The Vancouver Sun Run took place this weekend on Sunday, April 21st. The turn out was incredible with 45 517 people participating, the most of any Sun Run since 2014. This year was the 40th Sun Run to take place in Vancouver and it is known as Canada’s largest 10km road race and North America’s 3rd largest timed 10km.
The Sun Run was founded in 1985 by former Canadian Olympians Dr. Doug and Diane Clement alongside Dr. Jack Taunton. This race was made to promote the good that running can do for the human body, to improve health and fitness, and to promote elite amateur athletes. Over the years the Sun Run has grown more and more, with the first race only having 3200 people participating, increasing in size by nearly 15x. It is a very diverse event, people all over Canada come to take on the iconic 10k run. As the years have gone by, the run continues to grow not just in numbers of participants but as well as volunteers and the walking, running, racing, community. This event is all made possible by the great team of over 1500 volunteers who spend their time working hard to make the race as amazing as possible. The Sun Run continues to strive to be the leading and most influential 10k race there is by making it accessible to anyone who feels the need to get out and move their legs.
This year’s route for the race was a scenic one. The course ran right through the heart of the West End, leading to the English Bay waterfront. The runners then headed east alongside the water, headed south to cross the Burrard St bridge and continued through the Mount Pleasant neighbourhoods. The race ended on Pacific Blvd, and the meet up zone was inside BC Place. This route led to many street closures, shutting down basically everything in between Georgia St and Pacific Blvd.
Just a reminder that the Vancouver Sun Run is this morning and there are road closures along the route, some of them until approximately 1:30 p.m.
More information on road closures: https://t.co/3vFKPe03qR pic.twitter.com/rdE0QbiWXU
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) April 21, 2024
Now if you’re not into winning or losing the Sun Run is still for you, however there is still someone who finishes first. The race tracks three different podiums for the day: mens, womens, and wheelchairs. The winners were…
Men:
- Thomas Fafard, Quebec, 28:42
- Thomas Broatch, Vancouver, 28:56
- Turner Wiley, Washington, 29:00
Women
- Glynis Sim, Vancouver, 32:17
- Leslie Sexton, Vancouver, 32:25
- Andrea Seccafien, Ontario, 33:02
Wheelchair
- Leo Sammarelli, Vancouver, 31:08
- Balraj Partridge, Richmond, 38:56
- James Hustvedt, North Vancouver, 47:21
Vancouver Sun Run: Thomas Fafard ran like he had a flight to catch — and finished in 28 minutes, 45 seconds https://t.co/9RSRxevssl pic.twitter.com/M5eLZlWDGc
— The Province (@theprovince) April 22, 2024
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the race this year, and best of luck to anyone who is starting their training early for next year!