Casino Niagara Marathon
Niagara Ultra; Run Niagara. Saturday 5k Series; Niagara Popup Series; Marathon in a Month; Spring 5k Training Program; Spring Trail Running Program; Buffalo Architecture Runs; Urban Run Series at Flying Bison Brewery; Canadian Invasion – RUN 716. Casino Niagara International Marathon Niagara Falls, ON. Jonathan Adams Niagara Falls 3:14:13 0:07:24 3/M20-24 73/M 85.
How often can you say you ran a marathon from one country to another? At this race you can!
Event: Niagara Falls International Marathon
Date: Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016
Location: Buffalo, N.Y. to Niagara Falls, Ont.
Races: Marathon, Half, 10K, 5K, Schools Marathon Challenge
Website: www.niagarafallsmarathon.com
After a long, storied and at time turbulent past, the Niagara Falls International Marathon is celebrating it’s 19th anniversary this weekend. First run in 1974 as the Skylon Marathon, the original event folded in 1986. It was revived in 1998 as the Casino Niagara International Marathon and again re-branded in 2007. This will be the 10th year it is known as the Niagara Falls International Marathon.
RELATED: A brief history of the Niagara Falls Marathon
The course has changed over the years but remains one of few events worldwide that start in one country and finish in another. Additional race options–a popular half marathon as well as 10 and 5K–have also been added but only the signature marathon offers a truly international experience. Marathon participants are pre-cleared by border officials and then bused across the border to the start in Buffalo, N.Y. on race morning. They must either carry their passports while they run or have them securely stored during the race.
The current marathon course begins in Buffalo, N.Y. at the Albright Knox Art Gallery and takes participants on a brief journey through the city before crossing the International Peace Bridge into Canada. Following a loop of historic Fort Erie, participants travel north for a majority of the race distance along the Niagara River Parkway to the “world’s most famous finish line” near the Horseshoe Falls, which is the finish for all race participants. The half-marathon is also run as a point-to-point course that starts approximately 21K from the finish. 10K and 5K races start on Upper Rapids Boulevard in Niagara Falls and complete a short out-and-back along the Parkway before finishing at the falls.
The event also features a two-day Health and Fitness Expo which is open to the public and takes place at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning there is a Running Room International Breakfast Run to help shake out pre-race nerves. New to 2017, a post-race party at the Niagara Brewing Company will be offered featuring music, prizes and live event coverage.
The Niagara Falls International Marathon is one of Canada’s most unqiue and storied races. It now attracts approximately 1,000 participants in the marathon and about 2,000 in the hugely popular half-marathon. An additional 1,000 also participate in the 5K and 10K.
Celebrating its 20th year since its rebirth in 1998
The First Annual Buffalo to Niagara Skylon International Marathon took place on Saturday, October 26th , 1974. It was a great success right away. The organizers were very excited about the number of participants and the publicity that the sponsor Skylon Tower got.
The Marathon quickly became a favorite and by 1976 it attracted more than 3,000 runners, surpassing the New York and Boston marathons in that same year.
In 1977 the race was renamed the Skylon International Marathon until 1985 when the name was changed to the Buffalo / Niagara Falls International Marathon.
In 1980 and 1984 the course was used for the men’s US Olympic marathon trials. Anthony Sandoval set a course record with a time of 2:10:19 in 1980 during the US Olympics trials race which has yet to be beaten.
In 1985 there was a special “Peace Bridge Trophy” which was presented to the first man and first woman to step foot in Canada. The Marathon ceased to exist after 1986 due to lack of sponsorship.
The marathon was revived in 1998 under the new name Casino Niagara International Marathon with Casino Niagara as the title sponsor.
A half marathon was established in 2001, drawing additional participants to the race. The half marathon also offers a walking division.
Nicole Stevenson set a course record for women in 2004 with a time of 2:37:08 which has also yet to be beaten.
In 2005 The Niagara Parks Commission announced and supported the annual SCHOOLS MARATHON CHALLENGE in conjunction with the Niagara Falls International Marathon. The SCHOOLS MARATHON CHALLENGE became quite popular and has had as many as 1,100 children from schools participating in the project. The Niagara Falls International Marathon with the help of corporate sponsor Minacs, now supports 100% of the costs of this event.
Casino Niagara Marathon 2020
Also in 2005, the 5K event was reintroduced and was followed in 2007 with the introduction of a 10K.
Casino Niagara Marathon
Another significant change happened in 2006 when the finish line was moved to the brink of the falls and in 2007 the race was renamed a final time to the current Niagara Falls International Marathon.
Voted one of the most scenic marathons in Canada and the #1 such event in Ontario with a marathon that starts in one country and finishes in another, the Niagara Falls International Marathon continues to grow with participants in recent years exceeding 6,000. Unlike earlier years, the majority or 61.46% of runners in all events are now female compared to 38.54% male runners. Athletes from more than 36 countries around the world run in all events.
