New race, new venue and new experience for Calgarians on May 27, 2012 at Canada's oldest marathon 

CALGARY, May 23, 2012 /CNW/ - The countdown to the 48th annual Scotiabank Calgary Marathon is on and in just four days, more than 11,000 runners and walkers will start and finish their races in Calgary's Stampede Park. This year, a record-setting 51 local charities will participate in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, with the goal of raising over $600,000 for local community causes.

"It's exciting to see runners meet and beat their personal goals at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon and at the same time raise money for local charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge," said George Marlatte, Scotiabank Senior Vice-President, Prairie Region. "Runners and supporters in this year's race share in Scotiabank's commitment to giving back to the communities where we live and work, and we're proud to support the marathon for the third year in a row."

"Not only is this a record-breaking year for participation in the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, it is also a year of exciting changes and improvements with new routes, a new venue, and an emphasis on our participant experience," said Marketing Director Lynn Cox. "We are ramping up for our 50^th anniversary in 2014 and as Canada's oldest marathon we are striving to be the best road race in Canada."

RUN/WALK!

There's still time! Secure your place in one of five races in the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon. Hopeful participants can register in person as the Health and Wellness Expo at the Big Four, Stampede Park from May 24 - 26 as the online registration has closed. Or get involved in the Scotiabank MarathonKIDS a unique program, where kids from participating schools and school boards run daily intervals of a marathon throughout the school year. These young athletes will complete the last leg of a full marathon at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon through the Scotiabank MarathonKIDS program which provides a healthy and active lifestyle from a young age, while providing kids with the opportunity to increase physical activity and to work towards reaching a goal.

PLEDGE!

Walk or run to support and honour a loved one or give something back to your community through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. You can sponsor a team or an individual participating in any of the weekend's race. All 51 participating charities have the chance to win cash prizes through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge Awards. The Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge also offers another opportunity for the local charity to raise funds: Scotiabank is awarding three $3,000 prizes to the charity with the highest overall fundraising total, the charity with the largest fundraising team, and the charity with the highest amount of money raised per runner.

CHEER!

The new route for Canada's oldest marathon will start and finish in Stampede Park. The marathon route will travel through some of Calgary's most vibrant inner-city neighbourhoods including Victoria Park, the East Village, Bridgeland, Inglewood and Mount Royal. Support your friends and family all along the race route and as they cross the finish line. There will be plenty of fun for everyone along the race route. Pick a runner and pick a cause and follow them to the finish line.

About the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon: Canada's Oldest Marathon Turns 50 in 2014

Voted the 2010 & 2009 Best Road Race in Alberta, the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon is a challenging, competitive and fun event with a race designed for runners and walkers of any level. This umbrella event includes the Scotiabank Marathon, Centaur Subaru Half-Marathon, Jugo Juice 10K, AstraZeneca 5K Walk and Run and the Scotiabank Kids Marathon. In 2012, over 11,000 runners and walkers are expected to participate in the event over $600,000 is expected to be raised through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, supporting 51 local charities.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, 'Bright Future'.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $45 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.