Saskatchewan Marathon
Encyclopedia
The Saskatchewan Marathon is an annual marathon that is held in Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

, Saskatchewan.

History

The first Saskatchewan Marathon was run May 12, 1979. During the first two years, the marathon was held in May, however the date of the marathon was moved to October in 1981. The marathon continued to be run in the Fall until 2004, when it was moved to May in order to avoid competition in the Queen City Marathon in Regina, Saskatchewan. It has been held in May ever since.

During the event, various distances are available:
  • marathon
  • Half marathon
    Half marathon
    A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...

  • 10 km race
  • Marafun (children's race)


In 2010 the event had a total participation of 2 797 runners. Separated by event: Marafun - 159, 10 km - 1,104, Half-Marathon - 1,287 and for the Marathon - 247.

Route

The Marathon courses have started and ended at a number of different locations.

All of the events have included the extensive portion along the South Saskatchewan River, including the east bank section from Ruth Street north to the Traffic Bridge and the west bank section from the Traffic Bridge north to Whiteswan Drive and beyond.

A number of courses have included starts and finishes at Griffith's Stadium on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan, as well as portions of the course along roadways on the campus. The event in 2006 featured a start and finish at the east end of the Bowl, by the historic College Building. The various routes have been determined by a number of factors, including: road and bridge closures and construction, City and University approval and support, as well as the factors involved in choosing the location of the start/finish line. Extensive lobbying has occurred to develop a route which can remain unchanged from year to year, but that has proved impossible to do. The current plan is to keep the start/finish area at Diefenbaker Park and eventually incorporate a river crossing on the proposed South Circle Drive Bridge. The planned completion of that extensive roadway project is 2011, but that is obviously subject to change.

For years, the course has been certified by Saskatchewan Athletics and is recognized as a Boston Marathon qualifier.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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