The weather gods looked like they were going to bestow the perfect day for the average runner. It was about 10C at race time (7am) with a lot of cloud cover and a projected high of 22C for the day. That meant that most people finishing the marathon around 11am would not be scorched by the days heat.
The course: The Waterfront course runs back and forth along the major roads along Toronto’s beautiful waterfront. The first leg of the course (also the major component of the Half Marathon) being an out and back along Lakeshore Blvd to Windemere Rd. at the bottom of High Park. This half of the course holds the only four “uphills” of the route, two out and the same two back. The wind is usually off the lake, so that means that you either have it in your face one way or the other. Overall, the first half of the route is perfect for pacing because there are no major downhills to over speed your run.
The second leg of the marathon begins after the marathon and half split at the 18km mark. The marathon turns down past the Tip Top Lofts to continue along Queen’s Quay. This section is flat, straight and the kilometer markers are very easily seen ahead of the runners. There is also a lot of spectators along this section, so it is easy to get a boost as you approach the Halfway split. It is also important to keep up your spirits because the hard part of the marathon is coming.
The third section of the marathon begins around the 22 km mark. The Don roadway (where the best neighbourhood cheering section of the marathon is) is the beginning of the desolate dockyards section. This section is a 2 km straight run along Commissioner st. and then an 8km out and back down into the Leslie Street Spit (Tom Thompson Park). This part is a love or hate for most of the participants. Some people actually dread it and can’t believe people run this every week. The nice part of this section starts at the 31km mark. It is an out and back along Lakeshore Blvd with the turn around at Queen st. I would really love to see the marathon turn the corner here and run along Queen for a little while instead of turning back down to the docks again.
The final section of the marathon begins around the 38km mark where the route turns off Don roadway and travels under the Gardner for 2km. This section is easy to pace and basically a straight shot back to the finish mile. With a small turn towards the lake and the bottom of Yonge St. it is only a kilometer to go towards the crowds along the final stretch. This is where the mental toughness of months of training is required. There is a hill, actually just a slight rise but it feels like a mountain, from under the Gardner all the way to Wellington where you make the turn into the final 500m. If you aren’t ready for it, you might be done in by it. The final stretch is magical. There are people along both sides of the road, cheering and screaming. With my name on my bib I heard my name at least a dozen times along this section. The best thing about the finishing lane is that you can see the finish line for the last 600 or 800 m.
The finishing chute is one of the best that I have ever seen. There is a large delegation of volunteers giving out blankets, water and medals. There was no waiting around to get my chip off and it was very easy to find the people that had come to cheer me on. There were also plenty of portapotties and loads of food, Gatorade and water. I also noticed that there were plenty of medical aid people standing around waiting for the large crowd of marathoners to come.
My race was very steady with a few fast kms at the beginning of the run. Water and nutrition strategies went well. I drank close to 4 bottles of water or Gu2o and had 7 gels + 2 before the race. I was very lucky to have a great on course bike support person (highly recommended) plus I had the best rolling (and walking) cheering support squad ever. I finished with a positive split, so it seems that my prerace goal was not to be, though I did achieve what I set out to do. I did learn that 12.7 ft per second is a lot to hold onto especially after the 30km mark. My next goal is to try this all again next year in Missi or some other early spring race.
