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Marathon Details - Vancouver International Marathon

North America Marathons > Canada > BC > Vancouver > Vancouver International Marathon

Vancouver International Marathon

BMO Vancouver International Marathon & Half Marathon, 8K

Vancouver, BC Canada

May 4, 2025

http://www.bmovanmarathon.ca

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Race Details

SUMMARY: Fully separated, very scenic, point to point half & full courses,with shared start/finish, fast, net drops, two unique destination running experiences

The Vancouver International Marathon is an event that showcases the beauty and diversity of the city, attracting runners from all over the world. The race begins in the picturesque Queen Elizabeth Park and winds through the heart of Vancouver, finishing at Stanley Park along the seawall. Whether it is a runner's first marathon or their fiftieth, this event provides unforgettable experiences and a sense of pride in their accomplishments.

The marathon is known for its excellent organization and support. Participants gather early in the morning, ready to tackle the course. The initial kilometers with inclines can be challenging, but the energy and enthusiasm keep spirits high. As runners progress through the city, they enjoy stunning views, while the loud and supportive crowds provide strength and motivation.

The route includes a variety of landscapes, from urban streets to scenic sections along the seawall. The finish line at Stanley Park greets participants with applause and awards. Each runner receives a medal, which serves as a wonderful reminder of their achievement. The organizers provide excellent snacks and drinks, helping runners recover after the race.

The marathon's highlights include its beautiful and varied course, excellent organization, and enthusiastic spectator support, all of which contribute to the enjoyment of participation and the joy of reaching the finish line.

Contact Information

Name:	Vancouver International Marathon Society
Address:	Box 3213, Vancouver, BC Canada, V6B 3X8
Phone Number:	1 604 872 2928
Fax Number:	1 604 872 2903
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (227)

Course 4.1

Organization 3.6

Spectators 3.9

Write a review

Number of comments: 227 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 23 > ]

