The net downhill, point-to-point St. Lawrence Marathon course starts at the Crysler Marina, just west of Upper Canada Village near Morrisburg. The course follows the bike path to the Long Sault Parkway entrance at Ingleside. It then continues along the parkway to Long Sault where it re-joins the bike path and travels along the waterfront to the finish at the Cornwall campus of St. Lawrence College.
Although the course is a net downhill, there are a few short steep sections along the second half. In addition, the first 8 kilometers are on a firm trail with the rest of the course on asphalt paths.
The St. Lawrence Marathon was the 22nd largest marathon in Canada last year and was the 22nd largest in 2022.
This year 21.9% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 26.1% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the St. Lawrence Marathon the 4th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in Canada last year and the 4th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 99.28 ranks it as the 13th fastest marathon course in Canada and the 8th fastest course in Ontario.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the St. Lawrence Marathon a PR Score of 99.28. This PR Score ranks it as the 13th fastest marathon in Canada and the 8th fastest in Ontario.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
St. Lawrence Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 296 feet (90m) Min Elevation: 155 feet (47m)
Beautiful course. Most of the course is on a bike path which is in good condition, and the only road section was extremely scenic with no traffic at all. Very well organized with plenty of well-staffed aid stations every 3 km or so. Obviously you don't get much crowd support at a race this small, but there were a handful of extra people cheering at every aid station. Only downside is that the wind coming off the river is pretty significant. We had a headwind the whole way this year but I imagine the course would be PR material with a tailwind.
Race Tips
The course doesn't feel quite as flat as it looks on the profile. There were lots of short but steep rollers around kms 25-35. Despite being net downhill that section felt the hardest.
