The Vancouver Sun Run, owned by Run Vancouver Holdings ULC and sponsored by The Vancouver Sun newspaper, is a 10-kilometre road running event held in Vancouver every year on the third (sometimes the fourth) Sunday in April since 1985. It is one of the largest road races in North America.

Vancouver Sun Run
DateThird or fourth Sunday in April
LocationVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Event typeRoad
Distance10km
Primary sponsorFord Canada
Established1985
Course recordsMen:
 Joseph Kimani (KEN) 27:31
Women:
 Isabella Ochichi (KEN) 30:58
Official siteVancouver Sun Run

Attendance

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The first Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants,[1] and has grown significantly since:

  • With over 39,000 finishers in 2006, it ranked as the 9th largest race in the world[2] and the 3rd largest 10-km race, behind only the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta and the Bolder Boulder in Boulder.
  • The 2006 event took place on April 23 and 50,746[3] 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[3] 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 and the third largest in the World.[3]
  • On April 20, 2008, the record was again broken, with 59,179[3] 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[3] 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.[4]
  • Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled and the 2021 event operated as a virtual race.[5]

Race details

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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.

 
Vancouver Sun Run in 2006

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 after guiding runners through the downtown peninsula and parts of the Kitsilano and Fairview neighbourhoods south of False Creek. 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 band The Neurotics, who have played at the starting line every year since 1995.[6]

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.

In the aftermath of the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Vancouver Sun Run race organizers have petitioned runners to wear blue and yellow, the official Boston Marathon colours, in solidarity and remembrance of those killed and injured in Boston a week prior.[7]

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.[8]

Past winners

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Key   = Course record
Year Male winner Country Time (m:s) Female winner Country Time (m:s)
1985 Rob Lonergan   Canada 28:47 Susan Lee   Canada 32:39
1986 Graeme Fell   Canada 29:30 Debbie Scott-Bowker   Canada 33:31
1987 Graeme Fell   Canada 29:11 Lynn Kanuka-Williams   Canada 32:15
1988 Paul Williams   Canada 29:12 Lynn Kanuka-Williams   Canada 33:04
1989 Rex Wilson   New Zealand 28:44 Lynn Kanuka-Williams   Canada 32:19
1990 David Campbell   Canada 28:54 Debbie Scott-Bowker   Canada 33:06
1991 Philip Ellis   Canada 29:03 Patricia Puntous   Canada 33:48
1992 Paul Williams   Canada 29:03 Nancy Tinari   Canada 32:44
1993 Silvio Guerra   Ecuador 28:42 Leah Pells   Canada 32:48
1994 Daniel Komen   Kenya 27:46 Daria Nauer   Switzerland 32:55
1995 Simon Chemoiywo   Kenya 28:27 Olga Appell   United States 32:57
1996 Joseph Kimani   Kenya 27:31 Angela Chalmers   Canada 31:05
1997 Tom Nyariki   Kenya 27:56 Sally Barsosio   Kenya 31:47
1998 Christian Weber   Canada 28:40 Krystina Pieczulis   Poland 32:55
1999 Simon Chemoiywo   Kenya 28:52 Tina Connelly   Canada 32:41
2000 James Koskei   Kenya 27:36 Sally Barsosio   Kenya 32:24
2001 James Koskei   Kenya 28:06 Sally Barsosio   Kenya 33:04
2002 James Koskei   Kenya 27:58 Sara Dillabough   Canada 33:17
2003 Paul Koech   Kenya 28:48 Aster Demissie   Ethiopia 33:20
2004 Thomas Kiplitan   Kenya 28:43 Émilie Mondor   Canada 31:10
2005 Michael Power   Australia 29:26 Nicole Stevenson   Canada 32:30
2006 Gilbert Okari   Kenya 28:27 Isabella Ochichi   Kenya 30:58
2007 Solomon Tsige   Ethiopia 29:22 Teyba Erkesso   Ethiopia 32:05
2008 Festus Langat   Kenya 29:26 Genet Gebregiorgis   Ethiopia 33:35
2009 Willy Kimosop   Kenya 29:04 Abebu Gelan   Ethiopia 34:04
2010 Kip Kangogo   Kenya 29:02 Malindi Elmore   Canada 33:06
2011 Eric Gillis   Canada 29:06 Lucy Njeri   Canada 33:41
2012[10] Kelly Wiebe   Canada 29:13 Natasha Fraser   Canada 34:12
2013 Paul Kimugul   Kenya 29:04 Natasha Fraser   Canada 32:42
2014 Paul Kimugul   Kenya 28:59 Rachel Cliff   Canada 33:14
2015 Luke Puskedra   United States 28:53 Risper Gesabwa   Kenya 32:28
2016 Eric Gillis   Canada 28:52 Lanni Marchant   Canada 32:15
2017 Joseph Gray   United States 29:38 Karolina Jarzynska-Nadolska   Poland 32:39
2018 Brendan Gregg   United States 29:14 Monicah Wanjuhi   Kenya 32:23
2019 Justin Kent   Canada 29:30 Natash Wodak   Canada 32:38
2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[5]
2021
2022 Lucas Bruchet   Canada 28:29 Leslie Sexton   Canada 32:37
2023 John Gay   Canada 29:40 Leslie Sexton   Canada 32:22

Charity

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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.[11][12]

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

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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)

References

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  1. ^ Vancouver Board of Trade, Sounding Board November 2003 Vol 43 # 6
  2. ^ Running USA "World's Largetst Races". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2006-06-29. Accessed November 6, 2007
  3. ^ a b c d e Vancouver Sun Run on Canada.com, "Vancouver Sun Run". canada.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-07. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  4. ^ Vancouver Sun "Sun Run 2012 draws 48,904 participants". Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2013-09-22. Accessed April 26, 2013
  5. ^ a b Vancouver Sun Run Statement Regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
  6. ^ Vancouver Sun, April 5, 2004, page C5 Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Sun Run organizers encourage racers to get colourful with tributes to Boston". www.vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  8. ^ Vancouver Sun Run registrations spike in solidarity with Boston - British Columbia - CBC News . Cbc.ca (2013-04-17). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
  9. ^ Association of Road Racing Statisticians "Vancouver Sun Run". Retrieved 2006-06-29. Accessed September 2, 2006
  10. ^ April 2012 AIMS Results. AIMS. Retrieved on 2012-04-19.
  11. ^ Raise A Reader, National literacy campaign tops $10 million
  12. ^ The Vancouver Raise A Reader, CanWest Raise A Reader Day
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