The Around the Bay Road Race is Hamilton's 30K around the harbour, first run in 1894; the next edition is listed for Sunday, April 4, 2027. Road closures start early, so runners should be dropped near the start between about 7:45 and 8:30 am for a 9:30 start. A sedan within Hamilton is $75–100 one way; an hourly car for runner and family is $120–145 an hour.
Around the Bay Road Race logistics: the weekend at a glance
The race itself is one morning, but the logistics start on Friday. This post is the timeline, checklists and supporter plan; for booking the car itself, see our Around the Bay car service for runners. The course changes have been frequent in recent years, so treat everything here as a planning frame and check the current course map and closure notice on the official race website before you commit to a start corner or a hotel.
When is Around the Bay 2027?
The organisers list Sunday, April 4, 2027. The race was traditionally held on the last Sunday of March, and the 2026 edition moved to April 12, so dates do shift. Distances are the 30K, 15K, 10K and 5K. The 30K has a time limit of about four and a half hours, with checkpoints on course. Register, then book accommodation and race-morning transport the same week; the Saturday night before the race is a busy one for downtown and Burlington hotels.
A runner's weekend timeline
Friday
(50–75 min), $270–330. Our Hamilton to Pearson route has the details.
- Travel in. From Toronto Pearson the drive is about 70 km (45–65 min), a sedan $245–300; from Union Station about 68 km
- Check in and eat a normal dinner. Do not experiment.
Saturday
bib pickup, a course recce and a lunch stop.
- Bib pickup at the published location and hours.
- Drive the late-race section around Valley Inn Road so the climb is not a surprise. A 3-hour sedan booking ($360–435) covers
- Lay out kit: bib pinned, shoes, gels, throwaway layer, dry bag for after.
- Confirm the drop-off corner and pickup time with your chauffeur by text.
Sunday
- Up about three hours before the start. Breakfast, coffee, washroom.
- Pickup timed so you arrive between 7:45 and 8:30 am for a 9:30 start.
- Race. Walk out of the finish area to the agreed pickup landmark.
- Warm car, dry clothes, brunch.
What time should the car collect you?
Work backwards from about 8:00 am at the start area. From a downtown Hamilton hotel, a pickup around 7:45–8:00 am is plenty. From Burlington (about 15 km), 7:30 am. From Oakville (about 40 km, early Sunday 30–35 min), 7:00 am. From downtown Toronto, 6:45–7:00 am. The organisers recommend being parked before 8:00 am because roads near the start close early, and closures do not wait for late arrivals.
| Runner starting from | Distance | Early-Sunday drive | Suggested pickup | Sedan one way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Hamilton hotel | 2–5 km | 5–10 min | 7:45–8:00 am | $75–100 |
| Burlington | about 15 km | 15–20 min | about 7:30 am | $90–115 |
| Oakville | about 40 km | 30–35 min | about 7:00 am | $145–175 |
| Mississauga | about 60 km | 40–50 min | about 6:50 am | $195–240 |
| Downtown Toronto | about 68 km | 50–60 min | 6:45–7:00 am | $270–330 |
| St. Catharines | about 55 km | 35–45 min | about 7:00 am | $175–215 |
The race-bag and car-bag checklist
Race bag (goes to bag check, if offered): phone, a small towel, a warm top, a snack. Car bag (stays with the chauffeur on an hourly booking): full change of clothes, dry socks and shoes, a warm jacket and hat, recovery drink, painkillers you normally use, wallet and hotel key, a plastic bag for wet kit. The point of an hourly chauffeur in Hamilton on race day is that the car bag waits somewhere warm rather than in a crowded bag-check tent.
Where should spectators stand?
The organisers suggest viewing points including Beach Boulevard near the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, LaSalle Park in Burlington, the area near Dundurn Castle, Bayfront Park and the Hamilton harbourfront. A good supporter plan picks two of them plus the finish, and accepts that the course blocks the direct roads between them. Our Burlington city page shows how the North Shore and Plains Road side connects back to Hamilton.
A supporter's itinerary with one car
- 8:15 am: runner dropped near the start; family stays in the car with coffee.
- 9:30 am: watch the start from an open viewing area nearby.
- 10:00 am: chauffeur drives around the closures toward Beach Boulevard; family watches the runner pass near the Lift Bridge.
- 11:00 am: loop via the QEW and Plains Road to a Burlington viewing point for the late miles.
- 12:00 pm: back to the finish side to meet the runner at the agreed landmark.
- 12:45 pm: brunch, then home.
