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With 2 weeks to go before the first start, 34th edition already close to last year’s record registration numbers
OTTAWA – The 34th edition of the Ottawa Race Weekend, to be held from May 22 to 25, is already on its way to another record year. Almost 27,000 participants have registered to the various races and with two weeks to go, the event is all but guaranteed to welcome the largest number of runners ever seen in Ottawa. One event is sold out and organizers are urging would-be participants to register as soon as possible to avoid being disappointed.
“In our planning, we have to put a cap in each event to ensure we don’t run out of medals or t-shirts, for example”, explains Race Director John Halvorsen. “Already, we have one event sold out and we’re very close to selling out most of our races before we even start the weekend.”
In its inaugural year, the Nortel Kids Marathon sold out a month ago with almost 1,200 registrants. This new event was designed to give young people the chance to experience running a marathon and learn the benefits of an active daily routine. “When we launched this initiative, we were hoping to attract 750 kids but the registrations kept pouring in,” says Halvorsen. “We’re looking forward to seeing all these kids complete their marathon adventure at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 25.”
As for the other races, the ING Ottawa Half Marathon, the most populous event in previous years, has less than 500 spots left, while the MDS Nordion 5K and 10K both have over 6,000 runners already registered and will most likely sell out prior to the event.
Those interested can register online until midnight, May 21 or at the Pfizer Health and Fitness Expo at the Aberdeen Pavillion of Lansdowne Park from May 22 to 24. Any changes to registration can only be done at the Expo.
New location for Pfizer Health and Fitness Expo
The Pfizer Health and Fitness Expo, running from May 22 to 24, will again be the intro to the Race Weekend for race participants. Site of race kit pick up and last minute registration, the Expo will be held at the Aberdeen Pavillion at Lansdowne Park. With over 100 exhibitors, the Expo welcomes between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors each years.
The Expo’s Speaker Series will also be held on Friday (May 23rd) and Saturday (May 24th). Running Room founder John Stanton, Olympic gold medallist Frank Shorter, running coach Greg McMillan, Boston marathon 1980 champion Jacqueline Gareau, Dr. Douglas Stoddart as well as Mizuno technical specialist Kaireen Patton, will be on hand to discuss all the newest trends in running. The schedule is available on the Race Weekend’s website (runottawa.ca).
New SMS feature for Race participants!
In partnership with Sportstats and BazuMedia, the Ottawa Race Weekend will be offering a new race day messaging service, allowing athletes, families and friends to receive cell phone text messages during the race as their favourite athlete passes by various race checkpoints. For $3.99, five names/cell phone numbers can be entered and will alert via text messaging about the progress of the athlete. Sign up for this service can be done at http://sms.eventsonline.ca.
About The Ottawa Race Weekend
The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada's premier running festival, combines competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive contribution to the health of the community. The 2007 Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed over 29,600 participants in six races, including the ING Ottawa Marathon and the MDS Nordion 10K. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors.
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