Our Story

The MRA was formed in 1971. Thousands of Manitobans benefit from our activities. Whether young or old, male or female, disabled or disadvantaged, the MRA serves them all. Most of the people who participate in our events avail themselves of our facilities but are not actually members of the organization. Part of our ongoing effort is to encourage them to join. We also offer school memberships which provide discounts to students at events such as the Manitoba Marathon.

Our Approach

The MRA is the only non-profit advocate for the sport of road running in Manitoba and is incorporated under the laws of Manitoba. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors which is accountable to its members and to the community and employs a full-time Executive Director, Kathy Wiens, a part-time Events Coordinator, Christa Rusk and a part-time contract Equipment Manager/Timing Manager, Jim Rennie. Our mission statement is to “promote and support the sport of running for health, fun and fitness for life to runners of all ages and abilities”. The aim of the MRA is to encourage mass participation in road running as well as the individual pursuit of excellence through our schedule of fun runs and road races.

It’s what we do best!

The MRA encourages Manitobans to make running and walking a part of a healthy lifestyle and makes a special effort to encourage our youth to pursue running as a way of staying fit for life. In order to achieve this, the MRA organizes three running series for runners of all ages. The MRA Classic Race Series is for members ages 17 and up who are looking for some friendly competition. It also provides properly measured and certified courses that can be used by elite runners wishing to qualify for national events and recognition. The MRA Youth Race Series is for members ages 16 and under who can earn points for participation or choose to compete for age group prizes (ages 11-16). Finally we have our MRA Celebration Series which is for runners of all ages (membership not required) that can earn participation points towards a unique Manitoba medal. Most recently in 2024, a fourth series was added. The MRA Indigenous Run Series is comprised of a number of events supporting Indigenous causes, or organized by an Indigenous community.

Take the next step!

Join today!

For more information about membership with the Manitoba Runners’ Association, visit: https://mraweb.ca/join-the-mra/.