statement, or the policies listed below … But, we hope that these are at least a step in the right direction.
*Note: Many of the policies and statements found on this VT100 Event Policies page are shared from VT100 Race Director Amy Rusiecki’s affiliate organization, Beast Coast Trail Running. We encourage you to check them out for more inclusive race and event opportunities throughout Western Massachusetts.
Our DEI policies below are apply to runners of all identities, backgrounds, beliefs, and abilities. These principles extend also to crew, pacers, volunteers, sponsor businesses, spectators, and any other people or organizations participating in, or in association with, the Vermont 100. If you have any questions, concerns, or recommendations for improving these policies or DEI at our event, please contact us. Thank you!
TRANSGENDER & NON-BINARY ATHLETES
We will accept each entrant’s declared gender at face value, and no additional supporting evidence is required. Athletes may register as the gender they identify with.
Non-Binary and Gender Non-Conforming Athletes
We welcome those whose gender is not male or female; including but not limited to: genderqueer, agender, and bigender. We want to acknowledge, respect, and provide opportunity in the registration process to express your desired pronouns, and register as you identify.
We use RunReg.com, which allows you the option to select ‘Non-Binary’ or ‘Prefer Not to Answer’. While we recognize this may not be 100% the right fit, we appreciate that RunReg.com allows you to register closer to how you identify. Your results will reflect your registration.
We do allow those who register as Non-Binary to still compete against their hormonal peers for overall female category (estrogen-leaning athletes) and male category (testosterone-leaning athletes) awards and records. We will reach out to any athlete who registers as non-binary to let us know if they would like to compete for these awards, and if so which hormonal peer group is the best fit.
LGBTQIA+ ATHLETES
Our commitment to supporting transgender and non-binary athletes naturally extends to welcoming and encouraging athletes of every and any identity to participate in the Vermont 100. This includes but is not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender athletes. You are all integral and supported members of the beautiful trail and ultra community.
ATHLETES WITH DISABILITIES
We welcome and encourage all athletes to participate in our events, including mobility and visually impaired athletes. We maintain course records and provide awards for mobility and visually impaired athletes.
Further details regarding the applicable guidance for athletes with disabilities is here. If you have questions, have suggestions on how to modify the AWD guidance or need additional accommodations, please contact us.
*Please note that our equity and inclusion policies are a work in progress, as we continue to learn, grow, and hear from athletes. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, suggestions, comments, or feedback on how we can continue to provide a more inclusive and welcoming community.
BIPOC ATHLETES
We welcome those of all races, religions, and creeds to be part of the Vermont 100 and are actively working to deconstruct barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) athletes.
We affirm that Black Lives Matter and condemn all acts of racism, violence, or other unequal treatment of BIPOC athletes, crew, pacers, volunteers, sponsor businesses, spectators, or other event participants.
We are actively working to make our event a safe space for all. We promise to champion diversity and are committed to always improving our impact through your feedback and our own continued research and efforts to build true equity.
If you have questions or suggestions on how to elevate access and participation from BIPOC athletes, please contact us.
WEBSITE ACCESSILBIITY
The Vermont 100 is committed to putting its best foot forward to create an inclusive online experience, the same way we do our best to create an inclusive race experience. Website accessibility to the Vermont 100 is about making sure any website visitor of any ability can access or be assisted to access the content on our website the same as any other person … Continue reading our website accessibility statement here.
One of the things we strive for is to create inclusion and equality in the running community. As much as we want to say that all you need to run is a pair of shoes, we know the reality is much more complex. To create intentional space for people, we have a number of free entries (or reduced fee entries) for our races that we would like to extend to any athlete who needs the support, however hoping to encourage BIPOC and LGBTQ+ athletes. We would like to emphasize that these are not need based scholarships. These entries are an affirmation of belonging in our community. We are not in any way publicly advertising who accepts an entry, and you do not have to be an out member of the LGBTQ+ community to receive one. We are not questioning or asking for additional information from anyone who asks for an entry code, they will be handed out to anyone who asks for it, and as long as we have funding to do so.
If you would like a code, please email us at vt100@vermontadaptive.org. We have earmarked funds for for this within every event we host. Please feel free to share this offer with friends. If you support this, please sign up to participate in our races, volunteer at the events, or donate funds to ‘support a runner’ to help us expand this program!
Any runner who gets pregnant between the time of registration and the race date will be given the option to defer their entry for up to 2 years.
Congrats on the new ultra adventure you are welcoming into your family!
Any runner who is in the military and is given an assignment/deployment between their time of registration and the race date which will interfere with their ability to participate will be given the option to defer entry for 1 year.
We thank you for your service!
CUPLESS RACE
The Vermont 100 is a cupless race. That means that we’re cutting down on the amount of trash generated by not having single-use cups at aid stations or the start/finish area. Each runner should carry a portable/collapsable cup or bottle, or else plan to fill up a water bottle at the aid stations. For the start/finish, we recommend folks bring along a travel mug, or steel pint, to enjoy post-race beverages.
COURSE MARKINGS
The Vermont 100 uses a combination of yellow and purple pie plates, biodegradable chalk, and glow sticks at night to mark the 100-mile and 100-k courses. We do our best to recycle pie plates year after year, and all glow sticks are collected after the event and disposed of to the best standard possible.
TRASH/RECYCLING/COMPOSTING
The Vermont 100 aims to divert as much as possible to recycling and composting. We have specific bins/bags at the Friday night dinner, aid stations, and post-race meal to allow for this. We ask that participants at the event take a moment to think about where/how to dispose of each thing they throw away – to allow us to be more effective!
Further, we use compostable plates and silverware for the Friday dinner and post-race meal.
Please, contact us or email Race Director Amy Rusiecki. We are eager to help, and would love to hear your ideas on what else we can do!
