A multi-event spectacular

Approximately 200,000 spectators line the course to cheer on participants along the Rideau Canal and at official cheering stations throughout the races.

The Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa hosts Athletics Canada’s Canadian 10K Championships, and every year the course attracts one of the most esteemed fields of pro runners, as well as thousands of participants from across the National Capital Region.

The Desjardins Charity Challenge raises more than a million dollars each year for local charities thanks to the hard work and generosity of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend participants and donors.

The National Capital Region is at its most beautiful in the spring. Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2024 takes place on 25–26 May just shortly after the Canadian Tulip Festival, one of Ottawa’s best-known events. More than 300,000 tulips are blooming on the city’s streets, along the famous Rideau Canal (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and by Dow’s Lake, providing a colourful backdrop for participants on many sections of the race routes.

When you participate in the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon, you will take in some of the most scenic areas of Ottawa-Gatineau. On your 42.195K journey you and thousands of participants, including world-class elite athletes, travel through iconic neighbourhoods, pass by renowned museums, historical landmarks, eclectic street art, and panoramic views of the Ottawa River along the course.

Whatever your reason for running, this year you can be part of a once in a lifetime milestone event, Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is celebrating 50 years of running in Canada’s National Capital. The inaugural marathon in Ottawa took place on 25 May 1975, when 143 men and three women crossed the start line at Carleton University. Little did those runners know that years later the race would grow into a multi-event spectacular which draws tens of thousands of runners onto Ottawa’s streets every spring. Athletes gather from all over the globe to race through the streets of Canada’s Capital each year. Over 27,900 runners participated at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2023.

According to Howard Cohen, who has run every marathon since 1975, “each marathon experience is unique, and each marathon experience is memorable.”

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is one of two running events in Canada to host a World Athletics Elite label marathon and is host to Athletics Canada’s Canadian 10K Championships. The weekend was named Event of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Tourism Awards.

Celebrate 50 years of running in the Nation’s Capital at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on 25-26 May 2024.