Run or roam new 4.2-km Calgary airport runway ahead of launch
June 14-15 events planned to celebrate $600M addition to Calgary International Airport
The Calgary Airport Authority is inviting people for a close-up look at its newly constructed runway — the longest in the country — before it opens in June.
Run and Roam the Runway is set for June 14 and 15.
Participants can sign up to run the entire length and back — 8.4 kilometres — or do a five kilometre fun-run on the Saturday. Registration for the run is capped at 1,400 people.
Then on Father’s Day up to 10,000 people will be allowed to roam the runway while enjoying food trucks, vintage airplanes and other attractions.
“The weekend event will give the public a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to literally run and roam on Canada’s longest runway,” said airport spokeswoman Jody Moseley.
Last fall the airport put out a call for ideas from Calgarians on how to mark the runway’s inauguration.
“The wonderful thing about this celebration is that all the event ideas came directly from Calgarians, ” Moseley said.
The first flight is scheduled to depart from the new $600-million runway on June 28.
A 620-metre tunnel underneath the runway at 96th Avenue is also scheduled to be ready for use this spring.
It connects Barlow Trail to 36th Street N.E. and can accommodate six lanes of traffic and a future LRT line.
A new $1.4 billion international terminal is also set to open in late 2015.