Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend Facts and Figures
1: Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is the biggest multi-day race event in Canada.
1: Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is host to the World Athletics label Tamarack Homes Ottawa International Marathon.
3: Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend hosts three distance challenges: the Ottawa 17K., the Ottawa 36.1K and the Ottawa 59.2K.
14: It is estimated that Race Weekend pumps approximately $14 million into the Ottawa economy.
250: Each year, the Drill Hall is converted into a satellite site of The Ottawa Hospital – a fully equipped medical area complete with 250 medical volunteers including emergency room doctors and nurses, paramedics. There are also 10 medical stations on the route and a mobile medical team on bicycles.
2,500: Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend relies on the dedicated support of more than 2,500 volunteers.
39,000: Number of out of town visitors who travel to Ottawa for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.
200,000: Approximately 200,000 spectators will be cheering on runners along the Rideau Canal, at official cheering stations and along the course throughout the weekend.
10,000,000: In 2025, $969,602.02Â was raised by the over 80 charities that participated in the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend Desjardins Charity Challenge. In 2026 the Desjardins Charity Challenge will have raised over $10,000,000 since it’s beginning in 2015.
How your registration fees are spent
Operations at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend are an ongoing, twelve months of the year endeavour. In an effort to provide our participants with the best experience we can, planning with our partners along with associated purchases begin a full year in advance. We work with over a hundred small and large businesses to bring you Canada’s premier running event. In any given year your registration fees are fully committed to getting you to the start line long before you actually arrive there. We are highly connected with our partners and keenly aware of timelines as we find quality and value for our participants year after year.
