According to Andrew Martin of Special Collections at the Vancouver Public Library archives, the first marathon run in Vancouver was on May 24, 1909 at Recreation Park (corner of Smithe & Homer). Recreation Park was a private sport facility built in 1905 and demolished in 1913.

In front of 2,500 enthusiastic spectators, Mayor Douglas fired the starting pistol. One of the timekeepers was prominent local jeweler George Trorey, manager of the Birks, in downtown Vancouver. Eleven runners took part and the race was run around a track in the park.

Well-known Vancouver athlete Will Chandler won the race in 3 hours, 22 minutes and 11 seconds. Chandler specialized in the middle distance event (five-mile) and was virtually unbeatable for a number of years.

The marathon’s current overall men's trophy is the award that was first presented to Will Chandler in 1909. Chandler was also a contender for both the 1908 and the 1912 Canadian Olympic teams, but business commitments prevented him from attending. Later in life, Chandler and his son both competed successfully in the sport of rifle shooting.  He also had a local 15 km race in his namesake that was run in Vancouver until the late 1980's. 

According to Gordon Rogers, former director of the Vancouver International Marathon Society, the trophy was valued at $30,000 in the 1990's.  Considering the award's significance in Canadian marathon history over the last 100 years, it's truly priceless and will soon have a permanent place of honour in the BC Sports Hall of Fame.