Yesterday, 15 000 people took to the streets of Vancouver taking part in the 2012 BMO Vancouver Half and Full Marathon. Of course the whole event couldn’t happen without the thousands of volunteers helping out at the start line, aid stations along the route, the finish line and behind the scenes. Thousands more came to cheer them on as the new race routes wound their way through an amazingly scenic course.
The new point to point route made a scenic course for the runners but also made it more difficult for us spectators to cheer on our friends in more than one location. Previously the course looped around downtown Vancouver and Kitsalano, allowing us to make it around town on foot to multiple locations. This new course took more work and planning, as well as a vehicle (thanks Billy for driving!), but we managed to make it work as friends and I came out to support our friend Brian Webb and it was great to see a few others that I knew running past. Through the help of social media Brian’s supporters were able to keep tabs on Brian as he made his way around the course, tweeting his whereabouts so those ahead could ‘see’. Those of us who did the earlier points were able to make it to the finish line and cheer Brian and many more across the line and the nearer cheer teams made it to the end to gather and congratulate Brian on a run well done!
Do you have a marathon experience, as a runner or supporter? How did you find the new course? How did you or your friend do?
For full results and information, visit the BMO Vancouver Marathon website
As a full marathon participate I thought the new course was absolutely amazing! It wasn’t nearly as difficult of a run as I had expected, other than the unfortunate muscle cramps I had that hindered my race time.
I especially appreciated the support you and Billy brought to this race to make it extra special. This could have easily been one of my toughest marathons ever, but seeing you guys so many times throughout the course was epic! It really does make the entire race more exciting.
And also thank you to all the people on social media who followed Jay’s tweets on my progress throughout the course. Jay, your timely tweets kept people up-to-date on my progress and it make it super engaging for our followers who couldn’t be at the race in person. Excellent job!
Thank you for the great photos too! They captured the spirit and enthusiasm of the race and are photos I’ll have to treasure for years to come.