For one weekend each autumn, Montreal stops being a city you drive through and becomes a city you run through. On Oct. 9 to 11, runners from more than 57 countries will take to the streets for the 34th edition of the Beneva Montreal Marathon, Quebec's largest running event. They will cross a bridge, trace a riverfront boulevard, thread through neighbourhoods on the east end and finish beneath the trees of Parc Maisonneuve. And unlike the concerts and festivals that fill the city's calendar, this one costs nothing to attend: the route is public, the sidewalks are open, and there is no ticket or capacity limit for the crowds who come out to cheer.
The weekend opens quietly on Friday, Oct. 9, with no traffic disruptions at all. The Marathon Expo takes over the Palais des congrès, a free exhibition of health and running exhibitors and conferences where participants pick up their race bibs. That evening at 6 p.m., the Mile ON race takes over Parc Maisonneuve, carrying with it the Quebec Mile Championship. The mile is a distance with a particular pedigree in Montreal, and the course is certified by World Athletics, making it eligible for both Quebec and Canadian records.
Saturday morning belongs to the shorter distances. Streets around Parc Maisonneuve close from 6:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. as runners set off on Sherbrooke Street near the Olympic Park and finish in the park. First comes the 5K presented by Sports Experts, which doubles as the Canadian Elite and Masters 5K Championships; the top three men and women in each masters age category 35 and over receive official medals. Then the 10K presented by FCSQ, followed by a 1K race for young runners. The routes use Sherbrooke Street East, Rosemont and Viau boulevards, and a web of residential streets around Louisiane and Joseph-Paré parks, with closures staggered from 6:45 to 8:45 a.m. and streets reopening gradually between 11 a.m. and early afternoon.
Sunday is the main event, and the one that reshapes the map. Closures run from 6:30 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. for the half-marathon and the full marathon, which start at Espace 67 on Île Sainte-Hélène in Parc Jean-Drapeau. From there the course crosses the Concorde Bridge and follows Notre-Dame Street before turning toward Lafontaine Park, Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Drivers can still cross the course at several points — Route 136, Sherbrooke Street, Des Carrières Street, the Van Horne Viaduct, Highway 40 and the Viau Bridge — and authorities are asking everyone else to take transit or active transport. The STM is boosting metro service based on expected ridership, and for runners the practical advice is simple: Jean-Drapeau is the closest station to the start line, Pie-IX the best bet for the finish.
What the traffic notices don't convey is how much history is packed into those 42.195 kilometres. The Montreal Marathon was first held on Aug. 25, 1979, when approximately 9,000 runners took part. It then vanished from the calendar entirely between 1997 and 2002 before returning in 2004 in a broader form that folded in walking, wheelchair and cycling events alongside the running. Growth came quickly after that: by 2008 runners were arriving from 25 countries and total participation across all disciplines topped 17,600. The 20th edition, run on Sept. 5, 2010, drew a then-record 21,000 runners from 30 countries. Three years later, the 2013 race broke the record again with 32,000.
The event has also changed hands and names more than once. From 2012 to 2020 it was controlled by the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group through its Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, and for a stretch Montrealers knew it as the Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon, or before that the Marathon Oasis de Montreal. Today it carries the name of Beneva, the Quebec-based insurance and financial services company, and is organized by Courons Mtl.
The course itself has shifted with the event's ambitions. By tradition the race started from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and for years it finished inside the Olympic Stadium, the centrepiece of the 1976 Summer Games. That finish became a victim of the marathon's own success: as participation swelled, the 2011 edition moved the finish line to Parc Maisonneuve, and in 2012 and 2013 runners ended in La Fontaine Park. The modern route crosses Notre Dame and Saint Helen's islands via the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, then passes through Old Montreal, Ville-Marie, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve — five boroughs, two shores, one morning.
The marathon course is certified by both Athletics Canada and World Athletics, which makes it a qualifying race for major international events including the Boston Marathon. Prize money goes exclusively to athletes in the elite wave, while the general public ranking is based on chip time, ensuring a fair standing regardless of which starting wave a runner is assigned. Along the way there are pace bunnies, bag check, and refuelling stations offering water and electrolytes, with washrooms near some of them. The event also runs an adaptive sports program for independent runners with assistive needs.
For spectators, the appeal is that the marathon is less a sporting event than a moving portrait of the city. The leaders will be gone in a blur, but behind them come tens of thousands of ordinary runners — first-timers, charity fundraisers, people chasing personal bests and people simply finishing — spread across hours and kilometres, passing through neighbourhoods that rarely see this kind of attention. Find a corner anywhere along Notre-Dame, Saint-Joseph or Saint-Laurent, and the show comes to you.
One caveat for anyone planning to drive: the marathon is not the only thing closing roads this Thanksgiving long weekend. Quebec's transport ministry has announced that Highway 25, including the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, will be closed toward the South Shore from Oct. 9 to 13. Drivers are being directed to the Champlain Bridge to avoid the marathon area, with the detour shifting to the Jacques Cartier Bridge starting Oct. 11 at 11 p.m.; Highway 25 toward Montreal, including the tunnel, will also close overnight throughout the weekend. Quebec 511 is the recommended tool for planning around it.
But for the runners and the crowds who line the route, the weekend's real story is simpler. A city that spends most of the year negotiating with cars hands its streets over to foot traffic for a few hours, and anyone can come watch.