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.

Attendance The first Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants,Vancouver Board of Trade, Sounding Board November 2003 Vol 43 # 6 and has grown significantly since:

With over 39,000 finishers in 2006, it ranked as the 9th largest race in the worldRunning USA Accessed November 6, 2007 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 50,746Vancouver Sun Run on Canada.com, 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 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. On April 20, 2008, the record was again broken, with 59,179 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 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.Vancouver Sun Accessed April 26, 2013 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled and the 2021 event operated as a virtual race.Vancouver Sun Run Statement Regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak

Race details 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.

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.Vancouver Sun, April 5, 2004, page C5

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.

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.Vancouver Sun Run registrations spike in solidarity with Boston - British Columbia - CBC News . Cbc.ca (2013-04-17). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.

Past winners All information taken from Association of Road Racing Statisticians.Association of Road Racing Statisticians Accessed September 2, 2006 Key = Course record YearMale winnerCountryTime (m:s)Female winnerCountryTime (m:s) 1985 Rob Lonergan 28:47 Susan Lee 32:39 1986 Graeme Fell 29:30 Debbie Scott-Bowker 33:31 1987 Graeme Fell 29:11 Lynn Kanuka-Williams 32:15 1988 Paul Williams 29:12 Lynn Kanuka-Williams 33:04 1989 Rex Wilson 28:44 Lynn Kanuka-Williams 32:19 1990 David Campbell 28:54 Debbie Scott-Bowker 33:06 1991 Philip Ellis 29:03 Patricia Puntous 33:48 1992 Paul Williams 29:03 Nancy Tinari 32:44 1993 Silvio Guerra 28:42 Leah Pells 32:48 1994 Daniel Komen 27:46 Daria Nauer 32:55 1995 Simon Chemoiywo 28:27 Olga Appell 32:57 1996 Joseph Kimani 27:31 Angela Chalmers 31:05 1997 Tom Nyariki 27:56 Sally Barsosio 31:47 1998 Christian Weber 28:40 Krystina Pieczulis 32:55 1999 Simon Chemoiywo 28:52 Tina Connelly 32:41 2000 James Koskei 27:36 Sally Barsosio 32:24 2001 James Koskei 28:06 Sally Barsosio 33:04 2002 James Koskei 27:58 Sara Dillabough 33:17 2003 Paul Koech 28:48 Aster Demissie 33:20 2004 Thomas Kiplitan 28:43 Émilie Mondor 31:10 2005 Michael Power 29:26 Nicole Stevenson 32:30 2006 Gilbert Okari 28:27 Isabella Ochichi 30:58 2007 Solomon Tsige 29:22 Teyba Erkesso 32:05 2008 Festus Langat 29:26 Genet Gebregiorgis 33:35 2009 Willy Kimosop 29:04 Abebu Gelan 34:04 2010 Kip Kangogo 29:02 Malindi Elmore 33:06 2011 Eric Gillis 29:06 Lucy Njeri 33:41 2012April 2012 AIMS Results. AIMS. Retrieved on 2012-04-19. Kelly Wiebe 29:13 Natasha Fraser 34:12 2013 Paul Kimugul 29:04 Natasha Fraser 32:42 2014 Paul Kimugul 28:59 Rachel Cliff 33:14 2015 Luke Puskedra 28:53 Risper Gesabwa 32:28 2016 Eric Gillis 28:52 Lanni Marchant 32:15 2017 Joseph Gray 29:38 Karolina Jarzynska-Nadolska 32:39 2018 Brendan Gregg 29:14 Monicah Wanjuhi 32:23 2019 Justin Kent 29:30 Natash Wodak 32:38 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021 2022 Lucas Bruchet 28:29 Leslie Sexton 32:372023John Gay29:40Leslie Sexton32:222024Thomas Fafard28:45Glynis Sim32:172025Sam Atkin28:09Glynis Sim32:542026Justin Kent28:40Makenna Fitzgerald32:24

Charity 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.Raise A Reader, National literacy campaign tops $10 millionThe Vancouver Raise A Reader, CanWest Raise A Reader Day

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 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) April 27, 2025 (41st) April 19, 2026 (42nd)

References

External links

Vancouver Sun Run