Meet the man behind Metro Vancouver’s 42 km, food-fuelled Costco marathon

There are few more loved foods than the Costco hot dog. Coming in at just $1.50 (and that’s including a drink), there are few better deals in and around Metro Vancouver. But would you run over 42 km to enjoy the beloved Costco hot dog at five locations in one day, while also wearing a hot dog costume? For one Vancouverite, the answer was an easy yes.

Meet Amir Nikravan, the brain behind the Costco marathon that ran over 42 km and stopped at Costco locations in Port Coquitlam, two in Burnaby, Vancouver, and Richmond. His TikTok video recounting the adventure has since garnered over 70,000 views.

Dished reached out to Nikravan to learn more about what inspired him to organize this marathon and how people can participate in the next one.

@amirrormirrorThe inaugural @costco Marathon. 5 Costcos across Metro Vancouver 🌭🌭🌭🌭🌭. We got that dog in us 😤.♬ original sound – Amir Nikravan

“The Costco Marathon was a fun little run idea that had been brewing in my head for the past few months,” shared Nikravan. “Last year, I ran all the Skytrain lines, calling it the Off the Rail – Run Series. That was super fun, so I wanted to build on from that and make this a little different.”

At each Costco, the group stopped to fuel up at the food courts, making sure to eat their fill of chicken strips, pizza, ice cream, and, of course, hot dogs.

“Once I had the idea, I started posting it in a few run clubs I am with, along with my own social media, and I made a Strava group for it where the word spread. I wanted to make this feel somewhat official, too, so I printed bibs featuring $1.50 on the front as a nod to the menu, and made finisher stickers for anyone who participated,” he said.

If you missed this marathon, don’t worry, because Nikravan plans to make this an annual event.

“This turned out to be way more popular of an event than I was expecting, with 27 people joining throughout the day, and more commenting online that they would join the next one, so it will likely have to be an annual event. Hopefully, it’s earlier in the year to make it easier for me to run in the hot dog costume again,” he said.

Amir Nikravan/Submitted

To keep updated on when the next Costco marathon is, Nikravan encouraged people to join the Strava group or to follow him on Instagram.

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“I am always trying to come up with fun run ideas and motivate others to get out and run, however it may look. There will be more ones like this to come, and I am open to suggestions,” he said.

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