Come join the Servus Edmonton Marathon Family Festival, one of Alberta’s best road races. The energy of a downtown Start/ Finish Line has generated a lot of excitement with more spectators, an increase in volunteer involvement and a better experience for runners. Meet at the world class Shaw Conference Centre …
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Come join the Servus Edmonton Marathon Family Festival, one of Alberta’s best road races. The energy of a downtown Start/ Finish Line has generated a lot of excitement with more spectators, an increase in volunteer involvement and a better experience for runners.
Meet at the world class Shaw Conference Centre downtown and get ready to take in the City and River Valley views, runs through beautiful established neighbourhoods, and enjoy the thrill of running down Jasper Avenue as the crowds cheer you on!
The Servus Edmonton Marathon Family Festival Weekend includes a 42.2km Marathon Run/Walk, 21.1km Half Marathon Run/Walk, 10km Run/Walk, and 5km Run/Walk. This event draws national attention as it is a certified Boston Marathon Qualifier.
You’re invited to one of Western Canada’s flattest courses with fast times, a well organized event, and first-class amenities at the Free Sports Expo inside the Shaw Conference Centre.
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Good but somewhat crowded
This was a good race though I did encounter a few hiccups. Pre-race communication was very good. Received the information I needed to get to packet pickup. Packet Pickup was … MORE
This was a good race though I did encounter a few hiccups.
Pre-race communication was very good. Received the information I needed to get to packet pickup. Packet Pickup was in a fairly small store but I managed to get in and out. There was nothing particularly exciting about the packet pickup but it wasn’t bad per se. The race shirt is very nice though, a pretty shade of blue and made of a stretchy material that seems to wick well.
Race morning I was quite happy with the access to the Convention Center. The race participation was large enough that without the access this would have been a disaster to try and fit everyone in the starting area without the extra real estate. I very much appreciated the rest rooms also.
I will give props to the race for the ability to get everyone into the starting corrals without nearly the trouble that so many others have had. Also, the race did start right on time. That was very impressive.
The course was fine. You go through downtown and then out to run along park land that abuts the river. The amount of aid stations and porta potties was sufficient. The race is an out and back and therefore you see the same things in reverse that you saw on the way out. Traffic Control seemed to be good also.
The finish line and after party seemed to be lacking somewhat. There was definitely not enough room for everyone to participate in the festivities. Thee Convention Center could only do so much to help. Also and this might just be my lack of doing many Canadian races, but there was no post race beer. Edmonton is a beer city.. I had beer available after my race in Vancouver. If this is not a typical think at Canadian races then I suppose I can’t hold that against them, but I would say it is quite the outlier in my experience. The race medal was nice. Have I had nicer? Yes, but this was still nice.
In the final analysis, I would recommend t he Edmonton Marathon slate of races. They put on a very good event. If there is an area that has more room for the festivities afterward that would be great. And…. If one of the breweries in Edmonton would like to be provider of race beer, that would definitely benefit them in the long run.
Flat and foggy
Working on all my provinces and spent the week in the Rockies before coming up to Edmonton. We were really worried about whether they would be able to run it … MORE
Working on all my provinces and spent the week in the Rockies before coming up to Edmonton. We were really worried about whether they would be able to run it due to the fires in Jasper, the air quality was awful. The full marathon starts an hour ahead of the half and runs east before it runs west. The half starts at 8A and runs west on the second half of the full course. We stayed at the Courtyard which is literally at the start/finish line (we were worried about getting out since you have to cross the course but the police were able to navigate people out into a single lane the wrong direction to get you out of the hotel). The race is super flat, along city streets until it goes towards the river when it goes up into really nice neighborhoods. They had good support on the course with plenty of water stations (and plenty of people at the water stations),. They had gels and electrolyte drinks. The cool thing is because it’s an out and back, the elites for the full and half have police and bike escorts to move the mortals over and you get to see how fast they are as they blow past you. I don’t do KM since I’m from the states so I was pretty much in the dark other than what my Garmin told me (and it turns out I wasn’t too off on my tangents). The last mile has a mild uphill at the start of it but it flattens out to a long straightaway for the finish. Medals were nice, shirt is meh. They have bag drop in the convention center which seemed convenient. It was SO foggy at the start, there was NO visibility at all (which is fine, just follow the people in front of you). Weather was perfect (but humid due to fog). The fog didn’t burn off till about halfway.
Not a RAVE review, but an average one!
Pre-race communication was great, letting me know all the important details. Race kit pick-up was quick, easy, and organized. The course is generally flat, with a few nice views toward … MORE
Pre-race communication was great, letting me know all the important details. Race kit pick-up was quick, easy, and organized.
The course is generally flat, with a few nice views toward the city’s river valley. However, it is not a particularly scenic course. I was surprised that the course didn’t cross the river, or even go into the river valley. This would make for a more scenic, and perhaps more challenging route. Support during the race, with aid stations was fine.
Following the race, it was extremely difficult due to the crowds, and construction in the area, to get back into the convention centre. The entire finish line area seemed disorganized and it was almost impossible to move along the sidewalks. Swag – the T-shirt was average, not one I’ll use to run with regularly.