Vancouver Marathon Reviews & Race Reports
17 reviews from runners who've completed this race
Reviews & Race Reports
The Seawall Struggle — Many runners found the Seawall around 36km to be a tough stretch. Cramping and fatigue hit hard here, making it a mental battle to push through.
Crowd Energy — The crowd support at UBC and during the final uphill was a game changer. Runners noted a significant boost in motivation from the cheering spectators, especially when fatigue set in.
Course Challenges — The course features rolling hills, with significant drops and climbs that can catch you off guard. Expect to feel the impact on your quads after the Burrard Bridge and during the final kilometers.
Pacing and Strategy — Several runners emphasized the importance of pacing early on. Going out too fast can lead to struggles later, particularly between 29-35km where many reported fading significantly. Mastering tangents can help maintain pace and avoid congestion in the first few kilometers.
Surprised by a strong performance despite injury setbacks
Vancouver is such an undulating course, it's not until kilometer 11 where the course has it's first stretch of true flat ground and that's where I could gauge what felt comfortable for pacing. My goal of 2:57 meant flats were to be run at 4:12min/km (6:45min/mile) pace. When I looked down at my watch to see what pace I was settling into, the pace was 4:04min/km (6:32min/mile). I tried to not get too excited and told myself that I'm probably in store for a positive split today and that there was still about 70% of the race left.
Struggled with quads after Burrard bridge, but finished strong.
Final big hill at the Burrard bridge. This really took it out of me. Started to breathe heavy. Kept telling myself if I can survive this then I just have to hang on. There's a steep but short drop onto the path along the sea around 30-31km and that felt like the final straw for my quads. Did everything I could to hold on behind my uncle.
Struggled with cramps on the Seawall but finished strong under 3:40
Like many others have said about this race, the Seawall was the hardest part. I don't mind running without a ton of spectators, but around 36km my legs started to seize and cramp very badly and every so often, felt like they were going to give out. I was trying not to panic and was having serious doubts that I would be able to finish.
Felt great at UBC, struggled with cramps on the Seawall
I started to feel really good around the 14km mark, at that little out and back turnaround. Between then and the halfway mark I felt like I was flying. I loved running past the UBC campus where all of the students were cheering and drinking and blasting music. I hit the halfway point in about 1:48:30 and at that point was fully settled in and just enjoying the insanely beautiful course.
Felt strong early but hamstring tightness caused concern
I started feeling pretty strong, but I also know that my HR takes some time to go up when I start my runs, so I knew I would get cocky in the beginning. My dynamic warm up helped loosen up my glutes and hips, which I was worried about when I jogged to the start line, but immediately when the run started I could feel tightness in my hamstring. Not a great sign but I tried not to focus on it and accept that it's race time so I'll just have to do my best.