Anticipation and Excitement Rule the Day at the BMO Expo
To say it was busy is an understatement!
We were thrilled to host our Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, presented by ATCO and Boeing, community booth at the BMO Marathon Expo on May 3rd to 4th at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Expo welcomed 23,000 registrants who were poised to run the 8km, the half marathon, and the full marathon on Sunday, May 5th. During the Expo, the runners came alongside family and friends to collect their race bibs and swag, swelling attendance to nearly 29,000 people!
Our team connected with more than 1,700 people over the two days to chat about the unrivaled power of sport. As one of the world’s top destination marathons, it was awesome to connect with runners from 65+ different countries – including nations such as Columbia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand who will participate in the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025. With the race just around the corner, there were many thoughtful reflections on resilience, the importance of family and friends to cheer you on, and how we can all use sport to support our mental and physical health.
We were fortunate to have a prime location at the end of the row across from the history wall. This provided lots of room for people to line up for our trivia wheel and a chance to win a cowbell. Being able to showcase Wheelchair Curling as one of the newly-included winter sports to be featured at next year’s Games was awesome, and young and old alike loved trying it out. We had some special visits from BMO Bear, who tried out some trivia and even gave Curling a go.
Someone else who really loved Wheelchair Curling was nine-year-old Sailor Vaughan. She was a complete natural and already enjoys a wide range of athletic pursuits including surfing, adaptive skiing, and sledge hockey. What a powerhouse!
Our I AM board was graced with lots of great and inspirational messages, including I AM a survivor, I AM grounded, I AM fast, and I AM strong & free, from a passionate Veteran named Jason.
A healthy dose of nerves, excitement, and all things related to running marked the weekend. There were lots of great items for sale including runners, socks, granola, protein bars, and even cold-water plunge tubs and portable saunas. Our neighbouring booth was hosted by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Reservists, celebrating Fleet Week for the RCN. While the Reservists were connecting with the public at the Expo, dignitaries were busy commissioning His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Max Bernays at the Burrard Dry Dock Pier in North Vancouver.
We were thrilled to connect with this community of inspiring athletes and their support crews and felt like it truly mirrored our commitment to the family and friends who we support alongside their competitors on the road to Invictus.
And then they ran…Sunday was buzzing with expectation, and we were out in force, ringing yellow cowbells and cheering on colleagues, family, and friends as they ran their way to personal victories. The road is often long and hard, but together we can achieve so much.
All in all, the weekend was a great success, and the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 team is grateful to BMO and RunVan for their fantastic support.
