This was the sixth time I'd run the Scotiabank half marathon... And there's a reason for that. Not just because it's close to home, and not just because it's my … MORE
This was the sixth time I’d run the Scotiabank half marathon… And there’s a reason for that. Not just because it’s close to home, and not just because it’s my half marathon PR, but because it’s a solid race that’s always well-organized, with a course that lets you saunter along or put the pedal to the metal as per your preference. There a swag is great, as are the posters goodies… I’m sure I’ll run it again this year 😉
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A race for fun or speed
This was the sixth time I'd run the Scotiabank half marathon... And there's a reason for that. Not just because it's close to home, and not just because it's my … MORE
This was the sixth time I’d run the Scotiabank half marathon… And there’s a reason for that. Not just because it’s close to home, and not just because it’s my half marathon PR, but because it’s a solid race that’s always well-organized, with a course that lets you saunter along or put the pedal to the metal as per your preference. There a swag is great, as are the posters goodies… I’m sure I’ll run it again this year 😉
Exhilarating and action packed
I've run this race four times now, one of which was my half marathon personal best. This was actually my first distance race ever, back in 2007. I didn't even … MORE
I’ve run this race four times now, one of which was my half marathon personal best. This was actually my first distance race ever, back in 2007. I didn’t even train for it, just heard about it on the Tuesday and ran it on the Sunday. That’s when I realized I had a talent for distance running and decided to run my first full later that year.
You run the race entirely on Parc Jean Drapeau, home to the La Ronde amusement park, which you run through, Expo 67’s famed geodesic dome, which you run by, Montreal’s casino, which you run by, and the Grand Prix track for Formula One, which you actually run on for a fair bit of the race. You cross a bridge between the two islands a couple of times as well, so there’s always something going on to keep things interesting.
In the past, there were some operational issues, for example the front runners would take multiple gels and there wouldn’t be enough for the people towards the back, and sometimes the volunteers didn’t know where to direct you to go. They’ve rectified that over the years and it’s now a very well run event, with lots of goodies at the water stops and a very respectable post race buffet. The medals are nice, and the race shirts have improved greatly. They’re actually really nice now.
In 2014, I ran the race with a first timer and he was absolutely amazed by the entire thing. He absolutely loved it and couldn’t believe how magical of an experience it was with all of the excitement and the spectators and the support throughout. That was his first running race of any kind. As a more seasoned runner, I wasn’t quite as blown away, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone. A great race for the speedies (the race actually serves as the Canadian 21.1k championships) and for the not so speedies.