Close to 8,000 runners are expected to compete in the 2023 Royal Victoria Marathon. Photos by Matt Cecill Visuals
VICTORIA – Close to 8,000 runners are ex-pected to compete in the 2023 Royal Victoria Marathon October 6-8.
To make the event happen, 1,600 volunteers are needed and there are a number of opportunities for sponsorship, says Cathy Noel, General Manager and Race Director of the Royal Victoria Marathon, under the umbrella of the Victoria Marathon Society. The event now includes the Marathon, Half Marathon, 8K and Thrifty Foods Kids Run and this year, a 5K race.
Royal Victoria
Marathon Race Director Cathy Noel
“The RVM event weekend is attended by people from all over the world, and is a Qualifier for the Boston Marathon,” states Noel. “Running is one of the only sports where you can be on the same start line and finish line with elite athletes.
Noel has been overseeing the event for 22 years, and holds a degree in Recreation Administration from the University of British Columbia, where she served as Executive Director of Intramural Sports before moving to Victoria to work on the Commonwealth Games in 1993-94. Her passion for health and wellness led her to the Provincial Government in the Sport Branch and then to starting an event management company which included the marathon. Cathy is a realtor with DFH Real Estate, and also owns the Goddess Run, which has raised over $250,000 for local charities since its inception 12 years ago.
Sponsorship and volunteering continues to be an important part of any event and the Royal Victoria Marathon is no exception. “Close to 15-16,000 people go through the Race Expo on race weekend, and we are looking for companies who want to exhibit,” she notes.
Royal Victoria Marathon finish line
The push for volunteers as part of the Peninsula Co-op Volunteer Program is also underway. “We need people for water stations, set-up, take-down, handing out snacks, clean-up and course marshaling.”
The Royal Victoria Marathon team has an economic impact of over $11 million per year and we have raised close to 2.5 Million Dollars for Charity. Noel expects participation to be upwards of the 8,000 that took part last year, as the number of competitors bounces back from its high in 2010 of 13,000.
