Victoria Marathon
Victoria, BC Canada
October 12, 2025
Marathon Results
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Race Details
Out and back along a beautiful, seaside course. Accurately measured, AIMS, IAAF, Athetics Canada certified course. Boston Marathon qualifier.
Contact Information
Name: | Cathy Noel | |
Address: | Royal Victoria Marathon
Box 675, 185-911 Yates Street Victoria, British Columbia V8V 4Y9 Canada |
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Phone Number: | n/a | |
Fax Number: | n/a | |
Email: | Email the organizers |
Runner Reviews (85)
S. M. from Duncan, BC, Canada
(10/10/2018)
"Beautiful but hilly course" (about: 2018)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Victoria Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have run this marathon and half marathon many times as I live close by. It is a beautiful course but a runner has to do a lot of hill training to enjoy it. My friend from Australia ran the full this year and did not do the hill training and it found it very tough. I ran the half this year but knew what to expect. This race is not what it used to be in the way of shirts and after race food. It used to give out excellent quality garments but now they are thin and cheap and the half marathon is the same shirt year in and year out only a different colour. The food is not worth mentioning just some fruit and overly sweet cookies. There was no chocolate milk or yogurt as in previous years. When I came in there was only water and electrolyte fluid to drink. I presume they lost their sponsor for the milk and yogurt. I realize the cost of putting on these races go up every year. The little expo is good and we really enjoyed the speaker series on the Saturday. Did not go to the pasta dinner as it is too expensive. All in all it is a good race but in future we will bring our own food and put in checked bag. Nice medal. Even though it was raining there were a fair amount of spectators and musicians which made it enjoyable. | |
S. B. from Victoria, BC
(10/3/2017)
"Good execution, poor finish" (about: 2016)
3 previous marathons
| 3 Victoria Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Ran the marathon for the third time in 2016. The course was one I was quite familiar with, the weather was nice. The pace group started out a lot faster than I was prepared for, so I let them go. I have two complaints about the course this year. The first was the fire truck just at the bottom of the gold course hill, not sure why it was there or why it had to turn around at that particular point. The second is the finish line experience. I finished pretty close to the cut off time. After 5-1/2 hours on my feet, I get to the finish to find all the sustenance is gone, with the exception of half a box of cookies sitting on the ground. Fortunately I passed someone trying to get rid of a small carton of chocolate milk. Other than that, it's a nice race, small enough to be enjoyable, good bling. Definitely a nice event. | |
D. G. from Michigan
(10/18/2016)
"Must do for Destination Marathoners" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 28th marathon on 23 different courses. This one makes the top 10. It's a gently rolling course, but you should do some hill training. Quite a scenic course in a very charming & friendly city. We stayed 4 nights at the Royal Scot - right at the start line and very close to the finish. Did a shakeout run with the crew of a local running store in the pouring rain the day before - nice folks! If you travel to this one, be sure to take some time to check out Butchart Gardens - magnificent! | |
S. F. from Roseburg, OR
(10/13/2016)
"Spectacular marathon" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Loved the undulating course along the neighborhoods and bay front. The aid stations were great. The characteristically Victorian scenery made this a scenic, interesting, and fun event. I liked the kilometer signs rather than mile signs. They just went by all too quickly! There was some live music along the course but not much. | |
S. S. from Calgary
(10/11/2016)
"First-class marathon" (about: 2016)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Victoria Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran Victoria for the second time in 2016, and was reminded of what a great event it really is. Pre-race: the expo is small but well run and everything you need. I didn't attend the speaker series but it looked pretty good. The City: Victoria is a small city with a beautiful downtown and harbor, which is where the race starts and ends. So pretty much everyone who travels to the race stays right there. The downtown is small enough that you can feel the buzz the day before the race. Course: best word to describe it is 'rolling'. Not much of it is flat, but no killers either. Scenery is beautiful - you're along the ocean for about half of the race. Aid stations were well run and well placed. Fan support: for this size marathon, (1350 runners) really good. Lots of energy (especially downtown), and no long dead spots. Post-race: great support, with plenty to eat and drink. Many pubs nearby for that first beer! | |
