Royal Victoria Marathon hits milestone year

“As we approach our 45th RVM, and celebrate over 210,000 participants since 1980, that means there are also 210,000 unique stories about the RVM experience,” stated Cathy Noel, RVM Executive Director. “We are so proud to be part of these stories and that, even after 45 years, we are growing and bringing another exceptional experience to our participants.”

Some of these stories were shared by a number of guest speakers at the event, including Bart Yasso, former Chief of Running with Runner’s World Magazine, and past participants turned committee members Marilyn McCrimmon, Susan Denny and Rob Reid.

As it approaches its 45th year, the RVM is looking to be the largest in its event history. With over 10,000 already registered, with still four months until race weekend, event organizers are expecting to go over 15,000 participants. Last year was 12,185 and 2023 was 9,069.

“The growth is incredible,” stated Cathy Noel. “We sold out in 2023 so we increased our capacity numbers for 2024. We then sold out again, so increased it again for this year, never thinking we would hit the numbers we are seeing. When we increase our caps it is an ongoing conversation with our sponsors, suppliers and operations team to ensure we are able to continue to deliver an amazing experience for each and every participant. It is so exciting for not just our running community, but the Greater Victoria community as well as the revenue to the city during the long weekend is incredible.”

The economic impact is estimated at over 15 million CAD (9.5m EUR) this year.

Announcements at the celebration included the bringing back of the Gala Dinner at the Hotel Grand Pacific, the renewed relationship with Richard Hunt in conjunction with the souvenir garment program and the unveiling of the special marathon jackets for 2025.

The Royal Victoria Marathon will take place on October 11 and 12, 2025. The Island Savings 5K and the Thrifty Foods Kids Run take place in Oak Bay on October 11 with the Marathon, Half Marathon and Westland Insurance 8K on Sunday, starting and finishing in downtown Victoria. Through the CHEK Charity Pledge Program, the charities are looking to raise CAD 125,000, (79,000 EUR) adding to the CAD 2.35 million the program has raised since 2005.