Vancouver Sun Run

Last updated

Vancouver Sun Run
VancouverSunRun.JPG
DateThird or fourth Sunday in April
Location Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Event typeRoad
Distance 10km
Primary sponsor Ford Canada
Established1985
Course recordsMen:
Flag of Kenya.svg  Joseph Kimani  (KEN) 27:31
Women:
Flag of Kenya.svg  Isabella Ochichi  (KEN) 30:58
Official site Vancouver Sun Run

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.

Contents

Attendance

The first Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants, [1] and has grown significantly since:

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.

Vancouver Sun Run in 2006 Sunrun shot by kk.jpg
Vancouver Sun Run in 2006

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. [6]

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. [7]

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. [8]

Past winners

Key   = Course record
YearMale winnerCountryTime (m:s)Female winnerCountryTime (m:s)
1985Rob LonerganFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 28:47Susan LeeFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:39
1986 Graeme Fell Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:30 Debbie Scott-Bowker Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:31
1987 Graeme Fell Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:11 Lynn Kanuka-Williams Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:15
1988Paul WilliamsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:12Lynn Kanuka-WilliamsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:04
1989Rex WilsonFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 28:44Lynn Kanuka-WilliamsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:19
1990David CampbellFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 28:54 Debbie Scott-Bowker Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:06
1991Philip EllisFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:03Patricia PuntousFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:48
1992Paul WilliamsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:03Nancy TinariFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:44
1993 Silvio Guerra Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 28:42Leah PellsFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:48
1994 Daniel Komen Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27:46 Daria Nauer Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 32:55
1995 Simon Chemoiywo Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:27 Olga Appell Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 32:57
1996 Joseph Kimani Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27:31 Angela Chalmers Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 31:05
1997 Tom Nyariki Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27:56 Sally Barsosio Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 31:47
1998Christian WeberFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 28:40Krystina PieczulisFlag of Poland.svg  Poland 32:55
1999Simon ChemoiywoFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:52 Tina Connelly Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:41
2000 James Koskei Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27:36Sally BarsosioFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 32:24
2001James KoskeiFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:06Sally BarsosioFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 33:04
2002James KoskeiFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27:58Sara DillaboughFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:17
2003 Paul Koech Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:48Aster DemissieFlag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 33:20
2004Thomas KiplitanFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:43 Émilie Mondor Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 31:10
2005Michael PowerFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 29:26 Nicole Stevenson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:30
2006 Gilbert Okari Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:27 Isabella Ochichi Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 30:58
2007 Solomon Tsige Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 29:22 Teyba Erkesso Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 32:05
2008 Festus Langat Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 29:26 Genet Gebregiorgis Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 33:35
2009Willy KimosopFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 29:04 Abebu Gelan Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 34:04
2010Kip KangogoFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 29:02 Malindi Elmore Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:06
2011Eric GillisFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:06 Lucy Njeri Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:41
2012 [10] Kelly WiebeFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:13Natasha FraserFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 34:12
2013Paul KimugulFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 29:04 Natasha Fraser Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:42
2014Paul KimugulFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 28:59 Rachel Cliff Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 33:14
2015 Luke Puskedra Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 28:53 Risper Gesabwa Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 32:28
2016 Eric Gillis Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 28:52 Lanni Marchant Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:15
2017 Joseph Gray Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 29:38 Karolina Jarzynska-Nadolska Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 32:39
2018 Brendan Gregg Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 29:14 Monicah Wanjuhi Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 32:23
2019 Justin Kent Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:30 Natash Wodak Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:38
2020cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [5]
2021
2022 Lucas Bruchet Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 28:29 Leslie Sexton Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:37
2023 John Gay Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29:40 Leslie Sexton Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 32:22

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. [11] [12]

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.

References

  1. Vancouver Board of Trade, Sounding Board November 2003 Vol 43 # 6
  2. Running USA "World's Largetst Races". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2006. Accessed November 6, 2007
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Vancouver Sun Run on Canada.com, "Vancouver Sun Run". canada.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2006.
  4. Vancouver Sun "Sun Run 2012 draws 48,904 participants". Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2013. Accessed April 26, 2013
  5. 1 2 Vancouver Sun Run Statement Regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
  6. Vancouver Sun, April 5, 2004, page C5 Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Sun Run organizers encourage racers to get colourful with tributes to Boston". www.vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  8. Vancouver Sun Run registrations spike in solidarity with Boston - British Columbia - CBC News . Cbc.ca (2013-04-17). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
  9. Association of Road Racing Statisticians "Vancouver Sun Run" . Retrieved June 29, 2006. Accessed September 2, 2006
  10. April 2012 AIMS Results. AIMS. Retrieved on 2012-04-19.
  11. Raise A Reader, National literacy campaign tops $10 million
  12. The Vancouver Raise A Reader, CanWest Raise A Reader Day