Over $550,000 Raised at 2016 Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon

HALIFAX, NS--(Marketwired - May 22, 2016) - Close to 13,000 people took to the streets of downtown Halifax for the 13th annual Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon this Victoria Day weekend, raising more than $550,000 for 85 local charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

Bryan Hipson from Yarmouth, NS won the Scotiabank Marathon with a time of 2:46:40. Heather O'Donnell of Bridgetown, NS crossed the finish line at 3:11:25 to win the women's event. Atlantic Canada dominated the top spots for all but one race today.

The 2016 Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon also included the inaugural 5K Wheelchair Showcase, with six elite wheelchair athletes competing. Paralympian Josh Cassidy wowed spectators as he raced through the streets, coming in first in 00:11:24. The Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run was bigger than ever with over 4,200 eager participants with their families cheering them on.

"It was an incredible weekend. We had the most participants ever in the Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run on Saturday and we saw a five per cent increase in overall participation over 2015," said Rod McCulloch, Chair of the Board of Directors, Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon. "Spectators turned out all along the route to cheer participants through the streets of Halifax."

"We would like to congratulate all of the runners in the 2016 Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon, especially those who dedicated their run to one of the local charities associated with the Scotiabank Charity Challenge this year," said Craig Thompson, Senior Vice President, Atlantic Region at Scotiabank. "With the support of the community, the Scotiabank Charity Challenge reached a fundraising total of $550,000 and counting by event day for 85 charities in the province."

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is well established across the country at six Scotiabank-sponsored running events including Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. "Since its inception in 2003, runners have raised over $46 million for community charities. Today's event has taken us that much closer to reaching the $50 million milestone some time in 2016, continued Mr. Thompson."

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple way for runners in these races to support local causes that make a significant impact on Canadian communities. Participating charities keep 100% of the proceeds raised, as Scotiabank pays for all transaction and credit card fees.

Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon Results:

Full Marathon Male

1. Bryan Hipson - Yarmouth, NS TIME: 2:46:40
2. Michael Doyle - Hammonds Plains, NS TIME: 2:47:36
3. Wade Were - Dartmouth, NS TIME: 2:50:51

Full Marathon Female

1. Heather O'Donnell - Bridgetown, NS TIME: 3:11:25
2. Elita Rahn - Jolicure, NB TIME: 3:19:45
3. Sara Earle - Halifax, NS TIME: 3:23:20

Half Marathon Results

Half Marathon Male

1. Matt McNeil - Halifax, NS TIME: 1:08:54
2. Chris Voth - Vancouver, BC TIME: 1:14:25
3. Jason Guy - St. John's, NL TIME: 1:18:39

Half Marathon Female

1. Paula James - Windsor, ON TIME: 1:28:57
2. Madeleine Crowell - Halifax, NS TIME: 1:29:17
3. Helga Macneill - Kensington, PE TIME: 1:33:05

10K Results

10K Male

1. Connor McGuire - Halifax, NS TIME: 00:33:12
2. Matthew Ho - Halifax, NS TIME: 00:34:16
3. Matthias Mueller - Middle Sackville, NS TIME: 00:35:18

10K Female

1. Ashley Chisholm - Halifax, NS TIME: 00:41:11
2. Chloe Austin - Dartmouth, NS TIME: 00:41:26
3. Daun Lynch - Charlottetown, PE TIME: 00:42:28

To see a list of charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, please visit www.bluenosemarathon.com/charity-challenge

For more highlights and complete race results, please visit: http://bluenosemarathon.com/

Twitter Hashtag: #BlueNose2016 and #runScotia

About Scotiabank
Through our global community investment strategy, Scotiabank and its employees support causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2015, Scotiabank contributed $67 million to help our communities around the world.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 89,000 employees and assets of $920 billion (as at January 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS.TO) and New York Exchanges (BNS.TO). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using Marketwired. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

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