Bus hits runner at Vancouver Fall Classic Half-Marathon

A male participant in Sunday’s Vancouver Fall Classic races was hit by a transit bus and taken to hospital. The incident occurred in the 5700 block of SW Marine Drive, east of UBC’s Westbrook Mall around 9:05 a.m. Note: this story was updated on November 7, 2018

RELATED: A Canadian race a week for all of 2018

According to local media reports, the man was in his late 50s. His injuries were reported as being “not life-threatening” and he is expected to recover. A bystander said the man was conscious when he was being loaded into the ambulance, but the bus’s windshield was shattered. 

RUNVAN and race director Eric Chéné provided the following details: “The injured individual was not a registered runner in the half-marathon. The individual was registered for the 10K, which had a start time of 10 a.m. The incident occurred at approximately 9:05 a.m.

“He had paced a friend in the half-marathon and left the course to return back to the 10K race, for which he had registered. Upon leaving the half-marathon course, the individual unfortunately crossed into oncoming traffic. The accident did not occur on the race course itself, but outside of the course.”

The event is sold-out, but you can still get involved by volunteering or donating to our charity partners, @GreaterVanYMCA & @EasterSealsBCY: https://t.co/g5D9aPgp0Y #runvan pic.twitter.com/D4mLULSmum

— Great Trek (@GreatTrekRun) October 30, 2018

RELATED: A Canadian race a week for all of 2018

The annual fall race, which is organized by RUNVAN, takes place on and around the University of British Columbia, and includes a half-marathon, a 10K and a 5K. This year’s race was sold out.

RUNVAN works with BC Road Safe, the BC Ministry of Transportation, Vancouver’s Metro Parks department and UBC to ensure runners’ safety during the race. Organizers say a full investigation is underway. They have been in contact with the individual, express their concern, and are grateful to first responders, including the event medical team, and to runners who responded quickly and took control of the situation.

No charges have been laid in the incident.

NOTE: Some of the details in this story were incorrect as originally reported. –eds.