Thousands of Runners at the 2016 Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon Will Take the National Scotiabank Charity Challenge Closer to the $50 Million Fundraising Mark

HALIFAX, ON--(Marketwired - May 16, 2016) - Over 12,000 runners will hit the roads of Halifax for the 13th annual Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon on May 21 - 22. Many runners will be raising funds for one of the 85 charities associated with the 2016 Scotiabank Charity Challenge in Halifax, including the three local, Featured Charities:

• Adsum for Women and Children

• Halifax Refugee Clinic

• Bide Awhile Animal Shelter

A last minute Charity Challenge entry is the Canadian Red Cross - Alberta Fires Appeal.

"At Scotiabank, we applaud the Blue Nose Marathon for joining Canadians across the country in supporting the Canadian Red Cross and doing all we can to help with the relief efforts underway in Fort McMurray," said Craig Thompson, Scotiabank's Senior Vice President of the Atlantic Region. "Participants in this Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon share our commitment to giving back to communities and we want to thank everyone for their fundraising efforts this year.

"Since 2003, our runners have raised over $46 million for community charities nationally and in 2016, together, we are racing to surpass the $50 million fundraising milestone."

Scotiabank proudly hosts a Scotiabank Charity Challenge at each of the Bank's six sponsored marathon events across Canada including Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple way for race participants 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.

"The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is an opportunity to give back to the community that supports us," said Rod McCulloch, Chair of the Board of Directors, Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon. "Each year we see more charities registering and more funds raised for good causes."

For a complete list of 2016 charities participating in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, please visit the Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon website.

Part of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a friendly competition between the charities for $24,750 in cash prizes consisting of $4,250 for 1^st place, $2,500 for 2^nd, and $1,500 for 3^rd in the following categories:

• The Official Charity that has the most fundraising runners.

• The Official Charity that raises the most fundraising dollars.

• The Official Charity that raises the largest amount of pledge dollars per fundraising runner.

How to get involved:

• Register for an event: Register for the Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon: http://bluenosemarathon.com/

• Fundraise: Once registered, sign up for the Scotiabank Charity Challenge and raise funds for a participating official charity.

• Share! Share your story behind why you support your charity, using #runScotia.

• Donate: Visit the Scotiabank Charity Challenge to select an official charity and make a one-time donation.

• Cheer: Support friends and family along the race route and as they cross the finish line. You can also show your support to runners online by using the hashtags #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.