Around the Bay
The Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton, Ontario, is one of the most storied running events in the world. First held in on December 25th, 1894 (yes Christmas Day!), it is recognized as the oldest road race in North America (beating the Boston Marathon by 3 years). It is also the oldest continuously run race of 30km or more in the entire world. The original course circled Hamilton Harbour—“the Bay”—on rough roads that pushed early competitors through wind, mud, and cold, quickly establishing the race’s reputation for toughness. From its earliest years, Around the Bay attracted elite runners from Canada and abroad, helping to put Hamilton on the international running map.
Notable Winners
There have been many notable runners that have won the Around the Bay Road Race, many of which are local to the area. Many of these runners went on to compete on the international stage. They include:
- 1898 & 1900: Jack Caffery - first Canadian winner of the Boston Marathon (1900).
- 1899 & 1903: Billy Sherring - first Canada winner of Olympic Marathon (1906).
- 1906: Tom Longboat - broke the record for the Boston Marathon (1906). June 4th is offically known as "Tom Longboat Day".
- 1930s/40s: Robert Scotty Rankine - won the race a record 7 times.
Getting Credit for this Virtual
The race was originally sponsored by the Hamilton Herald, a newspaper that ceased printing in 1936. The newspaper produced mile marker posts for the race, which were installed sometime prior to 1905, although when it is not known exactly. Three of these markers are still in existence - the 5 mile, 15 mile, and 17 mile markers. Although they are thought not to be located at their exact original locations, they are still positioned at various locations along the current race route. Your task, is to travel the entire race route with a keen eye, and find them.
(I'm forced to waypoint them on the cache page, but you shouldn't use those to go directly to the markers, *especially* in a car... because I know you can do it on foot... you're a tough competitor! :))
Once you find them, you must take a picture of ***each*** marker with a sign showing your geocaching name. You can include anything else you like in the picture, including yourself (although not required). The marker and your geocaching name must be visible. Team names are not allowed (although you can have more than one name in the same picture). Any logs that do not show all 3 locations with corresponding geocaching names will be deleted.
The posted coordinates will take you to the 15 mile marker, and an informational plaque about the race. You can start your search from there. Below is a map of the 2026 course:
Virtual Rewards 5.0 - 2026-2027
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between February 3, 2026 and February 3, 2027. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 5.0 on the Geocaching Blog.