When embarking on a long journey, it’s always a good idea to know where you are going. The Flying Finish takes us to the final kilometre or so of the BMO Vancouver Marathon course to get a sense of the slightly uphill final kick to the finish line on Pender Street. There’s no faded reminder painted on the road in front of the Coast Coal Harbour hotel, like there is spanning Boylston Street year-round in Boston, but rest assured the finish line will be there in May.
From the marathon finish, we continue east through Gastown to Lakewood and return on the Adanac bike route. I get nostalgic for the old days, so the main Flying Finish route follows Pacific Boulevard past the Plaza of Nations which hosted the start and finish area of the Vancouver Marathon prior to the course redesign in 2012 before taking the Cambie Bridge back to the Running Room. Greg likes climbing stairs, so there’s a slightly longer finishing option to the Flying Finish, via Science World, so that anyone interested can soar up the Cambie Bridge Stairmaster with Greg.
Turn-by-Turn Directions
Stairmaster Option
LEFT on Quebec St and take path through Science World parking lot to the False Creek Seawall path — LEFT on Seawall path along the water side of Science World and Olympic Village to the Cambie Bridge — take stairs up to bridge deck — turn LEFT and head back to 7th Ave