MARATHON COURSE DESCRIPTION
As you line up on Lincoln Parkway in Buffalo for the start of the Niagara Falls International Marathon, you will find yourself in a most historic and beautiful area. Originally called North Park, it is now known as Delaware Park. Opened in 1870, this beautiful green area was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed New York City’s Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Lincoln Parkway is only a small part of the park that includes the Buffalo Zoo, Baseball Diamonds, Soccer Fields, Running Track, Picnic Areas and a Golf Course (formerly known as the Sheep Meadow in the 1880’s where flocks of sheep grassed).
Delaware Park was the site of the 1901 Pan American Exposition, which was designed to improve relations between North and South America. While visiting the exposition, the then President William McKinley was assassinated in the John G Milburn home, located a few blocks from the exposition. That same day Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office of President of the United States of America at the Wilcox Mansion on Delaware Avenue. The site where President McKinley was shot is located just two blocks from the starting line of today’s marathon.
As you approach the start line of the marathon on Lincoln Parkway, you are standing between two very interesting and historic structures. To your left is the Delaware Park Casino & Rose Garden, which perhaps was the most popular area in Buffalo during the 1850’s, attracting thousands of people on summer weekends? On your right is the world famous Albright-Knox Art Gallery, which houses one of the finest collections of modern art in the world and where the runners will wait for the start of the Marathon.
The first two miles of the race are run on the Lincoln, Chapin and Lafayette Parkways. The route enters Richmond Avenue, a stretch that in Victorian times was famous for its magnificent homes and horse-drawn sled races in winter. At the south end of Richmond lies Symphony Circle. Facing onto the circle and visible from far down the street is the towering First Presbyterian Church, which was designed to reflect the romantic medievalism of H.H. Richardson’s State Hospital. Directly west of the church is Kleinhans Music Hall, is the work of Finnish architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen. The hall is also renowned for its excellent acoustics.
The race then heads for the Peace Bridge that crosses into Canada. Once over the bridge, the course turns right under the bridge and heads south along the river. In 1814 at Old Fort Erie, the courses southernmost point that, after two years of bitter fighting, Americans stood on Canadian soil as the enemy for the last time.
The course loops around Fort Erie and doubles back into the town, passing along River Road, continuing on the scenic Niagara Parkway for the next 18 miles. Running close to the riverbank and just above water level, it is elegantly landscaped and meticulously kept by the Niagara Parks Commission. More than 260 years ago, British and American troops fought up and down this area, but today it is an image of tranquility, serenity and beauty.
Once mostly farmland, the roughly thirteen miles between Fort Erie and the Village of Chippawa is now dotted with relatively inconspicuous motels and opulent residential development. On the river side of the course the most notable landmarks are the Marina, boat launches, parks and picnicking areas. By the time you reach the north end of Navy Island near Chippawa, the river is well over a mile wide.
Coming into Chippawa, the course bears left around an inlet and leads into the picturesque village. As you approach that turn you see the billowing spray of the Falls for the first time, as well as the first intake gates of the hydropower system that furnishes electricity to both countries. Once past Chippawa, as it begins to rise detectably for the first time since the bridge, the course moves back into the majesty of the Parkway. The Niagara Parks Commission’s elegant flowerbeds make their first appearance. The Dufferin Islands, usually filled with children and paddleboats in the summer, come up on the left. Not far beyond them, a historic landmarks such as the International Hydro Control building looms on the left. The finish line is practically in sight. The last half-mile, gratifyingly downhill and flat, takes you to the stunning beauty of the powerful brink of the Falls. Upon completion, you have arrived at the Finish Line, and can share your time at the iconic Wonders of the World, Niagara Falls next to the Niagara Parks Commission’s Table Rock Complex.
COURSE RECORDS: Men’s Open Full Marathon: Anthony Sandoval 2:10:19 (1980) U.S. Men’s Olympic Trials Women’s Open Full Marathon: Nicole Stevenson 2:37:09 (2004) Men’s Masters Full Marathon: Ralph Zimmerman 2:23:16 (1981) Women’s Master Full Marathon: Danuta Bartoszek 2:46:42 (2001) Men’s Open Half Marathon: Reid Coolsaet 1:03:11 (2013) Women’s Open Half Marathon: Dayna Pidhoresky 1:11:45 (2011) Men’s Masters Half Marathon: Steve Boyd 1:05:42 (2004) Women’s Masters Half Marathon: Paula Wiltse 1:18:00 (2010) Men’s Open 5K: Steve Boyd 15:03.6 (2000) Women’s Open 5K: Anna Eatherley 18:33.9 (1998) Men’s Open 10K: Stephane Hetherington 32:59.3 (2007) Women’s Open 10K: Judika Lose 40:03.8 (2009)