This weekend, 39,000 people will once again make Ottawa Race Weekend the biggest running event in the country.
Sold out for the first time, the event, which includes the 10K, 5K and 2K events on Saturday and the marathon, half-marathon, kids’ marathon and wheelchair marathon on Sunday, has come a long way since the Ottawa Marathon was first held in 1975, said Jim Robinson, general manager of Ottawa Race Weekend.
“The Ottawa Race Weekend is a very popular event,” he said. “People from all over the country love to come to Ottawa in May and participate in this event. With more people concerned with fitness and health… all events across the country, not just ours, are experiencing growth.”
Thousands of people, including 2,000 volunteers, make this event possible, said Robinson.
While organizers would love to grow the race, the first priority is “maintaining a great experience for the runner,” Robinson said. “We only have two lanes, so we may not be able to grow the event past what it is now.”
