In-person Manitoba Marathon returns for 1st time since before pandemic

For the first time since before the pandemic started, the Manitoba Marathon will welcome back thousands of participants again on Sunday.

"It's almost surreal that it's actually happening after two very long years," said Rachel Munday, executive director of the marathon. "We're so excited."

Due to COVID-19 concerns last year, the event went virtual. Though a virtual option remains available, thousands will lace up again for an in-person competition this year. 

It will still be scaled back and look a little different compared to the way it was pre-pandemic.

All participants and volunteers will be masked in the start and finish areas.

Under 3,000 people are registered across all events, a far cry from the usual 10,000 to 12,000 that would participate in a normal year, Munday said.

There would also typically be about 20,000 spectators spread across various locations and in clusters around the start and finish lines. Only runners, registered staff and volunteers are allowed to gather at the start and finish lines this year.

The course has also been simplified — full marathon runners will do two loops of the half course — and the beginning and end of the event will be broadcast virtually for those at home who would normally be cheering on loved ones at the finish line.

Fans are welcome to cheer from their properties or near roadways, however.

"We would love for everyone in Winnipeg to stand on the side of the road and cheer people on as they're running by," Munday said.

The scaled-back event also means the usual 2,000 or so volunteers that would help out have been whittled down to just under 400. 

The first of five waves of people will start at 8 a.m., followed by other waves to ensure people are distanced as opposed to starting en masse.

"It's been a lot of work to be able to put it on," Munday said. "We're confident it's a safe event."

Leanne Taylor is excited to take part again.

She previously ran the marathon with her mother. Then Taylor broke her back in 2018 in a cycling crash.

That led her to try out wheelchair racing the subsequent year.

She fell in love, and that love led her to triathlons where competitors use a combination of a racing wheelchair and a hand-propelled bike called a hand cycle.

"I love racing in Winnipeg and kind of getting to meet with people in the local community and sort of feeling like you're part of the sport community," Taylor said.

"It's been really great to be able to get out there and keep riding."

Despite her love for racing, at times staying motivated has been a struggle due to the isolation of the past year and a half. Finding opportunities to compete has been a challenge, Taylor said.

"But on the flip side, it kind of gives you an opportunity to really gain a lot of skill in the time that you're not seeing your competition," she said.

"It's going to be a surprise that before they maybe didn't see you as much competition and hopefully now you are."

Taylor has her sights set on qualifying for the triathlon in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, but she's also focused on the marathon.

She has been training for an hour or two a day to get in shape and is hoping to hand cycle the full marathon in around 90 to 100 minutes.