Our History

Initially established as a build-up to Vancouver’s only Marathon, the First Half started when the Vancouver International Marathon Society approached Pacific Road Runners with the idea of hosting a Half Marathon as a build-up event to the Marathon, hosting the first First Half in 1989 . After 30 successful years with the Pacific Road Runners, the event came full-circle and joined the RUNVAN® family in 2019.

Our Story

A staple in the Vancouver Running Community

Back in the late 80s, people that ran were mostly hard-core runners. Running clinics were almost unheard of. The Sun Run was just starting to establish itself as a major event. The only specialty running stores in town were Forerunners on 4th Avenue, Rackets & Runners on Oak Street, and the first local Running Room on Georgia Street. With a few exceptions, most races were organized by running clubs to satisfy the needs of these hard-core runners.

Into this environment had come a young upstart called Pacific Road Runners (PRR). With less emphasis on competitive running and more on fitness and fun, the club was rapidly attracting enthusiastic new members. The club quickly established a reputation for well organized, fun and innovative events such as the False Creek Fun Run 10KM and the Twilight Run.

In the fall of 1988, PRR was approached by the Vancouver International Marathon Society RUNVAN®, with the idea of hosting a Half Marathon as a build-up event to the Vancouver Marathon in May. With little hesitation the club agreed. In fact, serious thought was given to staging two half marathons, one in February and a second in March. But the club never got around to organizing the ‘Second Half’.

The club had a number of stated objectives in staging the event:

To show support for the Vancouver International Marathon, as many members of the club were training for the Marathon
To provide a competitive opportunity for other members of the running community
To support a local charity and demonstrate to the residents of False Creek that PRR is a charitable group
To raise operating funds for the club
To attract new members, by making the club visible in the running and local communities
To attempt to develop a greater level of co-operation from local authorities in the staging of such events
To make it an event to be remembered

These objectives served as guiding principles for the Pacific Road Runners in operating the event through 2018. The ‘First Half’ has now come full-cycle, and is organized by the non-profit Vancouver International Marathon Society RUNVAN®.

Many people continue to use the event as part of their training for Vancouver’s only Marathon
The list of winners and participants includes many Olympians and is regarded as a great competitive opportunity for many
The original supported charity was Ronald McDonald House, with $2,000 donated the first year, before switching to Variety – The Children’s Charity in 1995. Annual donations from the race have been $50,000+, with more than $700,000 raised over the years
Our relationship with the City, Parks Board and other authorities is excellent
The popularity of the event speaks for itself

Of course not everything has gone smoothly:

The course seemed remarkably fast the first year, as many participants clocked PRs, until it was realized that the course was over 800m short
The third staging of the event nearly didn’t happen. By mid-December a race director had only just been found, no venue had been booked, no course agreed to with the city, no entry forms printed, and no sponsors lined up
The 1995 race was run in gale force winds that blew down the finish scaffold, and caused havoc at the aid stations
In 1997 the race planned to relocate to the Roundhouse, but at two weeks notice organizers were told the new venue would not be ready in time
In 2003, someone tried to drive a car off Prospect Point. It was found teetering above the seawall, and was secured in place until the race had passed
The ‘Great Storm’ of Christmas 2006 caused an extended Seawall closure forcing a hurried re-route of the 2007 course map up and over Prospect Point
And, of course, the 2010 Winter Olympics caused us to not hold a race that year
In 2017, Mother Nature and snow forced the race to be cancelled for safety reasons
In 2021, a global COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to proceed as a Virtual Race only
In 2022, like 2007, damage along the northwest portion of the Seawall due to a ‘King Tide’ caused a re-route. This time, instead of going up to Prospect Point, the reroute stayed flat, directing runners to turn at Pipeline Road and return along the safe, southeast portion of the Seawall
In 2023, BlueShore Financial, a boutique financial institution supporting wellness in all its forms, joined as presenting partner for two years.
In 2023, the Canadian National Half Marathon Record was set on the course by star Cameron Levins in 1:00:18
In 2024, the Canadian National Half Marathon U20 Record was set on the course by Yemane Mulugeta in 1:06:43

Pacific Road Runners race directors – Colin Atkinson, Scott Gavin, Heather Moorhouse, Mike Bjelos, Marco Iucolino, Dan Cumming, Nicki Decloux, David Parker and Terry Bushnell – all voluntarily gave enormous amounts of their time to make the First Half such a great race. Thanks also to the collective contributions of many other members and friends of the club, past and present. PRR members put huge energy into the First Half, but the race’s success also relies on the wonderful support of sponsors as well as non-club volunteers who turn out to assist all of the racers, whether they be out to set personal records or simply to be part of an event that has staked out a prominent place in the sporting life and culture of Vancouver.

RUNVAN® is proud to carry this tradition forward.