Organizers are expecting more than 15,000 participants to run, walk or roll through the streets of Victoria and Oak Bay in the marathon, scheduled for the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
It was first known as “jogging” and popularized by Jim Fixx’s 1977 landmark bestsellerThe Complete Book of Running.
Running for recreation and sport has since waxed and waned. But every city it seems has annual road events, many several, and road racing is now again in vogue and on the ascent.
That is evidenced in the burgeoning numbers announced Tuesday for the 45th Royal Victoria Marathon scheduled for Oct. 11-12. Organizers said it is positioned to be the largest in the four-decade-plus history of the event with more than 10,000 participants already registered to date, well out from fall.
Organizers are expecting more than 15,000 participants to run, walk or roll through the streets of Victoria and Oak Bay on the Thanksgiving Day weekend. That is up from 12,185 last year and a dramatic increase from the 9,069 in 2023 as the impacts of the pandemic continue to recede.
Royal Victoria Marathon executive director Cathy Noel described it as “incredible growth.”
“We sold out in 2023, so we increased our capacity numbers for 2024. We then sold out again, so increased it again for this year, never thinking we would hit the numbers we are seeing,” added Noel.
“When we increase our caps, it is an ongoing conversation with our sponsors, suppliers and operations team to ensure we are able to continue to deliver an amazing experience for each and every participant. It is so exciting for not just our running community, but the Greater Victoria community as well as the revenue to the city during the long weekend is incredible.”
Organizers estimate the economic impact to the region this year will be more than $15 million.
“As we approach our 45th Royal Victoria Marathon, and celebrate over 210,000 participants since 1980, that means there are also 210,000 unique stories about the Royal Victoria experience,” Noel said in a statement.
“We are so proud to be part of these stories, and that even after 45 years, we are growing.”
The weekend will feature the Island Savings 5K and the Thrifty Foods Kids Run in Oak Bay on Oct. 11 with the Royal Victoria Marathon, Half Marathon and 8K on Oct. 12 beginning and ending in the Legislative precinct after creating a pounding ribbon of humanity through the streets of Victoria and Oak Bay on an out-and-back route that makes extensive use of the waterfront.
The Royal Victoria has long been a qualifier for the famed Boston Marathon. It is the fall bookend to each spring’s Times Colonist 10K and is following the trend of the latter. The TC 10K continued is upward trajectory and recovery from the pandemic with 9,049 participants in for its 36th running in April. That was up from the 8,600 participants in 2024, 7,500 in 2023 and the 5,500 in the first race after the pandemic in 2022. The 2020 race was cancelled due to COVID-19 and the 2021 event was held virtually.
“We are continuing to grow since COVID. People are coming back to road racing and we have seen a five to 10 percent increase each year,” said Mark deFrias, producer of the TC10K.
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