Pounding Pavement and History: PG runs forward at Labour Day Classic

Did you know a local Labour Day tradition helped inspire the Marathon of Hope?

When the Prince George Labour Day Classic takes the starting line on Sunday, it will be celebrating over a half-century of local history.

Launched in 1974 as the Prince George to Boston Marathon , the original 17-mile course runs deep in Canadian history.

In 1979, Terry Fox completed the gruelling route from Salmon Valley to Spruceland Mall—prompting his cross-Canada run the next year.

The event is being hosted by the PG Road Runners and spokesperson, Gillian Roberts told MyPGNow.com there are variety of distances people can participate in.

“We now put on more traditional distances for this race like 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon. It used to be a 17-mile race and at the time because they were coming in from Salmon Valley it made sense, but it doesn’t make sense anymore because 17 miles is kind of an awkward distance.”

“It’s very important for the Prince George Road Runners to maintain that history and to keep talking about it and for the public and run community to know that we have that really cool history with Terry Fox and his journey in Canadian history. We are really passionate about keeping that alive.”

“Terry was looking for an opportunity to see if he could run a longer race. He wanted to see if he could do it and in that race here in Prince George, he crossed the finish line in 1979, finishing last but he did it and was a major catalyst in starting the Marathon of Hope,” added Roberts.

Sunday’s race starts and finishes at the Outdoor Ice Oval site at Exhibition Park. Roberts noted a well-known recreational sidewalk will likely make or break a few runners.

“University is apart of the route on both the marathon and half-marathon. It’s a challenging route for all of the runners and there is going to be lots of energy out there.”

Participants have until tomorrow night (Friday) to sign up at pgroadrunners.ca