Vancouver Marathon

The BMO Vancouver Marathon is an annual race held on the first Sunday of May each year in Vancouver, British Columbia. As the second largest international marathon in Canada, it has a certified running distance of 26 miles and 385 yards long. The marathon saw over 14,000 people participate on May 4, 2014, with over 3700 completing the marathon distance. This marathon is certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations & Association of International Marathons and Distance Races as a qualifying marathon race.

The race started in 1972, when a small group of 46 runners ran five loops of Stanley Park to complete the first Vancouver International Marathon (known as Lions Gate Road Runners International Marathon). The marathon grew over the next few years to 300 participants in 1977. However the event suffered a major setback in 1976 when a participant, Dr. Leslie Truelove, collapsed mid-race and died due to aneurysm. The Dr. Leslie Truelove Memorial Trophy was established to honour the first male finisher in the 50+ age category. His widow, Rosamund Dashwood, subsequently took up running and became a national champion for her age group.

The 1983 race became known as the "Long Marathon" after runners were misdirected during its running — adding an extra 561 yards to the race.

Currently, several different options are available for participants:

• Full Marathon (a Boston Marathon qualifying event) – 42 km
• Half Marathon – 21 km
• 8K – 8 km

Its current title sponsor is the BMO Bank of Montreal thus the marathon is known as BMO Vancouver Marathon. Previous title sponsor was Adidas in 2001–2005, known as the Adidas Vancouver International Marathon.

Organization

The event is hosted by the Vancouver International Marathon Society (VIMS), a non-profit organization run by a volunteer Board of Directors, and managed by staff of the Society.

Each year, VIMS recruit volunteers to help with pre-race preparations and race day operation. In total, about 4000 volunteers help to run the marathon smoothly. Volunteers help in areas such as water stations, medical stations, set-up/take down, food services, given out shirts & medals to runners.

Event details

A free Friendship Run organized by the Running Room is held during the race week for those who wish to participate.

Expo

The Marathon is kicked off by an Expo where runners to pick up their information packages and to receive promotional materials from various sponsors and athletic associations.

Race Day

All participants start off using a staggered time system to ensure timing accuracy. Along the race course, various safety officials are on course, including paramedics and amateur radio operators from VECTOR (Vancouver Emergency Community Telecommunications Organization).

The award ceremony are held on race day. Cash prizes will be presented to the top three male and female full and half marathon runners while merchandise will be awarded to the fastest relay team.

