$800,000 Raised at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon

Top Calgary Marathon finisher places 7^th wearing jeans, cowboy hat and chaps!

CALGARY, May 28, 2017 /CNW/ - More than 11,000 people took part in the 53rd annual Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, raising more than $800,000 for 79 local charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

The women of the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon dominated the course by both setting and breaking records.

Gladys Tarus of Eldoret Kenya broke the full marathon course record by a remarkable 6 minutes, 19 seconds and was trailed by Caroline Kiptoo who was only 51 seconds behind.

Meanwhile, 10 women set a new Guinness World Record* when they ran for the fastest all-female linked together marathon, raising more than $10,400 for MitoCanada.

Not to be outdone, a group of 113 co-ed MitoCanada runners linked together aiming for a sub 7-hour marathon - which they did. The record had been held by a group of 73 runners in Germany and was set in 2012. All-in the MitoCanada team including the two record-breaking teams and individuals raised almost $155,000 through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

Yet another record was broken by two-time 50K Ultra champion and Calgarian Justin Kurek, who now holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a cowboy outfit. Kurek ran a 2:42:17 marathon and placed 7^th overall, in jeans, a cowboy hat and chaps, thereby smashing the previous record of 3:09 held by Rik Bercoe at the London Marathon in 2014. Justin's personal best is 2:32 which he ran in Chicago in 2015. Giddy-up!

In the spirit of breaking records and "firsts" and in celebration of Canada's Sesquicentennial, organizers added The Altra Confederation 150K race, which began at 6:00 p.m. last night. 350 relay and 75 solo runners lined up for the one-time only event running through the night to complete the first 100K by morning, and then immediately starting the remaining 50K. A grueling challenge, but local man, Dave Proctor a prolific ultrarunner and running community hero crossed the finish line first to a crowd of enthusiastic and awe-struck supporters and spectators at Stampede Park.

The men's marathon overall winner was Daniel Kipkoech of Lethbridge, Alberta, who finished the race with 2:22:33.

Kip Kangogo of Lethbridge, Alberta and Rachel Hannah of Guelph, Ontario won the 21.1K National Championships with times of 1:06:27 and 1:17:16, respectively. These performances mean Kangogo and Hannah have been added to the selection pool for the Canadian team at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Spain next spring. 

"It's an honour to be part of the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon," said Sloane Muldoon, Senior Vice President, Prairie Region, Scotiabank. "It's a great event for our city. Whether you are a participant or cheering on your friends and family from the stands, it's a weekend that brings Calgary together. It also brings a unique fundraising opportunity to both local and national charities and provides participants with a way to make their run even more meaningful by supporting worthy causes in their community."

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple way for runners in these races to support local causes that make a significant impact on Canadian communities. Participating charities keep 100 per cent of the proceeds raised, as Scotiabank pays for all transaction and credit card fees.

"It seems each year there is something exceedingly special about the weekend that truly inspires – this year there were many stories, but those that stepped up to run the 150K in honour of our country's birthday were particularly powerful and inspiring for those who followed the race. It's a grueling distance, but the hearts of those who undertook were strong – just like the spirit of the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon and all of our racers – every year." said Kirsten Fleming, Executive Director, Run Calgary.

(*Guinness World Records were set Sunday, all to be verified by Guinness.)

SCOTIABANK CALGARY MARATHONRACE WEEKEND RESULTS

To see a list of charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, please visit: http://www.calgarymarathon.com/charity-challenge.html?lang=EN

For more highlights and complete race results, please visit: calgarymarathon.com/results.html  

Twitter Hashtag: #RunCalgary and #runScotia

About Scotiabank

At Scotiabank, we aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people reach their full potential. Young people are our future leaders and Scotiabank's goal is to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and resources they need to support their success. Together with our employees, the Bank supports causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2016, Scotiabank contributed more than $70 million to help our communities around the world.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $887 billion (as at January 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

About the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon

A race for every age and ability, Alberta's Best Road Race 4 years in a row includes the 50K Ultra, Scotiabank 42.2K, Centaur Subaru 21.1K, the Jugo Juice 10K, the Goodlife Fitness 5K Family Walk & Run and the Scotiabank Kids Marathon. The largest race on the prairies has the largest high performance purse west of Toronto and attracts elite athletes from coast to coast as well as internationally. The event brings in $7 million annually to the local economy and gives back through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, scholarship programming and the Neighbourhood Spirit Challenge.

SOURCE Scotiabank