Royal Victoria Marathon
Victoria, Canada
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 8K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Royal Victoria Marathon features a beautiful course that winds through the quiet streets of Victoria and Oak Bay with stunning ocean views along the way. The 5K and Thrifty Foods Kids Run take place on Saturday, starting and finishing at Willows Beach Park in Oak Bay. The Marathon, Half … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Oct 10):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°C) | 12 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 13 |
| L (°C) | 10 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 7 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Everything Was Beautiful
I decided to do a destination marathon because I wanted guaranteed cooler weather than my home in South Florida. I had run (and bonked in) two marathons (my only two … MORE
I decided to do a destination marathon because I wanted guaranteed cooler weather than my home in South Florida. I had run (and bonked in) two marathons (my only two in total) in Florida, with both start temps at 70 degrees and 95+% humidity. I was looking for a change. The race conditions, 48 degrees at the start, were beautiful.
I’ve heard good things about Victoria. I’m familiar with Canada, from the east coast to the Rockies, but I’ve never made it out to the west coast. The scenery did not disappoint. The course was beautiful. The start and finish at the Legislative Assembly building was epic. What a backdrop! And the course – winding through beautiful neighborhoods, parks, and along the coast – was beautiful.
The people in Victoria, Vancouver, and the rest of the region we visited were amazing, and that includes the crowd support. I’ve run the Miami Marathon, and the crowd support in Victoria blew me away. It was so much better and consistent throughout the course than anything I had experienced in any distance. The people? Beautiful.
There are plenty of places to stay close to the start and the package pick-up was close by as well. All walkable from many hotels. Swag was good, but I wish there were more options for purchase. Got a real nice Under Armour jacket with the race clearly marked.
There are hills. Lots of hills. But maybe one or two with any real incline. The rest are rolling. I trained in pancake flat South Florida, but I ran a lot of bridges and treadmill incline workouts, and in all honesty, the hills didn’t impact my performance at all, as I achieved a 14 minute PR of 3:35:59.
I highly recommend this race for many reasons, and even though it’s pretty far from where I live, I hope to do it again someday soon.
Beautiful scenery, great course... but
I've spent a lot of time in Victoria but this was my first race in the provincial capital. The bib pick up was straight forward, easy and perfectly located in … MORE
I’ve spent a lot of time in Victoria but this was my first race in the provincial capital. The bib pick up was straight forward, easy and perfectly located in downtown near the start/finish. A long portion of the course is epically beautiful with direct views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and salt in the air smell from the sea. This race has grown in popularity and there were over 15,000 runners. For those that have not been to Victoria, that’s a lot of extra people… the course organizers could have done well to split up the half and full runners , but more importantly, the organizers allowed runners and guests to walk through each corral up to 30 seconds from the race start which caused a lot of grief and commotion. The corrals were already tightly packed and you have grandma, hubs and whomever going against traffic walking with their runner. Instead they should have better gate keeping restricting it to runners and those with the proper corral color which was clearly marked on the bibs. The pre and post race festivities were very good and right in front of the provincial government building. For those who want some great tourism and a race… this is a perfect opportunity.
Fantastic organization, great swag
This race is well organized and a joy to participate in. It’s about half in residential areas, and half along the coast with a lot of undulations. The many canted … MORE
This race is well organized and a joy to participate in. It’s about half in residential areas, and half along the coast with a lot of undulations. The many canted roads are a bit of a problem. The swag for marathon is an amazing UnderArmour jacket – this is one piece of swag it is worth not going green for. There are many hotels very close to the start/finish – we stayed at the Huntington, and they would not allow a late checkout – you would have to run 2:30 or faster to get back in time for checkout.
Canada uses Kilometers
Canada uses Kilometers. Running in the USA and knowing all the 26 mile markers and then going to Canada and seeing all KM markings. BTW, this is also the holiday … MORE
Canada uses Kilometers.
Running in the USA and knowing all the 26 mile markers and then going to Canada and seeing all KM markings.
BTW, this is also the holiday weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving
Great swag and good course
Get to sing Canadian national anthem, laid back atmosphere, great course for partial out and back and the swag. Beautiful place to visit. What more could you want. MORE
Get to sing Canadian national anthem, laid back atmosphere, great course for partial out and back and the swag. Beautiful place to visit. What more could you want.
Victoria marathon
Well organised race and was great for a my first time. Great views in and out of the city of Victoria. A few rolling hills along the way but mostly … MORE
Well organised race and was great for a my first time. Great views in and out of the city of Victoria. A few rolling hills along the way but mostly flat and easy going.