Vancouver is host to a number of running races each year, including major ones like the BMO Marathon, Scotiabank Half Marathon and 10K Vancouver Sun Run.

Marathons, Half Marathons, 10K and 5K Runs

Below is a calendar list of the city’s main running races. Some are huge events, like those mentioned above which attract tens of thousands of participants and just as many spectators.

Other races in our list are smaller and limited to only a couple of hundred entries, some are along level urban streets and others are up rugged trails through the mountains.

In short, there’s something for everyone (except for people who simply don’t like running!).

January Vancouver Runs

• Vancouver Chilly Chace – 5K, 10K, 15K and half marathon routes in late January around False Creek.

February Vancouver Runs

• Run Ridge Run – 13K and 25K runs at Belcarra Regional Park by both Sasamat Lake and Buntzen Lake in late February. Participant capacity is just 250.
• Fort Langley Historic Half Marathon – 21K and 5K runs in February.

March Vancouver Runs

• St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run – a colourfully green race around Stanley Park in mid-March.
• Vancouver’s Hot Chocolate Run – a run, jog and walk 5K and 10.4K event at Stanley Park in early March.
• Shamrock’n Race – 5K, 7 Miler and half marathon running races around Burnaby Lake in mid-March.
• Cap Crusher – a rugged 8K and 13K run through the trails at Capilano River Regional Park starting at the Cleveland Dam in mid-March. Race capacity is just 250 participants.

April Vancouver Runs

• Up the Creek Run – a 5K, 10K and 500m-1K Kids’ Run starting at the Hyde Creek Rec Centre in Port Coquitlam in early April. Cost is $25-$35, but free for children.
• Vancouver Sun Run – one of the world’s largest 10 km runs in mid-April.
• Diez Vista 50 Km Trail Run – a 50-km run for up to 200 participants through rugged forested trails in Belcarra Regional Park in mid-April.
• North Shore Daffodil Dash – a 1K walk and 5K run to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society at West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park.

May Vancouver Runs

• BMO Vancouver International Marathon – one of Vancouver’s biggest marathons, taking place in early May and starting at Queen Elizabeth Park.
• 5 Peaks Golden Ears Race – the second of six events in the 5 Peaks series, with an 8.5K Sports Course, 13K Enduro Course, 1K Children’s Challenge and 3K Timed Kids’ Race at Golden Ears Provincial Park in early May.
• Run for Women – a 5K walk/run, 10K run and 1K Little Steps run for kids benefiting the BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre Foundation at UBC’s Wesbrook Village in mid-May.
• Fairmont Mother’s Day Run – a 3K, 5K, and 10K run and walk from Stanley Park to Jack Poole Plaza and benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation on the Mother’s Day weekend.
• Survival of the Fittest – grueling but spectacularly scenic 13K and 18K runs beginning on the lands of Quest University in Squamish. Race capacity: ~250 runners.
• Vistas Run – a 5K walk/run, 10K run and Family Walk event benefiting the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society at Kanaka Creek Regional Park in late May.

June Vancouver Runs

• World Vision Charity Run – a 6-km charity running race in Maple Ridge where 100% of the money raised goes to fund water projects in the Republic of Congo in Africa. (Interestingly, 6 kilometres is the average distance people have to walk for water in the developing world, which is why the race is this distance).
• RBC Run for the Kids – 2 and 5 km fundraising runs benefiting the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation in early June.
• 5 Peaks Mt. Seymour Race – the third of six events in the 5 Peaks series, with a 6K, 12K, 1K Children’s Challenge and 3K Timed Kids’ Race at Mount Seymour Provincial Park at 1700 Mount Seymour Road.
• Seek the Peak – a race benefiting breast cancer research from Ambleside Park in West Vancouver to the top of Grouse Mountain‘s Grouse Grind.
• Father’s Day Walk/Run – 2K, 5K and 10K strolls, walks and runs around Burnaby Lake benefiting the BC Prostate Cancer Foundation.
• Scotiabank Half Marathon – a major 5K and half marathon race in late June.

July Vancouver Runs

• Semiahmoo First Nation Canada Rock – a 5K, 10K and kids’ run in White Rock on the Canada Day weekend.
• Tynehead 5/8/12 Hour Run – a race that includes a half marathon, full marathon and 5, 8 and 12-hour running options at North Surrey’s Tynehead Regional Park.
• 5 Peaks Cypress Mountain Race – the fourth of six events in the 5 Peaks series, with a 6K Sports Course, 11K Enduro Course, 1K Children’s Challenge and 3K Timed Kids’ Race at Cypress Provincial Park.
• Rugged Maniac Vancouver – a 5-km obstacle course race at Surrey’s Cloverdale Fairgrounds. The event features close to two dozen obstacles including water slides into mud, trampolines, towers of shipping containers and other boot camp-like obstacles, plus a massive party at the end.
• Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run – a thirty-mile trail run recognized by Running Wild magazine as one of twenty-five most challenging races on the continent. The run goes from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove along the North Shore’s Baden-Powell Centennial Trail and climbs some 8,000 feet along the way. Just over 250 runners participate and are selected by lottery.
• Bucking Hell – brutal but beautiful 15K, 50K and 2-person 50K relay running races through the North Shore mountain trails beginning and ending in Deep Cove.

August Vancouver Runs

• PNE Donut Dash – Vancouver’s yummiest and arguably least calorie-burning 5K run features mini donuts, cotton candy and running around the PNE fairgrounds.
• 5 Peaks Whistler Blackcomb Race – the fifth of six events in the 5 Peaks series, with a 6.6K Sports Course, 10.6K Enduro Course, 1K Children’s Challenge and 3K Timed Kids’ Race at Whistler-Blackcomb.

September Vancouver Runs

• Sky Pilot – a 14K, 23K and Kids Race running competition through Sea to Sky mountain trails starting at the Sea to Sky Gondola.
• Coho Run – a 14K run ending at the annual Coho Festival at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver.
• SeaWheeze Half Marathon – a 21.1K run from the waterfront by the Convention Centre, through downtown Vancouver, along the False Creek seawall, over the Burrard Street Bridge twice, through the West End, around Stanley Park and then back to the start. The cost includes access to the Sunset Festival in the evening at Stanley Park.
• Terry Fox Run – a fundraising run with multiple venues around the Lower Mainland including at Stanley Park.

October Vancouver Runs

• Granville Island Turkey Trot – a 10 km Thanksgiving run, walk or stroll on Granville Island. A 1.1 km Turkey Trot Kids Run also takes place around the same time.
• Delta Half Marathon – a post-Thanksgiving run around Ladner and Delta.
• Hallow’s Eve Trail Race – 10K, half and full marathon rough terrain trail races in North Vancouver. Costumes are encouraged.

November Vancouver Runs

• RMHBC Boundary Bay Marathon – a 5K, 10K, half marathon, Boston-qualifying marathon and 4-person marathon relay starting at Boundary Bay Park’s Centennial Beach.
• Fall Classic Run – a 5K, 10K and half marathon at UBC.
• The Phantom Run Trail Race – 12.5 km, 19.5 km and 24.5 km trail runs starting at North Vancouver’s Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.
• Vancouver Historic Half – a 5K, 10K, half marathon and half marathon relay around Stanley Park’s seawall.

December Vancouver Runs

• Santa Shuffle – a 5K Fun Run and 1K Elf Walk at Stanley Park benefiting the Salvation Army.