Queen City Marathon kicks off in Regina, thousands of runners expected

The Queen City Marathon is back in Regina this weekend with runners and volunteers from across the world to compete in the event.

As a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon, it is a chance for runners to earn their spot in one of the world’s biggest races.

The QCM race weekend takes place Sept. 9-11, with the big event on Sunday.

Friday saw the University of Regina Night Owl 5K take place, while mini-marathons take place throughout Saturday. On Sunday, the full 42.2-kilometre race will take place as well as the 21.1-kilometre half marathon.

Executive director of Run Regina, Shawn Weimer, said he expects over 4,000 runners to hit the road this weekend, but with so many runners, a wide variety of volunteers are needed to make the race a success.

“We’re looking at about 500-600 volunteers in total to make the race weekend go successfully,” Weimer said. “Everything from helping set up the race site to helping hand out water and Gatorade on race day to course marshal, who help the runners around the race course so they don’t get lost when they are out there.”

He said the number of volunteers needs to be high in order to accommodate the large distance the event covers.

“When you think of a marathon, you are covering about 42 kilometres of the city, so unlike a sports game which happens in a confined field area and you have these boundaries, a marathon is covering half of Regina,” Weimer explained.

Weimer hopes volunteering is just the first step in someone’s marathon journey.

“The volunteer role is one of the most exciting roles outside of running. Volunteering is that slippery slope to actually becoming a participant in your future years. You see the diversity and range of runners. Right from someone being pushed in a stroller or a two-year-old doing their first race up through someone into their 80s.”

As the race begins this weekend, he wants to remind drivers to be cautious of runners in the city and to be aware of any road delays that may occur.

More details on route info and how to volunteer to help with the marathon can be found on the QCM website.

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