On May 24-27, runners across the country will descend upon the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, the country’s longest running marathon which first began on August 10, 1963. If there’s someone on your Christmas list who’s a runner, a bib to this super cool race makes a great gift (actually, denomination aside, a race bib, anywhere, as a present kinda rules). Here’s 11 things we love about the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon.
11. The race offers a 50K ultra. Leave it to the bountiful terrain of Alberta to open itself up so much to us runners.
10. The charity component. Like every race in the Scotiabank portfolio, Calgary Marathon offers runners a chance to compete in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. Running is always worthwhile. Running for someone else is divine.
9. “Race recyclers,” a team of volunteers picking up discarded race debris, is just one of many green initiatives making up the Sustainability Program of the event.
8. Trevor Hofbauer and Emily Setlack, two of Calgary’s finest, are on your next cover of iRun. Trev just won Toronto and Emily took Philadelphia, are Calgarian athletes taking over our sport?
7. Marathon course takes you past the Calgary Zoo and finishes beside the Calgary Stampede. A few different ways to channel your spirit animal.
6. There’s both a family walk and a kid’s marathon. For runners schlepping their children, plenty of family-friendly activities to keep the little ones satisfied.
5. Let’s go back to how old this race is. Did you know, when it first started, that it was run, in its entirety, by 19 men?
4. Calgary is home to an extraordinary amount of cool run crews and race clubs, like YYC Wheezers and Mission District. Want to see a bunch of them in their socks (see page 40)?
3. See for yourself. This is a link to a live broadcast that aired last year on Shaw.
2. The marathon is a Boston qualifier, plus wheelchairs are allowed in every event.
1. The people are friendly, the course is great, the race director, Kirsten Fleming, is totally approachable, open-minded and dedicated to a putting on a top notch event, and this year, all that the race needs is you.
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