Lake to Lake Walk & Marathon

The Lake to Lake Walk & Marathon event was established in 2017, and is an event designed to join two Cowichan Valley communities together for the good of the participants, communities, and a variety of charities. The idea for the Lake to Lake Walk & Marathon came from the Great Lake Walk — a 56 km walk/run from Youbou Community Hall, around Cowichan Lake to the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena.

The Great Lake Walk event was hosted in the Cowichan Lake sub-region from 2002 to 2012, and during this time, the participants raised over $800,000 for their favourite charities.

The new Lake to Lake Walk, Marathon and Half Marathon route is from Shawnigan Lake to Cowichan Lake. Participants can walk or run the full marathon or half marathon for the charity of their choice along the Cowichan Valley Trail, an established section of “The Great Trail” which was built along a former rail bed.

Featured highlights of the route include crossing several historic rail bridges including the Kinsol Trestle, and traversing rural Cowichan countryside and experiencing the lush, green canopy of the Cowichan River Provincial Park.

Encouraging participants along the way will be volunteers at strategically located rest stops. The volunteers will provide food and beverage recharging, access to portable toilets and basic medical attention.

This event could not run without the enthusiastic assistance of the volunteers, and for them, the organizers are forever grateful. The steady, gentle rising grade of the Cowichan Valley Trail, from Shawnigan Lake to Cowichan Lake, provides a rewarding, near-wilderness challenge and experience you won’t want to miss. Registration is underway, with an early bird deadline of July 1. So far, there has been great interest from participants from around the Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, B.C., and as far away as Ontario, the UK and Norway. For details, vist: cvrd.bc.ca/3041/Laketo-Lake-Marathon