Cam Levins to race close to home at Royal Victoria Half-Marathon

Canada’s marathon and half-marathon record holder Cam Levins has chosen to race close to home at the Royal Victoria Half-Marathon on Oct. 8, in his preparations for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 5.

Last week, Levins pulled out of the half-marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia. Levins said he underestimated how significant the travel and recovery would be to and from the event. The championships would be a 20-hour trip for Levins each way with two layovers if he flew from his home in Portland, Ore. Levins and his coach Jim Finlayson decided the long trip would not be ideal in his build for New York. 

According to Times Colonist, Levins aims to target the Royal Victoria half-marathon course record of 62:32, which is currently held by British Olympian Jon Brown, who was fourth in the marathon at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics. Levins has a personal best time of 60:18 for the half-marathon, set at Vancouver’s First Half earlier this year. 

The half-marathon will be close to home for Levins, who grew up three hours north of Victoria in Black Creek, B.C., where his parents, Gus and Barb Levins, still reside.

Cam Levins to take on TCS New York City Marathon

The Royal Victoria Marathon weekend is experiencing a resurgence after being disrupted by the pandemic. Last year saw the long-awaited return of the marathon, with 7,934 participants coming back after the pandemic hiatus. This year, organizers are optimistic about the event’s growth, aiming to reach 10,000 participants.

In March, the 34-year-old broke his Canadian marathon record for the second time in less than a year, clocking an impressive 2:05:36 for fifth place at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. This was also the fastest time ever recorded by a North American, surpassing American Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:05:38 from the 2002 London Marathon.

Levins’s remarkable run in Tokyo not only met the Olympic standard of 2:08:10 but also secured his spot on Team Canada’s marathon squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics next July. His journey to the 2023 New York Marathon in November is all in preparation for his pursuit of Olympic glory in Paris, which is expected to be one of the most difficult Olympic marathon courses to date.