Running News Daily

2021 Royal Victoria Marathon eyes live return in October with half marathon, 8K

The first announced live in-person road race on the Island in more than a year and a half will take place Oct. 10 with an abbreviated version of the Royal Victoria Marathon.

The full marathon will not take place but half-marathon and 8K distances will be run. Instead of a water bottle half-empty, organizers say it’s a water bottle half-full for event-starved runners.

“Lots of people will be excited to lace-up their shoes and start training for their first in-person race for over 18 months,” said Jonathan Foweraker, president of the Victoria Marathon Society, in a statement.

Race director Cathy Noel concurred: “It’s a great way to get back to a sense of normality in our community. Many of our enthusiastic volunteers are returning and will be cheering everyone throughout the race. We are very excited to return to an in-person race and know that runners will be equally thrilled to get to a start line and experience the excitement that builds prior to the gun going off.”

Despite the re-opening of sports, there are logistical reasons for not staging the full marathon distance, say the organizers.

“The marathon has traditionally attracted participants not only from Victoria and Vancouver but across Canada and abroad,” noted Foweraker.

“Not knowing exactly what travel will be like in the fall, we would prefer to stage the 41st Royal Victoria Marathon in 2022, when we can truly celebrate a return to running.”

Registration opens on Tuesday at runvictoriamarathon.com