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The Vancouver Sun Run, owned by Run Vancouver Holdings ULC and sponsored by ''
The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...
'' newspaper, is a 10-kilometre
road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...
event held in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
every year on the third (sometimes the fourth) Sunday in April since 1985. It is one of the largest road races in North America.


Attendance

The first Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants,''Vancouver Board of Trade''
Sounding Board November 2003 Vol 43 # 6
/ref> and has grown significantly since: * With over 39,000 finishers in 2006, it ranked as the 9th largest race in the world and the 3rd largest 10-km race, behind only the
Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and the Bolder Boulder in
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
. * The 2006 event took place on April 23 and 50,746''Vancouver Sun Run on Canada.com'', participants registered for the 10-km Sun Run and the 2.5-km "mini Sun Run", which was run by 2,000 people, mostly children and their parents, with some school teams participating as well. * On April 15, 2007, the Sun Run had a record number of participants, with 54,317 people registered to participate in the 10-km and 2.5-km races, making it the largest road race in Canada, the second largest in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and the third largest in the World. * On April 20, 2008, the record was again broken, with 59,179 runners registered for the run making it the largest 10-kilometre race in the world. The temperature was a chilly 3 °C (37.4 °F). * On April 17, 2011, the record was again broken, with 60,000 runners registered for the run making it the largest 10-kilometre race in the world. * On April 15, 2012, the cool weather didn't stop 48,904 from taking part. * Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the 2020 event was cancelled and the 2021 event operated as a virtual race.Vancouver Sun Run Statement Regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
/ref>


Race details

The primary mandate of the Sun Run is to "promote health, fitness and community spirit and to support amateur athletics". In conjunction with the run a large number of 13-week clinics (including Nordic walking, walking, learn to run and run faster) are conducted at community centres throughout the province. The run is not a charity event; however, the organizers claim over $1.1 million in race proceeds have been donated to charities since 1985. It includes a relatively small number of competitive elite runners, a wheelchair race, and numerous other categories of participants ranging from running enthusiasts to parents walking with their children in strollers. The various categories start the race at different times, with the wheelchair and elite runners first, and slower runners following in numerous waves. For several years, individual runners have had their times recorded by an electronic chip attached to their shoes, which triggers a timer at the starting line and again at the finish. The current route of the race begins on Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver, with the starting line just west of the intersection of Burrard Street, and ends outside
BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently t ...
after guiding runners through the downtown peninsula and parts of the
Kitsilano Kitsilano ( ) is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, Kitsilano is located along the southern shore of English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay between Fairview, Vancou ...
and Fairview neighbourhoods south of
False Creek False Creek () is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown Vancouver, Downtown and West End, Vancouver, West End list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four ...
. The run organizing committee hires numerous entertainers to perform along the route and in the stadium at the end of the race, including local humour/cover ban
The Neurotics
who have played at the starting line every year since 1995. Hundreds of volunteers also assist with organizing, preparing for, and coordinating the race, including amateur radio operators involved in ARES ( Amateur Radio Emergency Service) programs from the
Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...
. In the aftermath of the bombings at the
2013 Boston Marathon The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to ...
, Vancouver Sun Run race organizers have petitioned runners to wear blue and yellow, the official
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
colours, in solidarity and remembrance of those killed and injured in Boston a week prior. Race organizers have noted a surge in race registration in the few days after the Boston Marathon explosions as the Sun Run anticipates one of the highest turnouts in its 29-year history.


Past winners

*All information taken from
Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...
.
Association of Road Racing Statisticians Accessed September 2, 2006 :Key = Course record


Charity

Since 1997, one dollar from each Sun Run registration has been contributed to ''Raise-a-Reader'', a national literacy campaign. The campaign went national in 2001, and has since raised over $10 million.''Raise A Reader''
National literacy campaign tops $10 million
/ref>''The Vancouver Raise A Reader''

/ref> Sun Run proceeds also benefit B.C. amateur athletics through the ''Achilles International Track And Field Society'' and
The Vancouver Sun Jerome International Track Classic
', an annual track and field event that gives local athletes the chance to compete against some of the world's best in their own province.


Race dates

The race is held on the third or fourth Sunday of April each year. *April 17, 2011 (27th) *April 15, 2012 (28th) *April 21, 2013 (29th) *April 27, 2014 (30th) *April 19, 2015 (31st) *April 17, 2016 (32nd) *April 23, 2017 (33rd) *April 22, 2018 (34th) *April 14, 2019 (35th) *April (cancelled), 2020 (36th) *April 17, 2021 (37th) *April 24, 2022 (38th) *April 16, 2023 (39th) *April 21, 2024 (40th anniversary) *April 27, 2025 (41st)


References


External links



{{10K road races Sports competitions in Vancouver 10K runs Tourist attractions in Vancouver Recurring sporting events established in 1985 Annual sporting events in Canada Road running in Canada 1985 establishments in British Columbia