B&O Yorkville Run to host inaugural 5K road championship

There’s good news for road runners in Canada.

Athletics Canada, the sport’s national governing body in Canada, announced that they are adding on a national 5K road championship to the 2014 schedule. The race will be held this year at the  B&O Yorkville Run in Toronto.

The Yorkville Run, a premier 5K charity run, will see the annual event host the country’s top elite runners at the inaugural Canadian 5K road championship.

“Athletics Canada is thrilled to add a fourth Canadian Championship to our annual road running series,” says Rob Guy, CEO at Athletics Canada. “Our new Athletics in Canada strategic plan places an emphasis on growing our road running programs over the next quadrennial. The B&O Yorkville Run stages a first-class competition, serving as a great platform for this new event.”

The inaugural race promises to draw 200 of the country’s best-in-class runners, including Olympic and Pan American Games contenders, to compete for the title and a total of $8,000 in prize money. The elite event is managed by the B&O Yorkville Run committee and coordinated by Megan Brown, one of Canada’s top distance runners and female course record holder for the B&O Yorkville Run.

“I am very excited to join forces with the B&O Yorkville Run and help Athletics Canada grow its road racing series,” says Megan Brown. “The Canadian 5K road race championship provides a unique opportunity for both middle and long distance runners to showcase their talents on the fastest course in the country, right in the heart of Toronto.”

Early registration for the event opens March 15 with public registration beginning April 15. The registration fee for the Canadian 5K Road Race Championship is $50 and $100 for the B&O Yorkville Run.

The race will start at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, and will be immediately followed by the fifth annual B&O Yorkville Run.

Edited from a press release.