A. T. from Chicago
(10/10/2016)
"Lovely city, scenic course (water, trees)" (about: 2016)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Liked this race. I'm a sucker for small, friendly races, especially when they're scenic and also run along water. Victoria is a nice city, and people are so friendly. I wish I'd stayed within walking distance of downtown (to spend my afternoon/evening the day before the race, although Capital City Center Hotel was extremely good value about 1.5 miles). If you do Early Start, they tell you to be there at 6 am for a Briefing; Briefing didn't start till 6:20, right before the 6:30 start. | |
Wayne Wright from Palmdale, California USA
(11/28/2015)
"A Great Race for Rabbits, eh?" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:17:21. The Victoria Marathon was my thirty-fifth 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: weather conditions at start time were a mostly cloudy 52 degrees (8 Celsius), 86 percent relative humidity, and wind from the northwest at 3 mph (5 km/h). We began our marathon journey adjacent to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, heading south on Menzies Street. Due to the storm the prior afternoon, the damp, leafy road surface was slippery. By the time we reached first kilometer, we had reversed course, heading north on Government Street, with views of the Inner Harbour on our left and The Empress on our right. We veered left on Wharf Street, continuing alongside the bay before reaching Johnson Street, heading east through downtown, with our first upward ascent (a little over 30 feet or 20 meters) just before kilometer 2. At kilometer 3, we headed south on Cook Street toward Beacon Hill Park, reaching it at kilometer 4.5. By the time we reached the eighth kilometer (fifth mile), we had completed two separate loops around the forested preserve, with the second circuit allowing us a glimpse of the Terry Fox statue. After leaving the park, we headed east alongside the shoreline, offering us our first full view of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains to the south. We also got our first whiff of sea air. This segment lasted about 2 kilometers before we headed inland and took our first pass on the mostly residential finger of the course, heading inland between kilometers 11 and 12. For the next 4 kilometers, we would head uphill to the highest part of the course, a mere 74 feet (22 meters) higher than the lowest point, at the corner of Granite Street and Mitchell Street, in Oak Bay, where afterward, we traversed through the commercial district of the municipality, before returning to the coast. Past the tenth mile and 16th kilometer, we continued east along the shoreline on Beach Drive. At the corner of Newport and Beach, we entered the grounds of the Victoria Golf Club, referred by some as The Pebble Beach of Canada. Our course rounded north at 18 kilometers, and soon afterward, we passed alongside the marina. Near the halfway mark, we entered the upscale Uplands community, where we turned around just short of halfway between kilometers 23 and 24 (15 miles) and almost entirely retraced our steps all the way back to the Beacon Hill Park entrance at Cook Street, having completed our 38th kilometer. One kilometer later, we left Beacon Hill Park, passing by Mile 0 of the Trans-Canada Highway, entering the James Bay community, initially heading west, then north, and finally east toward the finish line located in front of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, with the statue of Queen Victoria peering down on us as we crossed the finish line. Weather conditions at finish time were a mostly cloudy 59 degrees (8 Celsius), 76 percent relative humidity, and wind from the south-southeast at 8 mph (13 km/h). ORGANIZATION: Average expo for a race of this size with a limited selection of logoed race merchandise to choose fromessentially tech tees. The course bus tour was average; the driver, however, did a magnificent job of navigating his way through the difficult turns, not to mention violating several city ordinances in order to stay true to the course route. The Carbo Gala Dinner held at The Empress Crystal Ballroom was a grand affair if one was a local or national class athlete. And the addresses delivered by Darrell Fox and Joe Henderson were memorable. But if you were an out-of-province or foreign country visitor, you may have wanted to consider other alternatives. Lastly, one usually does not observe the race announcer at the finish line, but in this case it was hard not to notice Steve King, who seemed to have managed to