Mississauga Marathon is a full marathon once again in 2024

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Published December 21, 2023 at 10:57 am

Mississauga Marathon 2024
Runners competing in a past Mississauga Marathon make their way over the Credit River via the Burnhamthorpe Road bridge. (Photo: Beneva Mississauga Marathon)

Well, that didn’t last long.

After dropping the full-length, 42-kilometre run from its program this past April for the first time in its two-decade history, the revamped and rebranded Mississauga Marathon is putting the “marathon” back in its name and into the mix for the 2024 event.

Organizers of the 2024 Beneva Mississauga Marathon, which is slated for next April 28, say they’re building on the success of the last 20 years as they look to the future.

“The Beneva Mississauga Marathon event weekend has taken on a new and enhanced look and feel, and in 2024 the runner experience will be second to none,” organizers say on the event’s website. “With the Beneva Mississauga Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and Novo Nordisk 5K runs, we offer a race for every age and ability.”

Registration for all race weekend events is now open.

Organizers describe the 42-kilometre race as “the GTA’s best spring marathon” and note that once again it serves as a qualifier for the prestigious Boston Marathon the following year (the 2024 Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 15).

The Mississauga Marathon course is a net downhill route that’s both “scenic and fast,” event organizers add.

“Starting at ‘Spectator Village’ (Celebration Square) in the heart of Mississauga and finishing along the scenic shore of Lake Ontario, this certified course will take you from the City Centre over and past the Credit River and through the prestigious University of Toronto Mississauga campus before heading through the beautiful neighbourhoods of Mississauga Road, south Mississauga and past the iconic Port Credit lighthouse,” organizers explain.

Video offers a recap of the April 2023 race weekend.
They add the course will also feature markings at each kilometre and aid stations serving Gatorade and water every five kilometres or so. Personal belongings of competitors will be transported to the finish line and buses will return runners to Celebration Square from the finish line.

The full marathon takes place on Sunday, April 28 starting at 7:30 a.m. at Celebration Square in the downtown core.

The finish line is at Lakefront Promenade Park, beside the Mississauga Sailing Club. Time limit for the course is 6.5 hours.

Participants must be at least 18 years old.

For information on other race weekend events, including the Half Marathon (21.1 kilometres), also on April 28, visit the Mississauga Marathon website (see registration link above in story).

The April 2023 run was known as the Mississauga Half, due to the exclusion of the full marathon for the first time since the event’s inception in 2004.

It was noted early in 2023 that with registration for the full marathon dropping dramatically in recent years — from pre-pandemic numbers of 1,000 entrants to fewer than 500 in the 2022 race, according to Canadian Running magazine — the decision was made to give the event a facelift and focus on the half marathon.

Runners make their way past City Hall in the April 2023 half-marathon event. (Photo: Beneva Mississauga Marathon)

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