Whether or not you’re a new runner or a seasoned one in the Maritimes we can all use a little help sometimes. On the east coast of Canada we are pretty lucky to have a vibrant running community that I would say is growing, maybe, I don’t have stats on that. It took me a while to find all the pieces I have so far but I’m sure there are more out there. If that’s the case leave your links in the comments below or send me DM or message on Facebook and we’ll can keep updating this together! I wanted to gather all my favorite running places both virtual and physical in one place for future reference. So bookmark or give a follow and stay in touch! So here are all the resources I’ve found for Maritime runners so far!
Race schedules and registration, results
Maritime runner: I put this one first because finding a race really is the first step. Most races are listed on race roster, see below. However not all are are listed on there. The most fulsome list of all the events is found on the maritime runner page with links to register for each one. That’s awesome AND they publish a highlight blurb for everyone after the fact.
Race Roster: I almost considered not including this one on here since the above page does such a great job. Race roster is where you register for most races in the maritimes. It does serve North America so search upcoming events by your province’s full name.
Atlantic chip: A few odd ball races do exist out there like Bluenose but virtually ever single race around here is timed by Atlantic Chip. That means that’s the website you need to go to to see your results.
Race photos
More and more races are hiring race photographers and distributing them for free which is totally great. Most of this happens on facebook on pages or on the timeline of some of those photographers. This is a category in which I’m personally excited to hear from you on. Some of these links are to pages and others to the photographer’s page.
Places to run
Obviously anywhere will do but there are some super special places we need to talk about mostly due to weather. Albeit most if not all that I know of now are in or around HRM. Let’s here about the equivalent spots in the other provinces too.
Hot days: Head out to Peggy’s Cove skip the lighthouse entirely if you want because it’s always about 5 degrees cooler out there with a reliable breeze off the water and the scenery is unbeatable! I live on the ‘other’ side of the bay on the water and it’s still way cooler in Peggy’s Cove in the heat of the summer.
When it snows: Check out the trail next to the art of stone in Bayers Lake I swear that they plow this before the road sometimes! In general university snow clearing crews are next level, possibly due to a high proportion of drunken pedestrians and liability. I’ll bet when your city side walks are a mess you can run laps around your local campus with race shoes!
The perfect trail system: Check out the trails in and around Clayton park. What makes them so great? They are well maintained, not deserted so you feel safe and easy to get to!
People to run with
The running room: They run a variety of free and learn to run programs as well as a weekly meet up run. This is a great place to start. Also if you’re looking for a running club that suits your exact needs these folks can point you in the right direction.
BLT Runners: Why did I pick this club over all the other clubs because they are inclusive, not intimidating and pretty freakin’ awesome for that. You don’t have to be super fast to join, they love the outdoors and they go year round. That my friends is special!
Running gear
The running room: With locations all over the Maritimes the running room is always a great place to start. The staff there are actually runners (and walkers) and can lead a new runner or an old runner with a new problem in the right direction reliably. They offer free shoe consultations and will get you on track to the perfect shoe for you. The locations are not huge so the gear there is highly curated which means everything in the store is at least pretty damn good!
Guy’s Frenchy’s locations: Guy’s is a destination for the budget conscious runner for gear. Or even just for runners that can’t justify spending more money on gear but still kinda want some. Old school thrift shops are a dying breed where every shirt costs the same no matter what. So the stretched out old navy shirt and the nike technical tee are all $3.25! The thing is Guy’s weeds out the crappy stuff so everything at least doesn’t suck to someone. They have locations across NS and NB I actually thought twice about sharing this I love it so much but sharing is caring right? I’ve found so many pairs of bicycle shorts, cycling jersey’s, tri wetsuits and cute puffer vests for next to nothing so check it out!
Other awesome bloggers
Girl Goes Running: Heather is a pretty serious runner who has run Boston numerous times. She is a BLT runner who posts lots of race recaps and you can follow her training on her blog.
See Piper Run: Piper is a running mom who documents her training and fitting that into a busy life. Recently she’s gotten into cycling too!
April Cunningham: April is a running mom too in New Brunswick. She’s also a journalist who posts about races she runs and the life she runs too.
New Leaf Endurance: Technically they are run coaches but there’s still lots of great local info here!
Random stuff
Hunting seasons: Even if orange isn’t your color you should be wearing it in hunting season no matter what. Even though it shouldn’t happen after dark by law or while intoxicated we all know it does. Deer season seems to be the busiest here but technically we should all be taking precautions while bird season, small game and fur bearers are open too. Here’s where you can get the rundown on your local hunting season dates. Whether you choose to take precautions in the woods or head for the roads you should still be aware of these dates!
- Nova Scotia hunting seasons
- New Brunswick hunting seasons
- Prince Edward Island hunting seasons
- I gave the homepage as the season page url changes every year
Road id: I did a full non-sponsored post about these products because I believe in them so much. Whenever I get a chance I’m going to try to make more people aware of this safety tool. Our roads can be dark, rural and a little sketchier than average. This wearable contact info can even link to your full medical history if you so choose. It’s cheap, well made and made for runners by a runner.
Various Facebook groups: There are lots of groups out there for you to join. Just do a search and ask local runners for their top tips even if you’re only in the area for a visit!
ParkRun Canada: Want to run a free timed 5k every week? Well the British phenomenon has reached Canada with new runs popping up all the time. There’s one in Halifax now but who knows where the next on will pop up?
Up to date running statistics: It’s pretty cool to dig into current running trends on a global scale. Check out a global snapshot of running in 2019! Plus they have a really cool percentage calculator by race distance on there to see how you compare! Very cool!
Seriously if there is something else along the same vein that should be on here let me know! I’ll update the post as necessary just leave a comment or contact me on Instagram. Was any thing on here a new find for you?
Sweat Sweetly 
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