add a little extra for a number of finishers, something like Joe Schmo, who finished first in his age group in the Upper Salt Spring Island Backwoods 10K last week, completed this race with a fine effort. But for the over five-hour marathoner, there were some issues a participant would need to have been aware of. The first one, especially if ones finish time was between 5:15 and 5:30, was which start to choose. The early start, designed for 5.5 to 7 hour finishers, commenced at 6:30 a.m., 2 hours 15 minutes before the marathon race start. These participants were subject to local traffic laws (i.e. waiting for the traffic signal to turn green), must have stayed on the sidewalk and be self-sufficient for the first hour of the race, and if the participant finished before 5 hours 15 minutes, he was disqualified. If the participant chose the regular start, he was subject to a 5.5 hour time limit. What was not stated was, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) into the race, if the participant was behind the five hour pace group, course support started to evaporate. Some of the volunteers, who were supposed to have kept traffic off of the course, were unable to do so or walked away from their post before the race was over, and the Victoria Police had some difficulty as well. It was evident the residents of Oak Bay had enough of this race and were determined to regain control of their neighborhood! And finally, at least one of the aid stations had closed shop as well. SPECTATORS: Average. Most memorable: the lone piper on the 17th kilometer. CONCLUSION: A flat and scenic marathon for the average and faster participant. For slower runners and walkers, there are plenty other venues providing better accommodation. | |
S. S. from Portland, Oregon
(10/23/2014)
"Lovely, flat-to-rolling marathon. Ideal for BQ!" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Victoria Marathon is exceptionally well organized (everything from informative, well-written emails every month leading up to the race to packet pickup), friendly, and SCENIC! This is the second Canadian marathon I've run (I live in Oregon), and they are different than races in the U.S. A more relaxed, casual atmosphere, especially at the start, that I love. Marathon is smallfewer than 1,600 finishers in 2014so start is delightfully uncrowded and easy to maneuver. Yes, it starts too late (8:45 a.m.) but that seems common in Canada. Marathon starts long after 8K and more popular half-marathon. Course is flat to rollingI felt there was only one 'hill' and it was neither steep nor long. Runners in race seem savvy, in a good way, so they are respectful of not getting in anyone's way, either when they slow down or enter water stations. Easy for my husband to see me several times in the second half of the race, handing me bottles of Nuun and snapping pictures. Fast course (I ran a negative split and qualified for Boston by more than 3 minutes), and great size of race field. Enough runners to provide 'rabbits' to chase, yet I never felt I had to dodge or weave around other runners. Victoria is a beautiful city, and so easy to get around. I loved walking to and from race. I recommend this race very highly, unless you like tons of spectators, a big race field, or a bustling expo. But if you're looking to run a well-organized, gorgeous, runner-centric marathon, head to Victoria!! | |
B. O. from San Francisco, CA
(10/16/2014)
"Welcoming city, good race, slightly hilly course" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Overall, the race was well organized and supported by lots of great volunteers. The course is very scenic, especially the section along the waterfront, through Beacon Hill Park, and along Oak Bay and the ocean. However, the course is also somewhat hilly. Nothing too steep, but the frequency does take a toll in the later miles. The temperature for 2014 was in the high 50's, overcast, and not windy, so weather wasn't a factor. The marathon does begin at 8:45am, so weather could be an issue if it is sunny. Spectator support was surprisingly sparse, though those that did come out to cheer were friendly and enthusiastic. This was my first time in Victoria, BC and found the city welcoming and scenic. The marathon was well organized from the expo and throughout the race. I was very pleased with the light jacket we received instead of a t-shirt. | |
D. G. from Nova scotia
(10/14/2014)
"Beautiful course" (about: 2014)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Victoria Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Beautiful course through nice neighbourhoods, next to the water, through parks. There could have been more water stops, but with the mild overcast temperature it was not so much an issue. Volunteers and spectators were enthusiastic. I would recommend this marathon. |
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