2017 | Paul Lavoie

Paul Lavoie has been active in the running community for more than 50 years either as a runner, member of Fredericton’s Capital City Road Runners or an organizer of various events, including the Fredericton Marathon. 

He was a founding member of the Capital City Road Runners and for the more than 35 years of its existence, Paul was a keen participant, supporter and booster of this Club. In 2013, Lavoie was awarded a lifetime membership to the club for his significant contributions to the Capital City Road Runners; the first ever lifetime membership awarded by the Club. Lavoie has been involved with the Fredericton Marathon for 38 years either as a runner of organizer. 

He first ran the Fredericton Marathon only once in 1989, as a qualifying attempt for the Boston Marathon. Lavoie has been serving as the Fredericton Marathon’s race director since 1998.  Next May, the Fredericton Marathon will celebrate its 40th anniversary with Paul Lavoie as its race director. Over the years, Lavoie has seen the Fredericton Marathon become one of the Maritimes finest and best attended races.

Lavoie has countless memories of the Fredericton Marathon, including “my best memory is in the early days before chip timing.  We used popsicle sticks and stop watches.  One year we spent many hours sorting out the results.  Another year when the race was in mid-April we had a snow storm.” Lavoie’s contribution to the running community isn’t just with the Fredericton Marathon. Lavoie served 20 years as Run New Brunswick’s treasurer, overseeing the provincial organization’s finances. Some 25 years ago, Lavoie started the Fredericton Trail Masters Cabot Relay team. Today, it is still going strong.