Calgary marathon: 5 things to know for runners and residents

It's marathon weekend in Calgary, so stretch out, carb up and get ready for some exciting running action, whether you're racing or not.

The 53rd annual Scotiabank Calgary Marathon is expected to attractmore than 12,000 runners to its eight different races.

The city will be a busy place, so here's a list to make it a little easier.

1) The route

Runners in all Sunday races start and finish at Stampede Park. Participants are encouraged to take the LRT to the event getting off at Victoria Park or Erlton station as parking is limited and road closures will make for difficult traffic.

Drivers can expectroad closuresor reduced lanes in and around the downtown core between 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Expect changes to Calgary Transit scheduleson Sunday until 3 p.m. as well.

For an extensivelist of road closures, visit the Calgary Marathon website.

2) Running all night

In honour of Canada's sesquicentennial, the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon is hosting, for the first and only time, a 150 kilometre course.

Runners in the Confederation 150K solo and relay races begin the grueling course Saturday evening and must complete the first 100 kilometres in under 13 hours, or by7 a.m., to join the rest of the marathoners for the Sunday morning 50K Ultra course.

About 70 participants have signed up for the solo 150K. They will be joined by about 400 people running the course in teams.

3) Breaking records

If you've ever wanted to run a marathon but forgot to sign up, one group is still looking for a few good feet.

In continuing with the theme of Canada's 150th birthday, a group of more than 100 runners is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of people to run a full marathon, while tied together.

The group has around 115 members signed up, but they are aiming for 150.

The record is currently held by a German team of 73 people.

Alberta ultra marathon runner Justin Kurek is also vying for a world record for fastest marathon run in a cowboy outfit.

4) Follow your friends

If you station yourself along the course, you may be able to get a quick wave in as runners go by, but you can track their progress throughout the course by downloading the Pursuit app before the race. The app is currently only available for iPhone users.

You can also stream the race live on the Calgary Marathon website and see full results.

The best places to watch the action, according to the Calgary Marathon are: Stampede Park, the East Village and Bow River Pathway, Victoria Park, the Centre Street Bridge, the Prince's Islandpedestrian overpass, 14th Street Bridge and the 21st Street N.W pedestrian overpass over Memorial Drive.

5) Stayhydrated

Marathon runners can expect stations along the course with water, sponges, Ultima electrolytesand toilets approximatelyevery three kilometres.

Angela Knight and CBC's Do Crew will be manning the water station in front of the CBC Calgary building at 1724 WestmountBlvd N.W. from 6:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Why not come down and cheer on the runners and enjoy some live music.