2015 Canadian Marathon Review

Now that the Canadian marathon season has come to a close, we look back on the year that was and highlight some of the key moments, figures and people that made the year memorable.

Let’s start with a list outlining the 25 largest events of 2015:

1. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, May 24th: 4,501 (-17.03)
2. Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Oct. 18th: 3,750 (-5.66)
3. BMO Vancouver Marathon, May 3rd: 3,576 (-5.40)
4. Rock’n’Roll Oasis Montreal Marathon, Sept. 20th: 3,024 (-10.51)
5. Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon, May 3rd: 1,357 (-9.77)
6. Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, Oct. 11th: 1,202 (-23.59)
7. Marathon SSQ Levis-Quebec, Aug. 30th: 1,098 (-13.95)
8. Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, May 31st: 879 (-45.67)
9. Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon, Nov. 1st: 766 (-14.22)
10. Niagara Falls International Marathon, Oct. 25th: 721 (-33.36)

11. Mississauga Marathon, May 3rd: 592 (-16.74)
12. Edmonton Marathon, Aug. 23rd: 585 (+9.55)
13. Manitoba Marathon (Winnipeg, Man.), June 21st: 554 (-1.60)
14. Queen City Marathon (Regina, Sask.), Sept. 13th: 351 (-7.63)
15. BMO Okanagan Marathon (Kelowna, B.C.), Oct. 11th: 310 (-16.22)
16. Marathon de Rimouski, Oct. 4th: 279 (-6.38)
17. Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon (Halifax, N.S.), May 17th: 276 (-2.13)
18. Banff Marathon, June 21st: 232 (-9.73)
19. Legs for Literacy Marathon (Moncton, N.B.), Oct. 26th: 191 (-9.05)
20. BMO Prince Edward Island Marathon, Oct. 18th: 176 (-44.30)
21. Saskatchewan Marathon (Saskatoon, Sask.), May 31st: 172 (-14.00)
22. Scotiabank Fredericton Marathon, May 11th: 166 (-24.89)
23. Woody’s RV World Marathon (Red Deer, Alta.), May 17th: 140 (3.70)
24. The County Marathon (Wellington, Ont.), Oct. 4th: 127 (-21.12)
25. Niagara Marathon (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.), June 20th: 109 (11.22)

Total: 25,134 (-13.14)

Looking at just the top 10 events, this list is unchanged from 2014 and saw no movement into or out of the top 10. A few changes within the list were Scotiabank Calgary slipping from fifth to eighth; Niagara Falls going from ninth to tenth; and the two Goodlife races, Toronto and Victoria, each moving up a spot as well as swapping spots (Toronto up; Victoria down).

Without a doubt the most interesting trend among the top marathons is that every event in the top 10 (and 22 of the top 25) saw an overall decrease in the number of finishers from 2014. This ranged from a five per cent decrease at BMO Vancouver to a whopping 45 percent decline at Scotiabank Calgary. The average change was 13 per cent fewer finishers in 2015, which when added up totals some 4,000 fewer finishers compared to a year earlier. Only Edmonton (+10), Woody’s RV World (+4) and the Niagara Marathon (+11) saw modest increases in 2015.

Many speculate a second consecutive and particularly long and nasty winter is to blame for the overall decrease in participation given the relatively long period of time needed to prepare. Others point to a saturation of the events calendar and the increasingly popularity of shorter events such as the half-marathon. Or perhaps this is an indication that the running, and more specifically, the marathon boom may have seen its peak.

Based on more than 30 events for which information is available we estimate that there were approximately 26,000 marathon finishes in Canada in 2015. Note that this does not account for those who may have run multiple marathons in 2015 and also ignores Canadians who ran marathons in other countries. As a comparison, the Running USA 2014 Marathon Report estimated that there were over 550,000 marathon finishes in the United States in 2014.

Fast times in Ottawa and Toronto

Girmay Birhanu of Ethiopia ran 2:08:14 at the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon on May 24th which was the fastest time run by a man on Canadian soil in 2015. Shure Demise of Ethiopia ran the fastest time by a woman on Canadian soil when she clocked 2:23:37 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 18th.

Eric Gillis was the fastest Canadian male (on Canadian soil). He ran 2:11:31 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. That same day in that same race, Lanni Marchant ran 2:28:09 missing her own Canadian record by a mere 10 seconds. That was not surprisingly the fastest time by a Canadian (in Canada or otherwise) in 2015. Reid Coolsaet ran the fastest time by a Canadian (2:10:28) but did so in Berlin.