Join in
Join the BMO Vancouver Marathon
Thanks for your continued enthusiasm in the BMO Vancouver Marathon organized annually by the local non-profit RUNVAN®, traditionally with the support of nearly 3,000 volunteers. The next in-person event is now scheduled for Sunday, May 7, 2023. Event capacity will be limited and sell-out capacity is anticipated again. Register early to secure your spot on the Start Line of Canada’s most scenic destination race!
Due to COVID-19 global pandemic, non-profit event organizers were not permitted to host a mass in-person event in 2020 or 2021. 2020 deferral runners, your deferral rates were made valid for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 – details were emailed to deferral runners on January 26, 2021, with updates again emailed to deferral runners on November 3 and November 5, 2021, plus on May 25, 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19 FAQS
COVID-19 Vaccine Card Requirements
Starting September 13, 2021, BC was requiring proof of vaccination for people 12 and older to access some events, services, and businesses.
Starting April 8, 2022, the Province stated proof of vaccination will no longer be required to access most businesses, events and services in B.C.
2020 Event Cancellation FAQs
Why can’t you just refund my registration?
Entry fees are non-refundable as per race policies agreed to upon registration. Our non-profit would not be able to financially sustain full refunds given the majority of the 2020 budget had already been allocated. In other words, funds had already been spent per traditional ordering timelines and couldn’t simply be returned without causing serious cash-flow concerns that may have jeopardized the overall sustainability of this long-standing community event. RUNVAN® instead redirected all savings from the 2020 event cancellation back to registered runners through future race offerings. As a non-profit, RUNVAN® is still forecasting to operate at a financial loss in the short-term.
Where was the money from 2020 spent?
The majority of the event’s initial budget was already committed to prior to the event’s cancellation in March. RUNVAN® invests in a marketing campaign that helps to attract runners from 65+ countries, plus makes large advance purchases. Since that product was ordered months in advance of the event cancellation, refunds on products like the 2020 tech shirts and medals are unavailable. The event still offered in-person Package Pickup for local residents when it was safe to do so, allowing runners to still collect those commemorative rewards. For non-local residents and those unable to make an in-person pickup, rewards were mailed. If you didn’t receive your race kit, please feel free to still contact us: [email protected] Thank you for understanding.
Where is my deferral discount code?
Deferral discount codes were emailed to 2020 runners again on November 3, 2021. You may use your unique deferral discount code when registering for the next BMO Vancouver Marathon event in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025.
2020 runners were invited join the event’s first-ever Virtual Race, receive the race swag, plus opt-in to one of the options below:
Option A: 100% deferral to the 2020 Great Trek, plus 40% off the BMO Vancouver Marathon 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 event.
Option B: 75% off the BMO Vancouver Marathon 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 event.
What is COVID-19?
On March 11, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. March 12, B.C. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stated that event organizers are to cancel all gatherings of 250 people or more. March 13, the volunteer Board of Directors at RUNVAN® officially announced the cancellation of the 2020 event. Vancouver’s only Marathon event draws runners from 65+ countries and many of those countries had their own travel restrictions, as well, as a result of COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further suggested a ban of large scale events. Given the directive of the health organizations, the BMO Vancouver Marathon could not safely proceed as initially planned in 2020 or 2021.