FAQs

Confirmation of your race entry will be e-mailed to you once payment has been processed. Printed confirmation, digital confirmation or photo ID may required at race package pick-up. If you have not received the email after 20 minutes of registering, please check your junk mail folders as it may not have gone through depending on your spam folder settings.

You can also search for your name by heading to the confirmation page on Race Roster linked here and typing in your name.

Yes. The Queen City Marathon is a certified course by Athletics Canada - which makes it a Boston Qualifier as well as a qualifier for all World Marathon Majors.

• Race registration Age Policy requires that as of race day;
  • Marathon participants must be 16 or older.
  • Half Marathon and Relay participants must be 14 years or older.
  • 10K participants must be 10 years or older.
  • 5K participants have no age restriction.
  • Mini Marathon age restrictions vary by event. Please see individual event.
• Parents/guardians must sign the online waiver at registration for participants aged 18 or under.
• Event organizers reserve the right to require proof of age.

• The Marathon and Marathon Relay courses open at 8am and close at 2pm race day.
• The Half Marathon course opens at 8am and closes at 12pm on race day.
• The 10KM course has a start time of 8:30am and closes at 12pm race day.
• The Night Owl 5K has a start time of 8pm and closes on 9:30pm race day.
• The Queen City Marathon assumes no responsibility (including traffic control, medical and aid station support) for registered participants still out on the course after these times. However, out of respect for the dedication and determination of our participants, a skeleton finish line, timing and medical crew will typically remain in place until the final participant crosses the finish line in victory. This crew will remain in place solely at the discretion of the Queen City Marathon.

• Strollers are only permitted on the Family 5K and Night Owl 5K.
• Strollers are prohibited on all other courses.
• All children in strollers must be a registered participant in the event.

Our 42.2K event currently allows standard push-rim racing wheelchairs, as well as hand-cycles. They both participate in the same category. 

The course surface is primarily paved pathways, with some residential streets. There are some curbs present where pathways merge with streets and vice-versa. There are also some wooden, two-way-single-file pedestrian bridges.

The wheelchair 42.2K event is reserved for athletes classified as having a disability requiring the use of a wheelchair. Able-bodied individuals may not participate in the wheelchair event. 

Minimum age is 16 on race day.

Wheelchair participants start 5 minutes early, at 7:55 AM. Please make sure you are in position at the starting line no later than 7:50 AM. Please allow yourself enough time to get through the crowds and into position. If you require assistance, do not hesitate to ask our QCM volunteers to assist you.

• For runner safety, music devices are not encouraged.
• If a runner puts themselves or other runners at risk through an unsafe act that event officials determine was caused directly or indirectly through the use of a headphones, the runner may be removed from the course and disqualified.

• No pets or animals are allowed on the course, with the exception of official service animals for individuals with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities, who wish to use their service animal during the race, should contact the Queen City Marathon at runqcm@hotmail.com.

Yes, there is. The Pre-Race Bag Drop Off  & Storage Tent is open race Sunday at 6:30 AM. Please arrive early and allow at least 60 minutes to check in your gear so you are not in a last-minute rush before the start of the race. Lost and unclaimed items are not the responsibility of the QCM.

NOTE: FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OTHER PARTICIPANTS, VOLUNTEERS AND SPECATORS:

• ALL BAGS, BACKPACKS, LARGE PURSES, ETC, INCLUDING SPECTATOR BAGS, ARE SUBJECT TO SEARCH.

• ANY UNATTENDED BAGS WILL BE REMOVED

• ALL ITEMS LEFT AT THE BAG DROP TENT MUST BE IN A CLEAR PLASTIC BAG, LABELED WITH YOUR PRINTED FIRST AND LAST NAME AND RACE NUMBER.

• CLEAR PLASTIC BAGS WITH BLANK LABELS ARE AVAILABLE AT RACE PACKAGE PICKUP. PLEASE TAKE ONE IF YOU PLAN TO CHECK GEAR AT THE BAG DROP TENT.

• PRINT YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AND RACE NUMBER ON THE BAG LABEL AHEAD OF TIME AND HAVE YOUR CLEAR PLASTIC GEAR BAG READY BEFORE HEADING TO THE BAG DROP TENT.

• GET TO THE BAG DROP TENT EARLY. ALLOW EXTRA TIME IN CASE THE LINEUP IS LONG.

Excess clothing can be dropped off at any aid station location on the course. 

All clothing collected will be returned to the Information Tent after the course closes at 2:00 PM. Lost, unidentified and unclaimed clothing or personal effects are not the responsibility of the Queen City Marathon organizers or volunteers. 

Clothing that is unclaimed will be donated to a local charity thrift shop. 

PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR CLOTHING OR PERSONAL ITEM IF YOU WANT A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING IT BACK.

Yes. You can see this information on the Rules & Regulations page.

Marathon-Photos.com is the official photographer of the GMS Queen City Marathon, and they will be at the finish line to capture that magical moment when you raise your hands in victory and shout: “Hallelujah, I can stop now!”

Photographers will also be located at several points along the course to snap photos of you in all your athletic, kick-butt glory, so remember to smile and try not to look quite so sweaty. 

Photo hint: Make sure your race bib is clearly visible on the front of your shirt, since photos are identified by race numbers and, if the camera can’t see your number, it’ll be hard to find your photos when you go to order them.

Race certificates are available for downloading for FREE shortly after race day at Marathon-Photos.com. 

Click here for current course records.

42.195 kilometres or 26.2 miles.

21.0975 kilometres or 13.1 miles.

