1980
Legacy of the marathonOverview
1980
May 4, 1980. In 1980, runners were met with a hot, hot, race! The Vancouver Marathon grew to 1226 finishers – 1092 men and 134 women – but almost ten percent of runners did not finish due to temperatures soaring well into the seventies.
Despite the heat, 24-year-old Garry Henry of Australia came to a blazing finish, setting a new event record with 2:13:14 – over three and a half minutes faster than the next closest finisher, Brian Maxwell. Henry’s time comes less than a month after his last marathon, where he posted a personal best of 2:13:11 to qualify for the Moscow Summer Olympics at the Australian Olympic trails. To this day, Henry’s event record remains unchallenged.
![Garry Henry / Vancouver Marathon](https://runvan.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1980.1200x800.RUNVAN.Legacy-Press.GarryHenry.jpg)
Marilyn Belwood of Oregon set the pace for the women, clocking in at 2:45:27, while Janet Weishaupt of North Vancouver completed her first marathon as the Top Canadian Woman in 2:53:01.
Course Map
The Course
The 1980 Vancouver Marathon continued on a new course that expanded into downtown Vancouver. Runners would start from downtown, do two laps of the park, then run the perimeter of downtown, back for a third and final loop of the park and then back to central downtown.
Podium
Men
- Garry Henry (AUS), 2:13:14*
- Brian Maxwell (CAN), 2:16:52
- Don Howieson (CAN), 2:17:22
Women
- Marilyn Belwood (USA), 2:45:27
- Janet Weisaupt (CAN), 2:53:01
- Nancy Church (USA), 3:02:36
*Event record