Stewart McKelvey Fredericton Marathon

The Stewart McKelvey Fredericton Marathon is an annual Boston Marathon-qualifying road race held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, each May. Established in 1979, the event has grown into one of Atlantic Canada's signature running weekends and has been recognized by Canadian Running Magazine as the "Best Boston Qualifier" for its consistently high rate of qualifying finish times -- in some past editions, roughly a third of finishers have hit the Boston standard. The race weekend runs Friday through Sunday and offers a full slate of distances: 5K, 10K, Half Marathon (21.1K), and full Marathon (42.2K), alongside a Saturday Elite 5K -- part of Athletics Canada's Road Race Label, with a cash purse for top finishers -- and youth fun runs. The course starts and finishes near Queen Square by the University of New Brunswick, crossing the Saint John River early on before following paved and gravel trails along the Nashwaak River, giving runners a scenic route with some rolling terrain through the city's riverside trail network. The race is scheduled one week before the Blue Nose Marathon in Halifax, making it a popular season-opener for Atlantic Canada runners chasing a Boston qualifying time. Atlantic Canada law firm Stewart McKelvey has served as title sponsor of the event for several consecutive years.