RACE HISTORY

Yearly Race Recap

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2018

The Banff Marathon in 2018 experienced beautiful sunny warm weather making it one of the most picturesque editions of the event to date.  The event achieved a very special sustainability milestone in diverting a full 100% of its waste from landfill – the event produced no waste!  The Banff Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K events sold out once again with participants visiting from 24 countries, 44 US States, and 10 Provinces.  The Health and Fitness Expo along with the BMO Kids Run were again very popular and made for a festival weekend full of activities.  Local runner, Daniel Habteyes, was crowned the Men’s Marathon Champion while Calgary’s Adriana Wild took the women’s title.  A record number of local runners participated in the event in 2018 and community involvement was at an all-time high.  Congratulations to all of the runners!

 

2017

The 2017 Banff Marathon was an extra special year as participants celebrated Canada’s 150th Birthday in Canada’s first national park! We would like to congratulate all of the participants in the Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km and Kids Run.  It was a beautiful day, perfect run weather and despite some windstorms that downed trees on the Bow Valley Parkway a week before, Parks had the beautiful primary race route all cleaned up and ready to go!  There was a little extra excitement this year when Parks Canada stopped some runners later in the Marathon to let a grizzly bear pass through giving 30 runners a great story to tell.  Highlights also included record attendance, participants from 27 countries, a 99% waste diversion rate and amazing community involvement. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and partners!

 

2016

Congratulations to all of the 2016 participants, and thank-you to all of the amazing volunteers! A wet start to the day but a nice change as the day transformed to shining sun and perfect running conditions.  Due to heavy wolf activity on the primary marathon route, the contingency route was utilized at the direction of Parks Canada.  Congratulations to Marathon Champion Brendan Lunty who returned to defend his title from the first year the event was run in 2014.  This year featured the inaugural year of the successful Health and Fitness Expo held at the Fenlands Recreation Centre.  A new 10K route was introduced with a scenic 2-loop “Tour de Banff” that passes by many of Banff’s famous landmarks.  The event sold out once again for all three distances.

 

2015

Congratulations to all of the 2015 participants and volunteers. What a glorious day and the runners got to experience the closed Bow Valley Parkway on the marathon and half marathon routes!  A “10K” distance was added for the first time to the event.  Participants were very pleased with the experience, 97.2% reported that they would recommend this race to others.  The sustainability program was expanded and yielded world leading results.  The event sold out in the Marathon, Half Marathon & new 10K.

 

2014

Congratulations on being a part of history for the first ever Banff Marathon & Half Marathon! What a day, it was full of smiles and sunshine.  It was a very warm day with temperatures reaching in to the mid 20’s.  Due to heavy and unusual bear activity on Vermilion Lakes Road the week leading up to the event, the contingency route was utilized at the direction of Parks Canada.  Participants were in great spirits and enjoyed the unique experience in Canada’s first national park.  The Banff Marathon also launched a world-leading sustainability program, many community programs including a free Kids Run, fundraising efforts for its “Official Charity”, the YWCA Banff and successful Banff National Park stewardship programs.

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2013

The inaugural Banff Marathon was set to take place in June of 2013 before the event was cancelled due to the extensive and devastating flooding in Southern Alberta.  Damage to the region was far-reaching as the Trans Canada Highway from Calgary to Banff was washed out in multiple locations, residents in nearby Canmore lost their homes (literally washed down rivers) and much of Calgary was under water!

• "Banff Marathon Cancelled Due to Alberta Flooding"  Canadian Running - June 23, 2013