Date: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008.
Start time: 8am
Location: North York/Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON
Website: www.torontomarathon.com
The most significant facelift to the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon this year was to its name, adding the fitness chain giant as the event’s title sponsor.
Beyond that, not much has changed with the event. And that meant that the event’s half marathon was once again the marquee race of the day. I can make that call since I have previously run every single race this event had to offer, and this was easily the best one. The scenic and net downhill course, earlier start time and popularity of the distance itself attracted the majority of the Toronto Marathon’s participants. More than 4,600 participants completed the half-marathon.
I was among those finishers, completing the distance in a new personal best time of just over 2 hours. And as my fitness level was not any better than it previous years, I had to cite the fast course as one of the main reasons.
After the first 5km, which includes a crowded start near Mel Lastman Square and the notorious Hoggs Hollow uphill climb, it was literally all downhill from there. The pack was spread out comfortably along the two southbound lanes of Yonge Street, providing plenty of room to run. The weather also cooperated by warming to 10 degrees celcius. Finally, the angry, horn-honking traffic that normally greets the full marathoners at each intersection was far less evident while running the half — I did not hear a single car horn honk during my race. Credit the earlier start time for that, as the full marathon traditionally starts one hour later at 9am.
The second third of the route on the Bayview Extension also provided a lot of shade to further aid the runners. Speaking of aid, that leads me to the only area of the race that needs improvement. I did not encounter an aid station until after the Hoggs Hollow hill, some 5km into the race. Then there were two aid stations only 1km apart from each other, and after that, none until about the 9km mark. Even if another aid station could not be added, those existing aid stations should be spread out more effectively. After heading onto the Bayview Extension, the aid stations were adequate and consistent.
The finishing area around Queen’s Park Circle was crowded with supporters, music bands and assorted cheering sections. Picking up your checked bags was a quick process, since all baggage was simply placed on the ground unsupervised within the enclosed runner’s finishing area. The finishing medal has the distinction of being the heaviest one I ever received. Finally, getting back to the start line was easy since both the start and finish area are accessible by subway.
Overall, The Goodlife Fitness Toronto Half Marathon is a must-run race, and hopefully organizers will continue to keep the main parts of the course intact.
