Runners competed with extreme weather conditions at 2016 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

Strong weekend for elites and Rio Olympic Games qualifiers

 May 29, 2016 (OTTAWA) – The city’s hot weather made as many news headlines as racers at this year’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

On Saturday, May 28 following consultation with their medical and related resources, race officials announced they would move the start times of two races to allow runners to take advantage of anticipated cooler temperatures on a 30-plus degree day.

The first was the Ottawa 10K on Saturday, which moved from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The second was the Scotiabank Half Marathon event on Sunday, which was moved to 8:15 a.m. from the usual 9:00 a.m. start.

Despite extreme weather conditions, elite athletes in the 10K and marathon events delivered very strong results.

2016 registration figures

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge

Participants running for charitable causes outdid themselves this year, raising $775,000 and counting. Through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, participants running for one of 61 charities were able to join a high profile, turnkey fundraising initiative.

To see a list of charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, visit the Scotiabank Charity Challenge website.

Quotes

“Run Ottawa is grateful for the cooperation and flexibility that runners showed this weekend as times for events shifted and adjustments to the marathon had to be made. With the support of our partners, service providers, volunteers and so many others, we were able to put on a great Race Weekend despite the extreme weather we experienced.”

John Halvorsen, President and Race Director of Run Ottawa

“Run Ottawa is thoroughly impressed once again with the commitment that runners showed to the many charities they supported this year. The organizers of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge are to be congratulated for their tremendous commitment and hard work to make our Race Weekend a more meaningful event.”

“It’s inspiring to see the running community come together, racing for personal bests and to raise $775,000 and counting for community charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. The enthusiasm and dedication demonstrated by the fundraising participants is truly inspiring. Thank you to everyone who raised funds through this weekend’s event; this total may put us over the top as we strive to exceed the landmark goal of raising $50 million nationally since the inception of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge in 2003.”

Carole Chapdelaine, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President, Quebec and Eastern Ontario Region

About the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

The 2016 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed close to 47,000 participants in six races, including the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, the Scotiabank Half Marathon, the Ottawa 10K, the HTG Sports 5K, the Ottawa 2K and Scotiabank Kids Marathon. The Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is one of only two running events in the world to host two IAAF Gold Label races – the Ottawa 10K and the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon. The 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will take place on May 27-28, 2017. Visit us at www.runottawa.ca.

About Scotiabank: 

Through our global community investment strategy, Scotiabank and its employees support causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2015 Scotiabank contributed $67 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 89,000 employees and assets of $920 billion (as at January 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank’s media releases using Marketwired. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

Information:

Annie Boucher
Media relations
Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend
613-863-3702
boucher@fusecommunications.ca
@aboucherfuse |   @ottawamarathon

Kristin McCleister
Public, Corporate and Government Affairs
Scotiabank
416-933-0646
Kristin.Mccleister@scotiabank.com