B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa (5/8/2024) "Beautiful and Challenging Course" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 A generally good marathon that could be even better with a few tweaks. First the good: I loved that the half and full were split with the half starting 1.5 hours before the full. This made the congestion manageable. Racers did an excellent job of self seeding as I did not encounter a single walker in the second corral. The course is beautiful and varied with a major, daunting hill between miles 5-7 followed by a wonderful and long downhill. The crowds were frequently loud and very supportive.The finish line was packed and loud which created a very exciting experience. The shirt and medal are both beautiful. Some things that I would change include the water stations which, especially early in the race were not long enough which created some unnecessary congestion. The course itself could have been wider, but this was less of a problem because of the excellent self seeding, and the expo was a madhouse both inside and getting to the convention center. I overall liked the race and would recommend it with those few reservations. After the race, we enjoyed great beer at Brassneck and Steamworks Brewing
L. R. from United States (5/9/2018) "The course is beautiful, but I wouldn't run again" (about: 2018) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Vancouver is a stunning city, but the course was very challenging and could be set up better. You start in Queen Elizabeth Park and run into the city, ending around Stanley Park on the sea-wall. These 6 miles around the park are punishing. There are no spectators, lots of curves, unreliable kilometer markers, and since the race starts late in the day it's very hot and sunny. The rest of the course is beautiful but challenging, and I was really disappointed with the lack of crowd support throughout the entire race. For a big city marathon I really expected more people to come out and cheer, but for large chunks of the course there was nobody. I thought the finish line was disappointing. The beer ticket got you a tiny little beer, and they took it down before the finish cut-off time and my friend wasn't able to get a beer, after they'd advertised free beer during the whole course. If you want a beautiful marathon course in a destination city, Vancouver is a good choice, but overall I would not recommend this race.
S. S. from British Columbia (5/9/2015) "Scenic Course: Yes, PR Course: No" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This is my 3rd time running the current incarnation of the course. I primarily ran it again because it was close and I was unable to travel this month like I hoped for another marathon. For runners out for the experience and the scenery and tolerant of hills, this course can be nice. Running late in the race around the seawall with a cooling headwind can be pleasant. However, as the winner mentioned in the local newspaper, this course is actually tough and not conducive to fast times. I do a lot of hill work and have run many marathon with hills so I was able to handle the 'slopey' sections and easily get a BQ, but was still considerably slower than 5 marathons I ran last year (some with significant hills as well, including Boston). I also suffered late in the race because of the lack of carbohydrate on the course. I didn't see the last gel station (the map location was different then the aid station description location) and the drink was essentially carb-free. Far too long of a stretch on the course with no nutrition. Pros: - scenic beauty of Vancouver - decent expo - transportation pass for race morning - urinals at start (relieve pressure on the portables) - a few bands were really good Cons: - fair bit of ups and downs - a lot of curves along seawall late in race can be tough for holding a pace - slight uphill finish - lack of food and carb drink on the course - swag bag same one I got 3 years ago - finish food pretty sparse
j. j. from San Francisco, CA (5/5/2015) "Run for the Scenery" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Vancouver is a beautiful city with a vibrant downtown that's surrounded by water and mountains. Do it once if you want to visit a beautiful city but that's about it. You're paying for the scenery. Pros: 1. Beautiful course around the entire perimeter of Vancouver. 2. Great crowd support from people as they came out of their homes to cheer us on. 3. Easy course with only 1 long uphill in the 1st half and flat in the remaining 2nd half. Cons: 1. You don't get much. Nothing in the swag bag but flyers and a few post-race snacks like bananas, granola, sandwiches and chips. That's it. 2. Only 1 station had food. The rest had water, electrolyte drinks and GU. I was starving during the race. More food at the stations would be nice. 3. They advertised 20 bands. The entertainment didn't meet my expectations, they were local performers only that really didn't get runners pumped it.
J. R. from Seattle (5/29/2014) "They marathoners to let cars through." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I have done the Vancouver marathon nine times (2003-7,2009-11,2014). I would have given this marathon four stars between 2003 and 2011. It was a good, uniterruped course that was fast and scenic. In 2012 they changed the course so it would go through wealthy residential neighbourhoods only, the West End being the only exception to that. Last week was my first time running the new course. It was a shocker that the new course not only crosses the six-lane Oak and Granville Streets, but that they stop marathoners, even those running seven minute miles, to let drivers cross the marathon course in their motor vehicles. This is simply unacceptable for any marathon, and especially for one that charges unusually high registration fees. The new course is much hillier than the old one, and unnecessarily so. Being a point-to point course one has to take public transit which will drop you off about a six block walk from the start area. It also makes it more difficult for spectators to see the event at more than one or two spots. The expo was nothing special. I miss the 2004-2011 course. It was a fun, homey event, on wider, faster roads. I do not plan to enter this or any other road-racing event that stops racers mid-race for any reason other than an unforeseen emergency.
J. M. from British Columbia (5/24/2014) "An expensive race that fails to deliver" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 When a race charges $170, runners have high expectations. Vancouver failed to deliver. The swag was disappointing for the amount of money I paid. I will have second thoughts about running this race again. Pros: Great city, good course support Cons: Expensive, rainy weather
S. W. from BC (5/20/2014) "Out of touch!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Change of time for the marathon by 30 mins to 8:30am meant the 48% out of towners( there numbers) now had to have a late check out or run a sub 3 hr marathon to get cleaned up before you leave town. Start the marathon early! As well, if you are going to have people standing around in the rain before the start, puts some tents up! Oh ya, my $ 170 fee did not include this. I had get the premier package for extra $100. Volunteers were great, but the people making the decision are out of touch.
B. S. from Virginia, USA (5/10/2014) "This is a great race!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything about this race was top notch: The pre-race communications were informative, the expo was solid, the city is awesome, the course was great, plenty of port o johns and aid stations, crowd support was amazing even though it rained almost the entire race! I would definitely run this race again and would highly recommend it to anyone. One thing to be aware of: The 2014 course had two major road crossings early in the course where runners potentially had to stop and wait.
M. D. from Vancouver (5/5/2014) "Expensive fun" (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Well this event is pretty pricey but I imagine a lot of that goes to the road closures and rentals Not thrilled with the post race box of crackers but was greatful for simple things like juice and fruit Volunteers are amazing, they are always positive and helpful We as the consumer have to remember they are volunteers and never take our frustratiibs our on them, it's hardly their fault that not enough XL ladies shirts were ordered How did that happen anyway? Good course, has it's challenges, fun expo (Friday early afternoon was low traffic) I'd love to see some presentatiins and speakers as they did for the 40th year
M. C. from Washington (12/27/2013) "Silly price for a so-so event" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 In 2012 the course was long and they changed the route in the middle of the race. In 2013 they messed up the Half start and ran out of water. The post-race food is a brown bag with a bagel and a banana. You can forgive this from well-intentioned amateurs, but these guys charge $170 for the race. If they are going to charge like an A race, they should at least run it like a B race.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 23 > ]



