Marathon Oasis de Montreal


Marathon Oasis de Montréal is an annual marathon foot-race held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in September. The Marathon de Montréal is the largest running event in Quebec. The race is sponsored by Oasis. Since 2012, the race has been controlled by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda through its Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series of marathons and half-marathons which are held around North America and in Europe.

History

Approximately 9,000 runners took part in the first edition of August 25, 1979. After disappearing from 1997 to 2002, the Montreal Marathon in 2004 returned in a broader framework involving other activities such as walking, running, wheelchair or bicycle. In 2008, runners came from 25 countries and had more than 17,600 participants from all disciplines.
In 2010, the 20th edition of the marathon was held on Sunday September 5 with a record participation of 21,000 runners from 30 countries. The event has continued to grow and the 2013 edition broke a new record with 32,000 runners.
The 2017 edition of the race was cancelled due to heat and humidity.
On September 22nd 2019, a runner unfortunately died after collapsing near the end of the half-marathon finish line.
The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Course

According to tradition, the departure is from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. The route of 42.195 km crosses different districts in Montreal through the Notre Dame Island and Saint Helen's Island on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Old Montreal, the district Ville-Marie, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Formerly, races finished in the Olympic Stadium, home of the 1976 Summer Olympics until the 2011 edition of the marathon when the finish line was moved to Parc Maisonneuve due to the growing number of participants. In 2012 and 2013, the finish line was in La Fontaine Park.

Other races

During the event, various distances are available:

Community impact

Students on the run is a program where the objective is to encourage selected students from high risk neighbourhoods of Montreal to lead healthy lives, perform better in school, and improve social integration by helping them participate in the Montreal Marathon. It is a project inspired by Students Run LA, a program that has achieved concrete results in the last 20 years. For the 2010 race, there were 19 students to begin with and 12 persevered. During 11 months, students trained to complete the full 42.2 km marathon and on September 12, 2010 they crossed the finish line. The program continues with a new group each year since its conception.

Winners

Key: