WELCOME TO THE 30th ROYAL VICTORIA MARATHON!With over one hundred thousand runners, $300,000 in charitable donations and over $18 million in economic impact on Victoria’s economy, we are proud of the value the first 29 years of the Royal Victoria Marathon have delivered to so many people. We are looking forward to welcoming participants from all over North America and from around the world to Victoria on race weekend - October 9th through 11th, 2009. I would like to thank the executive board, organizing committee and volunteer crew of over 1,300 people for making the first 29 years happen. We are looking forward to our 30th Anniversary in 2009. We are proud to be having New Balance technical shirts for the Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K Road Race participants. Continuing this year is our Charity Pledge Program – you can now raise pledges for one of our nine recognized charities. Good luck on race day. I look forward to greeting you at the finish line!
Sincerely, | ||
PRESIDENT’S REPORT — VICTORIA MARATHON SOCIETYExcitement is in the autumn air anticipating the 30th annual Royal Victoria Marathon, Half Marathon, 8K Road Race, and Thrifty Foods Kids Marathon-Kids Run in October. I had the pleasure of watching the inaugural event in September 1980 when Tom Howard blazed through the two-loop course in 2:21:45 to win the inaugural race where there were 681 finishers. Today, I have seen the event continually grow in prestige, stature and popularity to attract over 12,000 competitors. RVM is, and continues to be the largest, and most popular, distance running festival on Vancouver Island. I’ve seen the event blossom from a single 26.2 mile race where I worked the finish line 30 years ago, to today, where we offer five different events for all ages, and add excellent features such as our popular Expo, New Balance technical race shirts, a beautiful, scenic race course, attractive participant medals and awards, nearby hotels including the Fairmont Empress, massage, recovery zone and souvenir apparel. You won’t find a more perfect backdrop for a finish line that the historic Parliament Buildings and the majestic Olympic Mountains. Last year’s Royal Victoria Marathon was a repeat for our overall champion with Steve Osaduik, from Langley, winning the men’s race for his third consecutive year. Victoria’s Cheryl Murphy won the women’s title in 2:43:00 by running only her second marathon, after a 2:40:12 debut in Albany, Georgia in March. Ryan Day, from Vancouver, and Calgary’s Lindsay McLaren won the Royal Victoria Half Marathon while Victoria’s Ryan McKenzie and Rachel Ruus, of Richmond, were the 8K Road Race Champions. The executive and planning committees are comprised of 45 hard working, conscientious individuals. I am proud to be a part of this cooperative team. Our tremendous volunteer crew of over 1,100 is second to none in comparison to the hundreds of other special events that Victoria stages annually. I have been fortunate to be involved as the Finish Line Assistant in 1980 and progressing through the years to become Venue Coordinator, Technical Race Director, Elite Athlete Director and now Chairman of the Board. We do have a great team to work with! Our 30th annual event on October 11 will offer many new features including a reunion of all past winners, beautiful “Eagle” artwork thanks to Tom Spetter, 30th Anniversary banner on all graphics, an enlarged Race Guide to capture the history of the event, new start times for the 8K Road Race and Thrifty Foods Kid’s Run to improve runner flow, a modern new design for participant medals and a new Visually Impaired race category. These are only part of the package that makes RVM such a popular destination marathon. It is a race “organized by runners for runners” with so many small, but special, touches.
The City of Victoria experiences a tremendous economic impact as over 60% of our participants are visitors from off-Island. As a Society, we welcome athletes to Victoria, the ‘Running Capital of Canada’ and the ‘City of Champions’. We always endeavour to host a first class event in our community and we sincerely hope that everyone returns home a champion. Best of luck to everyone participating in this 30th milestone marathon event! Bob Reid, 2009 President Victoria Marathon Society |
