Spectator Information

An important element in National Capital Marathon Inc.'s (NCM) corporate responsibility is its commitment to the community. NCM Inc. demonstrates this commitment by instituting an annual Community Spirit Award. The recognition comes with a $4000 bursary to invest in community projects for registered cheering zones.

We challenge all the communities and neighbourhoods that fall on the marathon route to get more involved in the race by making their cheering station into a community event.  Most volunteers get to their cheering stations before 6 a.m. get organized with music and noisemakers and stay pretty much in place for 5 or 6 hours. "A lot of people don’t realize the impact of having people lining the course and cheering runners on,” says John Halvorsen, Race Director for the Ottawa Race Weekend and former elite runner. “Having groups like this show their support for the marathon also makes a great impression on the runners coming from outside of Ottawa. It shows how much the city welcomes the event and the participants.

Cheering Stations are an important element in marathon running.  At 30 -36 KM's, many marathon runners "hit the wall," or reach a point at which their bodies have run low on glycogen. Glycogen is the material that supplies energy during endurance-type activities. Once it's depleted, the runners "go flat" - they're out of gas, their legs don't want to move anymore and their bodies are telling them to give it up. At that point, they must use all their willpower to finish. Many runners appreciate any encouragement they can get, and some runners find the cheers essential for finishing the race. A marathon takes dedication.

We have a panel of judges who pass by all the registered cheering stations and they then determine who had the best cheering station. They judge based on loudest, fun festivities, orginality, impact on runners, and number of volunteers. For two years in a row, the Crichton Community Council has won the award. They have used the money toward a new piece of playground equipment in Stanley Park and chairs for their community centre.

We currently have 9 cheering stations currently registered and are actively looking for more communities to join. We hope having more communities involved will make our judging more difficult.”says John Halvorsen.

Registered Cheering Zones

Coming Soon!