Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009.

Start time: 10am

Location: Steam Whistle Brewery (Bremner Blvd), Toronto

Website: www.achillestrackclub.ca 

 This event, which serves mostly as a winter tune-up for most runners, continues to be a popular draw. The participant numbers were large, as the 1,500 person cap limit was reached well before race day — making for a sizeable crowd at the start line. 

 This was the second year that the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5km utilized an out-and-back route along Wellington St. in downtown Toronto. Now, there are those (including myself)who still miss the old single loop route around the St. Lawrence Market area several years back, but the majority of us also see this route as a big improvement over the other previous course at the CNE grounds. Running the ‘back’ portion still posed the greatest challenge in this event, as a slight uphill incline and warmer-than-usual sunshine combined for a tough finish — at least for those who overdressed, or started too quickly.

The event itself was generally well organized, as registration, refreshments and course marshalling were all adequate. There was less of a crowd in the pre/post race area within the Steam Whistle Brewery than last year, which could be attributed to the warmer weather.  Finally, several Team Running Free shirts dotted the field, as did some blind runners and their guides. One of those visually impaired runners was on a team of friends and colleagues that I put together, and she ran an impressive 37 minute time (don’t think that is a feat? Try running with your eyes closed!) Our team finished 16th out of 42 squads overall.