Vancouver Running Festival launches in place of city’s Rock ‘n’ Roll race

In late January, it was announced that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Vancouver Half and James Cunningham Seawall 10K were cancelled and that the event would continue instead under the management of the race’s historic operator.

Enter the Vancouver Running Festival. The recently-launched venture is the name of the race weekend which will take the place of the Rock ‘n’ Roll circuit stop in Vancouver. The Vancouver Running Festival is a collaboration between local clubs and businesses, the Vancouver running community and Lions Gate Road Runners– the group which founded the James Cunningham Seawall Race, and was the aforementioned race operator. (The 2016 event was known as the Oasis Rock ‘n’ Roll 10K.) The Lions Gate Road Runners will co-host the James Cunningham Seawall Race.

READ MORE: What killed the Vancouver Rock ‘n’ Roll Half?

The three-day 2017 event will be held Oct. 20-22. There will be a 5K, a 10K (though that may change), and a 21.1K, known as the Granville Half-Marathon. According to Jordan Myers, event co-founder and producer, the Granville Half-Marathon’s course will be similar to the route of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Vancouver Half with a “a few minor tweaks with the city.”

For the James Cunningham Seawall Race, the organizers have an approved 10K course around Stanley Park. However, it’s expected that the Vancouver Running Festival and Lions Gate Road Runners will “poll runners and see what they would want.” Until 2014, the James Cunningham Seawall Race was approximately 9.65K (six miles).

“We’re putting this together for the Vancouver running community,” says Myers. “There are so many great running clubs, athletes and volunteers in this city. We are committed to supporting and showcasing the local running history, events, clubs, volunteers, businesses, craft breweries, restaurants, artists and landmarks that make Vancouver a uniquely awesome place to live and run. We want people who travel to this event to experience Vancouver the way locals do.”

The Cunningham Seawall Race will be on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.; the half-marathon will be on Sunday at 8 a.m. local time. A 5K fun run and 1K relay kick off the weekend on Friday. Registration for the event is currently open and more information can be found here.

The route will feature locally-crafted kilometre markers from different artists. There will be local entertainment on course as well, according to the organizers.