Ottawa Race Weekend: 40 years of racing stories

Ottawa Race Weekend is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Ottawa marathon this weekend. Listen below to stories from former runners who marked milestones in Ottawa races over the past 40 years.

On May 25, 1975, a group of 142 runners lined up at the starting line at the Ottawa Marathon, and only three of them were women.

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Eleanor Thomas was the first woman to cross the finish line that year.

Sarah MacFadyen met up with Eleanor Thomas and you can hear her story below.

• On mobile? To listen to the interview with Eleanor, click here.

In 1979, almost 3,000 runners took part in the Ottawa Marathon, including Lou Mulvihill.

Mulvihill was an Algonquin College student and the only person in a wheelchair that year. He was the first person to ever wheel himself across the finish line in the Ottawa Marathon.

Listen to his story below.

• On mobile? To listen to the interview with Lou, click here.

He completed three marathons before he turned 11 years old.

Alan Forester was one of the youngest marathon runners ever at Ottawa Race Weekend and he continues to race each year.

His mother took us through her photo album looking at Alan's early running days.

• On mobile? To listen to the interview with Alan, click here.