Runners spread across a city avenue during a marathon

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

It offers five distances from 2K to the marathon and carries the World Athletics Elite Label.

Prepare for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, on flat urban courses that follow the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River, crossing downtown and looping through Gatineau. Running through a capital city means wide boulevards, plenty of spectators and generally fast footing throughout.

Events are split over two days: the 2K, 5K and 10K come first, with the marathon and half marathon following. m. ET, early enough to avoid late-morning heat.

The formats

5 formats on the program.

Format	Distance
Marathon	26.2 mi
Demi-marathon	13.1 mi
10 km	6 mi
5 km	3 mi
2 km	1 mi

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · runottawa.ca

When to start

A build for this distance usually runs 12 to 20 weeks. Counted back from race day, that puts the start somewhere between January 4, 2027 and March 1, 2027.

These ranges are working conventions, not a research finding — no trial has compared plan lengths against each other. What matters more is that the plan was built for the weeks you actually have, rather than shrunk down from a longer one.

How to choose your start date

When to start

January 4, 2027

→ March 1, 2027

Worth reading before you enter

Races and distances 10K, half, marathon: what each one really asks They are all running. They are not the same event. What limits you, how long you need, and how the race falls apart — all three change with the distance. Read Races and distances The big marathons: what each one actually demands A marathon is 42.195 km everywhere. What changes is the profile, the crowd, the weather you are likely to get — and so what your training should emphasise. Read Training Eating and drinking: what’s proven, what isn’t This is where confident advice most often runs ahead of the evidence. Some of it is well tested. Some is opinion wearing a number. And one common habit can kill you. Read

Questions

What is the date of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend in 2027?

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is run on Saturday, May 29, 2027 in Ottawa. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

What distances are offered at Ottawa Race Weekend?

0975 km half marathon, a 10K, a 5K and a 2K. The marathon holds the World Athletics Elite Label.

Is the Ottawa Marathon course hard?

The course is urban, flat and fast, tracing the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. There is no technical difficulty, so the challenges are pace control and the heat that can build late in the morning.

Other races

This list keeps growing; it draws no line. A race that is missing is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Mississauga · CanadaMarathon Beneva Mississauga Marathon Apr 25 Its marathon is known for a net downhill profile and serves as a Boston qualifier. Vancouver · CanadaMarathon BMO Vancouver Marathon May 2 The race is run in Vancouver, between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains. Halifax · CanadaMarathon Medavie Blue Nose Marathon May 21 It features a marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K and team relay starting at the Emera Oval. Your race is not here? Tell us about your race You can prepare for it all the same. Any race, anywhere, and even a goal without a race.

Your race is on the calendar. Your plan should be too.

Build my plan

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