50K relay will be added to the 2020 Calgary Marathon weekend event

Registration is now open for the 56th running of the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, May 31, 2020, and next year’s race weekend will offer an exciting new event: in addition to the very popular 50K ultra, which had 138 finishers in 2019, there will be a 50K relay, in which teams of two to four people can sign up to cover the distance together over four legs that vary from 7.8K to 18.6K.

In addition, Roundup registrants (who race the 5K at noon after completing one of the other distances in the morning) will receive a special Roundup bib and swag item, and finishers’ medals for both events can be combined into one super-medal, introduced in 2019.

Race distances include the GoodLife Fitness 5K, the Jugo Juice 10K, the Centaur Subaru 21.1K, the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon 42.2K, the 50K Ultra, the 50K Relay and the Scotiabank Kids Marathon, as well as the Roundup, in which runners may race any of the Sunday morning distances in addition to the 5K, which starts at noon.

“We launched this quietly last year, as it was something we heard from runners that they were doing already, running the 5K in addition to another distance at our race weekend,” says race director Kirsten Fleming, “and participants wanted it to be official. We didn’t realize how popular it would be, so we really formalized the program this year, streamlining the registration… and they get a special swag item in addition to their two medals (that fit together) and their two shirts.

They will have special bibs that identify them to people and their own package pick up area, and some surprises and delights along the way.”

The 50K relay reprises an event introduced for the race’s 50th anniversary in 2017, which was also Canada’s 150th birthday. It was called  the Confederation 150K, and it was so popular that people have been asking ever since if the race was going to bring back a relay of some kind. 

The regular 50K has also been Canada’s national 50K championship since 2014, and many past podium finishers have gone on to represent Canada at the world 50K championships.

posted Thursday September 5th
by Anne Francis