History of...

I thought a few readers might be interested in the history of the Vancouver Sun Run...

(source)

The Vancouver Sun Run, sponsored by The Vancouver Sun newspaper, is a 10km race held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada each year on the third (sometimes the fourth) Sunday in April since 1985. The first Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants[1], and has grown each year since. With over 39,000 finishers in 2006, it ranked as the 9th largest race in the world[2] and the 3rd largest 10km race, behind only the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta and the Bolder Boulder in Boulder.
The 2006 event took place on April 23 and 50,746[3] participants registered for the 10km Sun Run and the 2.5km "mini Sun Run", which was run by 2,000 people, mostly children and their parents, with some school teams participating as well. On April 15, 2007, the Sun Run had a record amount of participants, with 54,317[3] people registered to participate in the 10km and 2.5km races, making it the largest 10 km road race in Canada and the second largest in North America[3].
On April 20, 2008, the record was again broken, with 59,179[3] runners registered for the run making it the largest 10 kilometre race in the world. The temperature was a chilly 3°C (37.4°F).
The primary mandate of the Sun Run is to "promote health, fitness and community spirit and to support amateur athletics". The run is not a charity event; however, the organisers claim over $1.1 million in race proceeds have been donated to charities since 1985.