Who would have figured that Toronto would have been able to put together a 14000 person run! I have always loved the Sporting Life 10km run but due to other commitments have not run it in a couple of years. This year along with every other runner in Toronto, I decided to hit the Yonge Street asphalt.
Taking a page from other larger runs and trying to avoid the snafu that happened at the finish line last year, the Sporting Life organizers went with corals this year. Although I had been assigned to the Red coral I decided to start with a friend further back in the Blue coral. Ropes separated each coral and as the coral in front started out the subsequent groups were herded forward to wait their turn. I have to say that there is nothing more frustrating for a runner than seeing the group ahead start out and then have to wait for and agonizing 5 minutes before your turn comes! I am thinking that 2 minutes would have sufficed but in retrospect the 5 minute wait was what probably contributed to the complete organization at the end.
Changing the route this year resulted in the start line being a bit further south than normal which meant that we started on a down hill and never looked back. The weather was great, the run was probably one of the best organized I have ever run in
Toronto and the finish area was a joy. Kudos to the organizers!
As a Torontonian there is nothing like the buzz you get from running down
Yonge Street. As much as we complain about the congestion and the scanky shops along parts of the stretch it really is a great thrill to have the entire road to yourself (and of course the rest of the 14000 runners). This run more than others seems to bring out the best in the city. I have run Scotia Waterfront and the Toronto Marathon a number of times and can honestly say that the crowds are never as enthusiastic as with the Sporting Life run. Maybe it is because of the time of year or its probably because the 10km does not close the city down as long as the marathon. Whatever it is it works and I think next year will be bigger than ever I know I will be there.
