Over the weekend of Oct. 7 and 8, there will be road closures in Victoria and Oak Bay for the Royal Victoria Marathon to take place.
On Oct. 7, there will be a 5K run and Kids Run in Oak Bay at Willows Park with road closures on Esplanade Road and Beach Drive between Estevan Avenue and Lansdowne Road. The roads will be closed by 8 a.m. and are estimated to reopen around 11 a.m.
The following day, on Oct. 8, there will be an 8K, marathon and half marathon. The start line for the 8K is on Belleville Street between Oswego and Menzies streets, and the start line for the other two are on Menzies at Kingston streets.
Roads will begin to close at 5 a.m., and will reopen on a rolling schedule as the last racer moves through the area with all roads estimated to reopen by 2:30 p.m.
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Additionally, event organizers warn that there is no parking permitted on the race routes, and there will be signs posted on the route warning drivers of this. Cars parked in the area will be towed on Sunday morning starting at 1 a.m.
On Saturday there will be aid station equipment boxes and portapotties positioned at eight areas along the route and will all be removed by Sunday afternoon.
Traffic personnel will be on hand during the races to cross the route when it is safe to do so.
The Royal Victoria Marathon has been taking place in Victoria and Oak Bay since 1980 with over 8,000 annual participants. It is held each year on the Thanksgiving weekend.
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Laura Brougham
