Calgary Marathon founder dies following weekend crash

Two-time Olympian and Calgary Marathon founder Doug Kyle is being remembered for his “resounding impact” as an athlete and race organizer after the 91-year-old’s death following a single-vehicle crash in Calgary on Sunday night.

Calgary police say Kyle was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Spark eastbound when his car veered off the road at an intersection near Ralph Klein Park, at around 9 p.m. He was taken to hospital in what was considered non-life-threatening condition, but died later in hospital. An investigation is continuing into the circumstances that led to his death. Early investigation ruled out drugs and alcohol as potential factors in the crash.

Everyone at the Hall is sad to hear the news of Honoured Member Doug Kyle’s passing. He was an incredible athlete who held many track records. He was inducted in 1959 as a Track & Field Athlete. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/p80gYc3AVu

— Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (@ABSportsHall) August 29, 2023

Leaving a legacy as both an accomplished elite athlete and a beloved running promoter, Kyle represented Canada at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, and again at the 1960 Summer Games in Rome. At the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, Kyle won silver in the men’s 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m. Kyle, who also competed in the 1954 British Empire Games, went on to represent Canada at the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil. Over his running career, he won 14 Canadian Open Championships and held Canadian Open records in 11 different distances.

It wasn’t uncommon for Kyle to wear the hats of athlete and running organizer at the same time; similarly, his efforts to promote running in Calgary went hand-in-hand with raising the sport’s profile across Canada. Such was the case in 1963 when Kyle and Bill Wylie organized the first Calgary Marathon in 1963.

As Canadian Running noted when marking the Calgary Marathon’s 50th anniversary, Kyle and Wylie co-founded the city’s first marathon—in fact, it was the first in Western Canada—thinking that if Calgary hosted a marathon that year, the city would be a shoo-in to host the Canadian Championships and Olympic trials the following year. So on Aug. 10, 1963, Kyle and 19 other men paid a one-dollar entry fee to toe the start line of Calgary’s first marathon, which Kyle won in 2:45:54. He also won his bid to host the championships the following year.

Kyle’s enthusiastic involvement with the marathon would continue for six decades, as Calgary Marathon organizers noted in a Facebook post paying tribute to the event’s founder.

“Doug’s resounding impact on the running community in Calgary can be felt in many ways over the past 60 years. … Doug had attended almost every Calgary Marathon since 1963 and was crucial in its stewardship over the past 60 years. Doug and his wife Carol, who were married for more than 60 years before Carol passed in 2021, were steadfast supporters of The Calgary Marathon, attending volunteer orientations, parties, medal reveals and of course race day.”

Race organizers noted that, for decades, the couple would set out their folding chairs just before the finish line and manually record bib numbers and finishing times for backup.

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“Doug loved to shake hands with the winners and hand out prizing to top athletes. In more recent years Doug course marshalled and helped at aid stations, volunteering alongside his son Baub and grandson James. When the marathon celebrated 50 years in 2014, Doug teared up during a live TV interview and said he was incredibly proud of how Calgary has embraced the little race he and Bill Wylie founded back in ’63.”