The Vancouver Sun Run took over the city again Sunday, with more than 57,000 people registered for the 10-km event. First held in 1985, it has grown into Canada’s largest 10K road race and the third-largest timed 10K event in North America.

This year, Burnaby, B.C.’s Justin Kent won the men’s race, while Cochrane, Alta.’s Makenna Fitzgerald emerged as the unexpected winner on the women’s side.

Another Kent vs. Gay showdown

The men’s race came down to a familiar matchup between Canadian Running‘s own John Gay of Kelowna, B.C., and Kent. The two runners have faced off frequently, including a close finish here in 2023, when Gay edged out Kent by a few seconds. On Sunday, the two runners once again stayed close to each other until late in the race. Kent ended up taking the win in 28:40, just ahead of Gay, at 28:44. Sarnia, Ont., native Andrew Davies followed in 29:02.

“The Sun Run is such a special event, especially for anyone who grew up in B.C.,” Gay said. “All of Vancouver really comes out for it, and the energy is palpable throughout the city. Returning to that start line is always a highlight, and the battle at the front of the race was a lot of fun to be part of—full credit to Justin Kent on taking it to the field and earning every bit of his win!”

Top 5 men

Justin Kent 28:40
John Gay 28:44
Andrew Davies 29:02
Richard Allen 29:10
Thomas Broatch 29:14

Fitzgerald pulls away with the women’s title

Sunday’s race had a stacked women’s field that included Olympians Malindi Elmore, Natasha Wodak and Dayna Pidhoresky. But it was Fitzgerald, making her Sun Run debut, who pulled away late to win, in 32:24. Fitzgerald, 26, only started running in 2017, when she joined the cross country team in her first year at Queen’s University, but she quickly fell in love with the sport. She represented Canada at this year’s senior cross-country world championships in Tallahassee, Fla. Kelowna’s Elmore finished second in 32:38, and Joyline Chemutai of Kenya was third, in 32:44.

Elmore said she began the race conservatively, in the hope of being able to finish strong. “With a kilometre to go, I felt great,” she wrote on Instagram. “So I threw down my fastest kilometre in ages (3:02) and felt the joy of running as fast, and hard, as I could, all the way through the finish line. And that’s a great way to spend a Sunday morning–me and 60,000 other awesome runners ripping up the streets of beautiful Vancouver!”

Top 5 women

Mackenna Fitzgerald 32:24
Malindi Elmore 32:38
Joyline Chemutai 32:44
Natasha Wodak 32:47
Dayna Pidhoresky 33:23

For full results of the 2026 Vancouver Sun Run, head here.