The Ottawa Marathon course is a relatively fast, scenic route with a few elevation changes. It winds through some of Ottawa's most vibrant neighborhoods and popular landmarks.
The Ottawa Marathon was the 4th largest marathon in Canada last year and was the 3rd largest in 2022.
Last year 14.3% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 14.3% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.
This gives the Ottawa Marathon the 10th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in Canada last year and the 17th highest percentage in 2022.
Its Course Score of 98.69 ranks it as the 19th fastest marathon course in Canada and the 10th fastest course in Ontario.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Ottawa Marathon a PR Score of 98.37. This PR Score ranks it as the 20th fastest marathon in Canada and the 10th fastest in Ontario.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Ottawa Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 247 feet (75m) Min Elevation: 173 feet (52m)
Starting line was easy to get to. Bag drop off was well organized. The course profile was great, mostly flat with a few risers. Nuun hydration along the course is so much better than Gatorade. It's not overly crowded, just enough so once you get farther into the race there is always runners around. It was nice having pacers available. Although, my pacer had to drop at around mile 8 due to an injury. Thankfully there was a group of about 4 of us that stuck together for the majority of the race. Not a ton of crowd support during some areas, but overall there is a good amount of people out and watching. A spectator handed me a huge chunk of ice just before the Alexandria Bridge which I was so thankful for!
The BIGGEST con was the fact they started the 1/2 marathon earlier than was planned due to hot temperatures. This meant that for my last ~5k I was running among a large crowd of 1/2 marathon runners that were at a much slower pace than I was. So it was like a crowded start where you have to weave through slower runners to get by. Except you don't have the energy to do it. At a couple points I even hopped up on the grass. Not ideal, but like I said they started the 1/2 earlier that year.
