Ottawa Race Weekend 2012

The 2012 Ottawa Race Weekend will take place May 26-27, 2012. The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada's premier running event, combines competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive contribution to the health of the community. The Ottawa Marathon and Ottawa 10K are both sanctioned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). Last year's event welcomed a record 39,735 participants.

This year's route

For maps of all course routes for Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k, 5k, Family 2k and Y Kids Marathon, click here...

Registration

The half-marathon, 10K, 5K have all sold out in record time again this year – more than one month earlier than in 2011. Here are the details:
Half-marathon – 11,054 spots – SOLD OUT – February 15
10K – 9,998 spots – SOLD OUT – February 27
5K – 8,998 spots – SOLD OUT – March 6

Schedule & spectator info

Races are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. The main event -- the full marathon -- starts at 7:00am at the intersection of Elgin and Laurier downtown. The finish line is on Queen Elizabeth Driveway next to the Cartier Drill Hall (near Laurier Avenue). The fastest racers will cross the finish line around 9:00am.
A full schedule of weekend events is available here...
Official cheering stations:
Approximately 100,000 spectators will be cheering on runners along the Rideau Canal and at official cheering stations.
- Fairmont Park North of Sherwood
- Wellington Street West and Merton
- Wellington Street West between Parkdale Ave and Island Park Drive
- Richmond Road at Kirkwood
- Hôtel de Ville between Place du Portage and Laurier Street
- Hemlock and Birch Avenue
- Stanley Avenue Park
- Mackenzie Avenue at the South end of Major’s Hill Park
- Colonel By and Bronson Bridge
- Lakeside Ave.
- Brown's Inlet (Queen Elizabeth Drive and south of Bank)
- Queen Elizabeth and Fifth Avenue
- Queen Elizabeth between Catherine Street and Argyle Street
- Queen Elizabeth between Macleod and Delaware

Road closures

Expect delays around race times at any of the roads near the routes.
Queen Elizabeth Drive between Laurier Avenue and Somerset Street

8:00 a.m. Friday, May 27th to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 29th inclusive includes Laurier Avenue east off ramp and controlled exit and access to National Arts Centre (specific exit and entrance requirements to and from Lawrence Freiman Drive post performance and delivery via the Laurier Avenue off ramp have been negotiated between ORW and the National Arts Centre).
Click here for a full list of road closures...

Race links & info

A brief history

It all started back in 1975, when 146 runners lined up at Carleton University for Ottawa's first marathon. Today, thousands of runners take part in several events, including the marathon, half marathon, 10k, family runs, wheelchair races, and more.
(more event history)

Although now known as the "Ottawa Race Weekend" and the "ING Ottawa Marathon", the event has also been known as the "National Capital Maraton".

Did you know: According to Marathonguide.com, the ING Ottawa Marathon had the highest Canadian percentage of Boston qualifying finishers in 2007 with 22.8%. The site, a key reference for marathoning in North America, says that the courses on its 2007 list “will undoubtedly be among those ranked the fastest of all courses”.

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