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B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa (5/8/2024) "Beautiful and Challenging Course" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 A generally good marathon that could be even better with a few tweaks. First the good: I loved that the half and full were split with the half starting 1.5 hours before the full. This made the congestion manageable. Racers did an excellent job of self seeding as I did not encounter a single walker in the second corral. The course is beautiful and varied with a major, daunting hill between miles 5-7 followed by a wonderful and long downhill. The crowds were frequently loud and very supportive.The finish line was packed and loud which created a very exciting experience. The shirt and medal are both beautiful. Some things that I would change include the water stations which, especially early in the race were not long enough which created some unnecessary congestion. The course itself could have been wider, but this was less of a problem because of the excellent self seeding, and the expo was a madhouse both inside and getting to the convention center. I overall liked the race and would recommend it with those few reservations. After the race, we enjoyed great beer at Brassneck and Steamworks Brewing
L. R. from United States (5/9/2018) "The course is beautiful, but I wouldn't run again" (about: 2018) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Vancouver is a stunning city, but the course was very challenging and could be set up better. You start in Queen Elizabeth Park and run into the city, ending around Stanley Park on the sea-wall. These 6 miles around the park are punishing. There are no spectators, lots of curves, unreliable kilometer markers, and since the race starts late in the day it's very hot and sunny. The rest of the course is beautiful but challenging, and I was really disappointed with the lack of crowd support throughout the entire race. For a big city marathon I really expected more people to come out and cheer, but for large chunks of the course there was nobody. I thought the finish line was disappointing. The beer ticket got you a tiny little beer, and they took it down before the finish cut-off time and my friend wasn't able to get a beer, after they'd advertised free beer during the whole course. If you want a beautiful marathon course in a destination city, Vancouver is a good choice, but overall I would not recommend this race.
S. S. from British Columbia (5/9/2015) "Scenic Course: Yes, PR Course: No" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This is my 3rd time running the current incarnation of the course. I primarily ran it again because it was close and I was unable to travel this month like I hoped for another marathon. For runners out for the experience and the scenery and tolerant of hills, this course can be nice. Running late in the race around the seawall with a cooling headwind can be pleasant. However, as the winner mentioned in the local newspaper, this course is actually tough and not conducive to fast times. I do a lot of hill work and have run many marathon with hills so I was able to handle the 'slopey' sections and easily get a BQ, but was still considerably slower than 5 marathons I ran last year (some with significant hills as well, including Boston). I also suffered late in the race because of the lack of carbohydrate on the course. I didn't see the last gel station (the map location was different then the aid station description location) and the drink was essentially carb-free. Far too long of a stretch on the course with no nutrition. Pros: - scenic beauty of Vancouver - decent expo - transportation pass for race morning - urinals at start (relieve pressure on the portables) - a few bands were really good Cons: - fair bit of ups and downs - a lot of curves along seawall late in race can be tough for holding a pace - slight uphill finish - lack of food and carb drink on the course - swag bag same one I got 3 years ago - finish food pretty sparse
j. j. from San Francisco, CA (5/5/2015) "Run for the Scenery" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Vancouver is a beautiful city with a vibrant downtown that's surrounded by water and mountains. Do it once if you want to visit a beautiful city but that's about it. You're paying for the scenery. Pros: 1. Beautiful course around the entire perimeter of Vancouver. 2. Great crowd support from people as they came out of their homes to cheer us on. 3. Easy course with only 1 long uphill in the 1st half and flat in the remaining 2nd half. Cons: 1. You don't get much. Nothing in the swag bag but flyers and a few post-race snacks like bananas, granola, sandwiches and chips. That's it. 2. Only 1 station had food. The rest had water, electrolyte drinks and GU. I was starving during the race. More food at the stations would be nice. 3. They advertised 20 bands. The entertainment didn't meet my expectations, they were local performers only that really didn't get runners pumped it.
