Quebec City Marathon announces major changes to race course

The Quebec City Marathon experienced a complete makeover in recent months, first changing the dates of the race and more recently unveiling an entirely new course.

The Oct. 12-14, 2018 event, pushed back in the year from its traditional August running, revamped its 10K, half-marathon and marathon courses with the 42.2K now taking place entirely on the Quebec City side of the St. Lawrence River. Previously, the Quebec City Marathon began in Levis, located on the south side of the river, and finished in the heart of Quebec City, a point-to-point course. Recall that the new date of the marathon falls after the Boston Marathon qualifying date for the proceeding year. (A time from the 2018 race will first be eligible in 2020.)

The marathon course moving forward passes by, or through, some of the city’s most popular landmarks and locations including the Parliament building, Old Quebec, Saint-Roch, Saint-Sauveur, Old Limoilou, the Old Port, the Petit Champlain district, Montcalm, the Plains of Abraham and Sillery (to name a few), according to race organizers. The new course, not a point-to-point, will no longer require shuttling to the start line, Boston Marathon style. Plus, passing through Place Royale means running on a portion of cobblestone streets.

The first 21.1K of the marathon is net downhill while the second half is net uphill, according to the race’s elevation profile.

New marathon course

The half-marathon and 10K follow parts of the marathon course, all three races of which are scheduled for the Sunday of race weekend in mid-October. More details on the course revisions can be found here.