American entries in Sunday’s Vancouver Marathon are down 40 to 50 per cent because of the strong Canadian dollar and stricter passport requirements, the marathon’s race director said yesterday.
About 13,000 people are expected to take part in the 37th annual Vancouver Marathon, about 2,000 less than the almost 15,000 who took part in 2006, said race director Jane Anderson.
“It’s primarily our U.S. numbers,” said Anderson, blaming the high dollar and new passport requirements for air travel into the U.S for the drop.
“It’s down throughout tourism,” she said. “Not just our event.”
About 4,000 people will run the full marathon and 7,000 the half marathon. Another 2,000 will take part in various races including the wheelchair marathon, a five-leg marathon relay and MaraFun for children.
Runners come from all across Canada and internationally from 35 countries to take part.