J. R. from Seattle (5/29/2014) "They marathoners to let cars through." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I have done the Vancouver marathon nine times (2003-7,2009-11,2014). I would have given this marathon four stars between 2003 and 2011. It was a good, uniterruped course that was fast and scenic. In 2012 they changed the course so it would go through wealthy residential neighbourhoods only, the West End being the only exception to that. Last week was my first time running the new course. It was a shocker that the new course not only crosses the six-lane Oak and Granville Streets, but that they stop marathoners, even those running seven minute miles, to let drivers cross the marathon course in their motor vehicles. This is simply unacceptable for any marathon, and especially for one that charges unusually high registration fees. The new course is much hillier than the old one, and unnecessarily so. Being a point-to point course one has to take public transit which will drop you off about a six block walk from the start area. It also makes it more difficult for spectators to see the event at more than one or two spots. The expo was nothing special. I miss the 2004-2011 course. It was a fun, homey event, on wider, faster roads. I do not plan to enter this or any other road-racing event that stops racers mid-race for any reason other than an unforeseen emergency.
J. M. from British Columbia (5/24/2014) "An expensive race that fails to deliver" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 When a race charges $170, runners have high expectations. Vancouver failed to deliver. The swag was disappointing for the amount of money I paid. I will have second thoughts about running this race again. Pros: Great city, good course support Cons: Expensive, rainy weather
S. W. from BC (5/20/2014) "Out of touch!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Change of time for the marathon by 30 mins to 8:30am meant the 48% out of towners( there numbers) now had to have a late check out or run a sub 3 hr marathon to get cleaned up before you leave town. Start the marathon early! As well, if you are going to have people standing around in the rain before the start, puts some tents up! Oh ya, my $ 170 fee did not include this. I had get the premier package for extra $100. Volunteers were great, but the people making the decision are out of touch.
B. S. from Virginia, USA (5/10/2014) "This is a great race!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything about this race was top notch: The pre-race communications were informative, the expo was solid, the city is awesome, the course was great, plenty of port o johns and aid stations, crowd support was amazing even though it rained almost the entire race! I would definitely run this race again and would highly recommend it to anyone. One thing to be aware of: The 2014 course had two major road crossings early in the course where runners potentially had to stop and wait.
M. D. from Vancouver (5/5/2014) "Expensive fun" (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Vancouver International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Well this event is pretty pricey but I imagine a lot of that goes to the road closures and rentals Not thrilled with the post race box of crackers but was greatful for simple things like juice and fruit Volunteers are amazing, they are always positive and helpful We as the consumer have to remember they are volunteers and never take our frustratiibs our on them, it's hardly their fault that not enough XL ladies shirts were ordered How did that happen anyway? Good course, has it's challenges, fun expo (Friday early afternoon was low traffic) I'd love to see some presentatiins and speakers as they did for the 40th year
M. C. from Washington (12/27/2013) "Silly price for a so-so event" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Vancouver International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 In 2012 the course was long and they changed the route in the middle of the race. In 2013 they messed up the Half start and ran out of water. The post-race food is a brown bag with a bagel and a banana. You can forgive this from well-intentioned amateurs, but these guys charge $170 for the race. If they are going to charge like an A race, they should at least run it like a B race.

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Marathon Details - Vancouver International Marathon