Your race package will be ready to pick up prior to race day. If you are unable to pick up your package, you can send a friend to pick it up for you. For more details on how package pick-up works, head to our pre-race info page.

Where:

GMC Stadium, Stampede Park, 3 St. SE, Calgary, AB, T2G 5A2

When:

Friday, May 23, 2025 - 11:00AM to 8:00PM

Saturday, May 24, 2025 - 10:00AM to 5:00PM

If you wish to transfer distances (upgrade, downgrade, or switch between in-person/virtual), you can do so by accessing your Race Roster dashboard. If there is capacity in your desired sub-event, you will be able to transfer for a $10 transfer fee, plus the difference in registration. Distances can NOT be changed on Race Day.

Switching Before May 12, 2025

If you are interested in switching before May 12, you can upgrade or downgrade yourself by visiting raceroster.com, login to your account and go to the dashboard and click on 'Transfer Request' up until May 11 at 11:59pm MT.

Switching On/After May 12, 2025

If you are looking to switch anytime between May 12 - May 24 (after the bib numbers have been assigned) you will have to visit the Solutions Table at the Runners' Expo to change from one race distance to another. Please note, if certain distances have already sold out and reached capacity, it is not guaranteed that you will be able to switch distances.

Transfer Costs are as follows:

Upgrading: The difference between your original category and the one you are upgrading to + a $10 processing fee and GST.

Downgrading: $10 + processing fee and GST.

All registration fees are non-refundable. Selling your race bib, or having another person use your bib in the event is strictly prohibited. This act may seem well intentioned but has many negative implications to the organizers and participants including liability, timing, results, awards and many other factors. If a registrant sells or gives away their race bib to another participant, they will not be allowed to participate in future events.

Protect your purchase by enrolling in the Race Roster Enhanced Refund Protection Program. Participants that enroll in the refund program will be refunded if they are unable to attend due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances, such as injury & illness, COVID-19, severe weather, work travel conflict, layoffs/termination or mechanical breakdown. Click here for more information.

The Calgary Marathon Society is a not-for-profit organization. There is a cost to put on a world-class event and the majority of those costs are directly related to number of participants. The registration fees collected are used for operational costs like timing services, insurance, road use fees, tent rentals, portable toilets, medals, t-shirts and much more. If for some reason you can’t participate, your registration fees will be put to good use so we don’t offer refunds or registration rollovers to a future year. There are no exceptions.

No. You may not sell, transfer or give your bib to another person. This policy applies to all race participants and is in effect whether you are injured, have an unexpected family/business emergency, have a medical emergency, etc. There are NO exceptions. This act may seem well intentioned but has many negative implications to the organizers and participants including liability, medical aid, timing, results, awards and many other factors. For example, if someone runs with your bib and becomes injured or needs medical attention, medical professionals will not have their correct medical history and emergency contacts on hand. CMS reserves the right to ban participants from all future race participation who sell a bib/run with a bib that is not theirs.

To view course maps, head to the races page, select your distance, and scroll down to the course map section. From there, you will be able to download a PDF map or view the interactive map. Please note that course routes are subject to change.

Select the distance you will be running, and scroll down to the section titled "Course Map" for PDF map downloads and Strava/GPX map downloads.

The 2024 Interactive Map can be viewed here. The Interactive Map also shows the location of road closures, aid stations, cheer stations, and infant feeding stations.

All participants who register for a REGULAR BIB will receive a technical shirt t-shirt (for all distances).

Register early as shirts are ordered months in advance and we can't guarantee t-shirt sizes will be available.

If you are unable to make it to the Servus Calgary Marathon Package Pick-Up, you can have someone pick up your race kit for you. Someone can pick up another runner's race package at GMC Stadium as long as they follow these guidelines:

• Nominee will need to show volunteers photo identification.
• They need to know which race distance you're signed up for.
• They need your bib # - if it has been assigned.
• If you registered late, you will not have a bib # yet and it will be assigned at the Expo. Your nominee will need to go to the Solutions Desk at Package Pick-up to get a bib # assigned for you.
• They must have a copy of your email confirmation (hard copy or on their phone) with written permission from you to pick up your package.

Absolutely. Run Calgary is proud to feature the Charity Challenge. Please visit the Charity section for details on how to fundraise. The fundraising total for 2024 was just over $800,000 for 100 local charities.

Yes! Please check out our Adaptive Athletes page for more details on participating with a mobility device, service animals, running with a guide and more.

If you wish to have a friend guide you during the race, arrangements can be made to accommodate that. Your guide must stay with you for the duration of the race.

Your guide may register as a QCM participant or not, according to their choice.

If your guide is a registered participant, they must wear their regular race bib as well as a second race bib that says: “GUIDE”, which the QCM will provide upon notice. They will receive their own timing chip and will receive an official time and a finisher medal.

If your guide is NOT a registered participant, the QCM will provide your guide with a race bib that says: “GUIDE”. Your guide will receive the same on-course and post-race support as a registered participant, but they will NOT receive a timing chip or an official time, nor will they automatically receive a finisher medal.

To make arrangements in advance, please email runqcm@hotmail.com ASAP.

For detailed information on the use of strollers and age minimums, please head to our Family Resources page.

The kids race is approximately 1 KM in length and is for kids ages 2-12. Children can run on their own or with one parent/guardian, but parents/guardians do not need to register. For each registration you will receive 2 bibs - one for the child and one for the parent/guardian to run with the child or to retrieve the child from the finishing corral at the end of the race. Children will receive a t-shirt and medal with their registration.