BMO Vancouver Marathon held its 51st marathon on May 7, 2023. The event broke current event records by featuring over 20,000 registered runners and celebrating its to most finishers in the marathon and half marathon to date.
Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky set a new course record for the BMO Vancouver Marathon in 2:34:27 for the second year in a row, beating her previous course record of 2:34:30 in 2022. Pidhoresky finished the race with an impressive near fifteen-minute lead over local runner up Rozlyn Boutin 2:48:06 and American Callahan McKenzie 2:49:24.
“At 40KM I knew I was about 2 seconds slower than I was last year, and I thought “I think I can do this”, but once you hit that uphill it’s really really hard. For some reason, it felt even harder than last year because I had the added pressure of trying to get under that record and I just saw the time ticking down, and I gave it everything I had.” says Pidhoresky.
Star Yuki Kawauchi won the overall BMO Vancouver Marathon championship in 2:17:04, followed by Kenyan David Mutai in 2:20:04 and top Canadian Sergio Raez Villanueva in 2:23:19. Kawauchi is considered a citizen runner, due to his humble beginnings in school administration. This event marks his 114th marathon, an outstanding accomplishment.
Yuki says of all the races he has done, Vancouver is his favourite. He and his wife Yuko plan to return next year with their baby boy.
In the Half Marathon, Mohamed Aagab crossed the finish line in 1:06:55 followed by Olympian Lucas Bruchet 1:07:17 and Nathan Dehghan 1:08:17 who made the podium once again. In the women’s class, Olympian Natalia Allen 1:14:58 took the win over locals Lisa Brooking 1:16:42 and Katrina Allison 1:18:46.
Over $400,000 was fundraised for the Run4Hope program, which aims to raise funds for social impact and community good, and foster a spirit of community celebration. Within the program, participants can choose to donate to a variety of charities which includes Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Canadian Mental Health Association, and many more.
Thanks to nearly 3,000 volunteers, the local non-profit RUNVAN® is proud to offer this fantastic community event each year. The BMO Vancouver Marathon continues to be the largest Marathon race in Canada.
“It was a fantastic day, truly an incredible event,” adds Eric Chene, race director of the non-profit. “Each year I am blown away by the amount of talent and encouragement we see at these events. We couldn’t do it without the support from our volunteers and sponsors in addition to the City, the Vancouver Police Department, Parks Board, and the Province of British Columbia.”
“With over 20,000 registered runners and growing, this event continues to be the largest in Canada. From amateurs to elites, everyone has a place in the BMO Vancouver Marathon.”