Past winners – Full marathon

Year	Male winner			Female winner
1972	Tom Howard		2:24:08	Patricia Loveland		3:39:23
1973	Tom Howard		2:21:46	Deborah Collins		3:24:39
1974	Tom Howard		2:14:34	Maria Brzezinska		3:03:15
1975	Joe Skaja		2:22:30	Linda Winslow		3:06:49
1976	Ross Jackson		2:22:30	Doris Brown Heritage		2:47:34
1977	Chris Bolter		2:22:36	Meg Gordon		3:14:32
1978	John Hill		2:20:49	Gail McKean		2:55:33
1979	Bill Scott		2:15:56	Gail McKean		2:44:53
1980	Garry Henry		2:13:14	Marilyn Belwood		2:45:27
1981	Brian Morgan		2:19:42	Nancy McLaren		2:48:23
1982	Steve Pomeroy		2:16:56	Sue Krenn		2:45:25
1983	Paul Bannon		2:19:42	Beverly Bush		2:45:23
1984	Ric Sayre		2:16:34	Carol Raven		2:52:03
1985	Adrian Wellington		2:24:24	Kikue Tejima		2:55:32
1986	Hiromi Nishi		2:21:14	Joi Belyk		2:45:37
1987	Tetsuji Iwase		2:21:12	Cathy Kroll		2:46:50
1988	Mitsumasa Matsuyama		2:19:20	Isabelle Dittberner		2:50:33
1989	Shem-Tov Sabag		2:19:41	Anne Mangal		2:50:05
1990	Yoshikazu Tanese		2:23:47	Reiko Hirosawa		2:55:41
1991	Shigemi Tamori		2:25:01	Misao Miyata		2:52:14
1992	Masato Kojima		2:23:24	Yuka Terumuma		2:43:16
1993	Hayashi Morozumi		2:18:37	Eniko Feher		2:47:27
1994	Makoto Sasaki		2:17:24	Eniko Feher		2:46:24
1995	Graciano Gonzalez		2:23:11	Yoko Okuda		2:48:50
1996	Juan Gonzalez		2:17:47	Eniko Feher		2:52:38
1997	Juan Gonzalez		2:22:53	Eniko Feher		2:49:56
1998	Juan Gonzalez		2:22:48	Krystina Pieczulis		2:43:20
1999	Atsunari Saito		2:21:33	Krystina Pieczulis		2:43:46
2000	Ulrich Steidl		2:18:53	Krystina Pieczulis		2:45:32
2001	Ulrich Steidl		2:18:56	Leteyesus Berehe		2:45:51
2002	Ulrich Steidl		2:17:01	Angela Strange		2:45:46
2003	Ulrich Steidl		2:20:22	Angela Strange		2:46:22
2004	Ulrich Steidl		2:18:26	Mary Akor		2:44:43
2005	Kassahun Kabiso		2:15:40	Rimma Dubovik		2:44:05
2006	Kassahun Kabiso		2:18:28	Malgorzata Sobanska		2:37:06
2007	Thomas Omwenga		2:25:27	Claudia Camargo		2:35:50
2008	Thomas Omwenga		2:15:59	Mary Akor		2:37:54
2009	Benard Arasa Onsare		2:28:26	Mary Akor		2:46:24
2010	Thomas Omwenga		2:16:55	Emma Muthoni Kiruki		2:37:17
2011	Benard Arasa Onsare		2:19:54	Keddi-Anne Sherbino		2:43:40
2012	Gezahgn Eshetu		2:21:51	Ellie Greenwood		2:42:16
2013	Thomas Omwenga		2:24:09	Lucy Njeri		2:40:34
2014	Berhanu Mekonnen		2:21:08	Kimberley Doerksen		2:37:00
2015	Luka Chelimo		2:18:37	Lioudmila Kortchaguina		2:37:37
2016	Daniel Kipkoech		2:21:04	Hirut Guangul		2:39:52
2017	Daniel Kipkoech		2:19:09	Gladys Tarus		2:39:38
2018	Rob Watson		2:27:38	Zhiling Zheng		2:43:50
2019	Yuki Kawauchi		2:15:01	Yuko Mizuguchi		2:41:28
2020	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
2021
2022	Chris Balestrini		2:23:56	Dayna Pidhoresky		2:34:30
2023	Yuki Kawauchi		2:17:04	Dayna Pidhoresky		2:34:25

• Note: Bold face text denotes current course record holder.

Current World Records established at the Vancouver Marathon

MARATHON

• May 1, 2005 BJ (BETTY JEAN) McHUGH of North Vancouver, BC Canada established a world W77 single age Marathon record with a time of 4:11:28
• May 3, 2009 GWEN McFARLAN of Richmond, BC, Canada established a World W75 age group Marathon record for and a W75 single age world record with a time of 3:57:30

HALF MARATHON

• May 4, 1997 BJ (BETTY JEAN) McHUGH of North Vancouver, BC Canada established a world W69 single age Half Marathon record with a time of 1:41:39
• May 4, 2008 BJ (BETTY JEAN) McHUGH of North Vancouver, Canada (Single age record for Women aged 80 years old, 2:04:19 Half Marathon)
• May 2, 2010 GWEN McFARLAN of Richmond, BC, Canada established a World W76 single age Half Marathon record a world record with a time of 1:52:23
• May 2, 2010 BJ (BETTY JEAN) McHUGH of North Vancouver, BC Canada established a W82 world single age Half Marathon record with a time of 2:23:08

Race Dates

The race is held on the first Sunday of May each year.

• May 2, 2010 (39th)
• May 1, 2011 (40th)
• May 6, 2012 (41st)
• May 5, 2013 (42nd)
• May 4, 2014 (43rd)
• May 3, 2015 (44th)
• May 8, 2016 (45th)
• May 7, 2017 (46th)
• May 6, 2018 (47th)
• May 5, 2019 (48th)
• Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 race was cancelled, while the 2021 event was virtualized.

Controversy

After the 2015 Vancouver Marathon, a video surfaced regarding the lack of coordination with traffic police. Runners were stopped mid-race at intersections. The Marathon director addressed the video and as of 2016, the race no longer begins in waves. Now all runners begin once the gun goes off.

Cancellations

The 2020 edition of the marathon was replaced with a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition was also cancelled and replaced with virtual events.

See also

• List of marathon races in North America

External links

• BMO Vancouver Marathon
• Race Headquarters – Official results listing
• Marathon Guide – Vancouver Marathon
• Lions Gate Road Runners