That is roughly five hours in a sedan, $600–725 all-in plus HST, or $950–1,175 in an executive SUV that fits six. Timings depend on the runner's pace and the year's course; the chauffeur plans the exact loop from the published closure map.
Common race-morning mistakes
- Planning to drive yourself and find parking at 8:45 am.
- Arranging to meet family "at the finish line", where nobody can reach you.
- Racing in the jacket you meant to leave in the car.
- Booking a rideshare for 11:30 am and discovering half the streets are still closed.
- Forgetting that April can bring sleet. Check Environment Canada the night before.
Running clubs: one vehicle, one plan
For a club, the only way to keep fourteen runners on schedule is one departure time and one vehicle. A Sprinter from our own fleet at $330–385 an hour collects everyone from a hotel or a club meeting point, drops at the start, holds the bags and waits for the last finisher. Send the dispatch desk your fastest and slowest expected finish times. A Mississauga club of twelve for six hours is about $1,980–2,310 before HST, under $195 each. The Sprinter group transportation page has seating and luggage details.
Where to stay the night before
Downtown Hamilton puts you close to the harbour start areas and within walking distance of breakfast. Burlington hotels are closer to the North Shore half of the course and a short drive across the canal. Our pages on downtown Hamilton hotels and Burlington hotels describe where cars stop at each lobby, which matters at 7:45 am when everyone in your hotel is leaving at once.
After the finish: the first hour
Keep walking gently for a few minutes rather than sitting straight down. Collect your medal and bag, then head for the pickup landmark with a phone in hand. In the car: dry top first, then socks, then everything else. If you are flying out the same day, allow extra time on the first stretch while downtown roads reopen; Pearson is about 70 km and usually 45–65 minutes.
Getting there by train
GO Transit's Lakeshore West line serves Burlington, Aldershot, West Harbour and Hamilton GO Centre, but early Sunday service is limited, so check the timetable on GO Transit against your start time. Many runners train in on Saturday and use a short car ride on race morning. Check Ontario 511 for weekend highway work before you set pickup times.
Is Around the Bay a good spectator race for kids?
Yes, with a plan. Children enjoy the Lift Bridge area and the harbour, and cowbells and signs make it an event. Keep the viewing stops short, bring snacks and warm layers, and let the car be the warm-up room between points. Child seats (infant, convertible or booster) are available at a planning figure of $10–15 each. Our sibling post on the Road2Hope race morning covers the autumn race on the same waterfront.
Flying in from the United States
Around the Bay draws runners from Western New York and beyond. From Buffalo, the drive to downtown Hamilton is about 105 km via the Peace Bridge and the QEW, usually 80–110 minutes plus the border; a sedan is $375–465 one way. Carry a passport, passport card, NEXUS card or enhanced licence, and check current rules with CBSA. Our Buffalo to Hamilton page covers the crossing. Flying into Buffalo on Friday and driving over the border with a chauffeur leaves Saturday free for bib pickup and a course recce.
Three weather scenarios, three plans
Bright and cold: the classic Around the Bay morning. Wear a throwaway layer to the start and have a warm jacket in the car. Wet and windy off the lake: the stretch along Beach Boulevard is exposed, so spectators should favour sheltered viewing points and spend more time in the car. Freezing rain or late snow: dispatch adds time to pickups the night before, the chauffeur chooses the safest route across the canal, and supporters may pick a single viewing point rather than two. In every case, the dry kit in the car matters more than anything else you pack.
Using Saturday well
The day before a 30K is for resting, not wandering around a strange city. Keep Saturday short: bib pickup, a thirty-minute drive of the late-race roads so the Valley Inn Road climb has a picture in your head, lunch, feet up. A 3-hour sedan booking handles it without you driving or parking twice, and the same chauffeur can then take your family to the harbour or the gardens while you rest at the hotel.
One-way or hourly for a runner on their own?
A solo runner staying downtown, with nobody coming to watch, rarely needs an hourly car: walk or take a short drop-off to the start, and book a timed pickup for about forty minutes after your expected finish. The hourly booking earns its keep when there are supporters to move between viewing points, a bag of dry kit to keep warm, or a brunch and an onward trip after the race.
Book your race-weekend car direct
Book on HamiltonLimo.net's own reservation engine: choose one-way or hourly, enter the start area and your expected finish time in the notes, and add child seats if needed. The engine shows a fixed all-in fare with HST shown separately before you confirm, and it does not rise on race morning. One dispatch desk, no app, no aggregator commission. Free cancellation more than 72 hours before pickup; 10 % at 72 hours or less, 50 % at 48 hours or less, 100 % at 24 hours or less or on a no-show.
