Quick looks at some of the shorter distance races I ran this year:
Strides for Stroke 5km (Richmond Hill)
Sat. May 1, 2010 @10am Overcast 18 degrees celcius
This event is a regular fixture on York Central Hospital’s fundraising schedule, held in beautiful Richmond Green Park. The venue, which normally hosts wedding photo shoots and baseball and soccer games, has a series of paved and gravel footpaths that comprise the majority of the 5km route. Organizers managed to design a route that stayed completely in the park and did not use any part of Leslie St. or Elgin Mills. What that meant was the route would be twisty and tight for most of the race.
The route wasn’t big enough to accomodate the 1,000 or so participants that took part. The first km was run on a narrow paved path that only allowed two or three people to run abreast, and some runners were getting forced onto the surrounding grass (when grass was available to be used). Thankfully, some of the park’s roadways were also utilized, and after the half way point the field had finally spread out. The final km did offer more room and many sprints to the finish line could be seen as soon as participants turned into the final 200m stretch.
Post race meal was held under an outdoor picnic shelter and included hot and cold food. Parking was plentiful and the neighbouring community centre was thankfully open — it was nice to use a real washroom for a change, rather than a port-o-potty.
WIN Marathon 10km (Whitby)
Sat. May 22, 2010 @7pm
Overcast, humid 20 degrees celcius
This was the debut of Whitby’s new marathon weekend, featuring a 10km on the Saturday evening and a full and half marathon on Sunday morning.
I ran the 10km along with a small field of runners and walkers. Weather forecasts had predicted evening rainfall up until race day, but the rain never did end up falling. Instead, the moisture lingered in the form of heavy humidity, making a warm Saturday evening feel warmer. The advertised routes for all races were changed at the last minute due to road construction, and the 10km run itself was diverted almost exclusively to the Whitby/Ajax waterfront paths and sidewalks. These were the same paths and sidewalks used in several other local races, such as the November 10-miler and a half-marathon formerly held in July.
Given all this, organizers have to be given a lot of credit for their ability to improvise. Water stations and volunteer support was adequately provided, and anyone who carried an iPod or MP3 player found it was ideal conditions to use it (field was spread out, no cars or pedestrians to look out for, etc.) The best part was the post-race meal, as we dined on pizza and sweets at a bar & grill situated in a nearby community centre. For me, the race turned out to be a valuable source of Road Warrior race points.
However, it was still a bit disappointing that the planned road route was replaced with the same old waterfront paths. If city officials are able to avoid such road closures from affecting the marathon weekend in 2011, I urge them to do so. This event has the potential to be a very successful race weekend, and not just another run in the park.
Bread and Honey 15km (Mississauga)
Sunday, June 6, 2010 @8am
Rain/Overcast 13 degrees celcius
What can one say about this event that hasn’t been said already? It has been around for decades, most of the route is scenic and flat, is well-attended, and the race organization is almost flawless.
The race started and finished in Streetsville, where a local school gymnasium provided shelter from a light rainfall. The 5km and 15km started at the same time and shared the first 4km, which was a flat loop around neighbouring streets. While the 5km runners turned to their left to head for the finishing stretch, the 15km runners broke away in the opposite direction and enjoyed a large loop around tree-lined streets. There were only presented two significant inclines to speak of — both of which were on the same bridge that was the gateway to an out-and-back loop in a business park. Water stations were consistent throughout the route. After the finish, we were directed into the school cafeteria for the post race meal. The food was plentiful, despite the long line of 5km finishers ahead of us.
The only complaint I had is that parking was scarce. I parked 10 minutes away at the Streetsville GO station, and made a mistake by not using the bag check at the school. For those who do this race next year, get there early!
Erica’s Wish 10km (Mississauga)
Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010 @9:30am
Sunny, humid 23 degrees celcius
Ran this race to help pace a younger cousin in his first 10km “race” of the year. Seems that he favoured the humid conditions better than I did, as he easily pulled away in the final km. For me, this was my first 10km after a long layoff, and it showed.
The event itself was run in Mississauga’s Erin Mills Park, and apart from 1km of asphalt road at the turnaround point, the rest of the run was on foot paths that were very narrow in spots. The out-and-back format meant that things got quite crowded in areas where runners headed in opposite directions on the same path. The best part of the route for me was the 300m leading up to the finish line — this was run entirely on grass, provoking flashbacks of high school cross country for some local runners. The most memorable part of Erica’s Wish was the finishing “medal”, which was actually a neck bracelet with a small, round ring bearing the inscription “Courage” and “Erica’s Wish”. While its design made it more appealing to young girls than older men, it was still one of the most creative and thoughtful finishing medals I have ever seen.
There were roughly a few hundred people on hand, so the venue proved to be adequate for its size. However, the event is also close to outgrowing its current race course. This mid-August event is run for a unique and worthy cause and thus has the potential to attract much higher numbers, which would necessitate a venue with wider paths and/or more use of the park’s roads.
B&O Yorkville 5km
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010
Sunny 15 degrees celcius
The inaugural B&O Yorkville Run/Walk was scheduled during the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival, and the race website hinted that celebrity participation might be possible. While I did not spot any celebrities in the start area just north of Bloor St., I did spot another Team Running Free athlete. I also saw what had to be the quickest looking 5km field I have seen in many years.
The B&O Yorkville 5km has the elements to become an elite 5km road race. Such elements include strong sponsorship, experienced organizers (VR Pro), its inferred association with TIFF’s opening weekend, and a $50 entry fee. I am not sure if there was any prize money up for grabs, but I could be excused for thinking so. There was a former Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion warming up near the start line, while the winner of the previous week’s Oakville Half Marathon was not far behind him. Surrounding them were many more “fast” runners — some familiar faces, some new ones — in their club or school singlets. Among this group was eventual winner Rob Watson of Guelph, who clocked a time of 14:09. Predictably, this group took off quickly at the start of the race, and everyone else behind followed suit to set a fast pace for the first 2km.
The route ventures southward on Yonge Street, west on Adelaide and north on University Ave. before looping back along Davenport Rd. towards the start/finish area. It is a fast course with only a slight incline around the 4km mark. It reminded me of the Scotiabank Rat Race route to some extent, except this was further north and held on a Sunday morning. It was a fun and competitive race, and it will be interesting to see this event grow and how the route will evolve in future years.
Variety Village Walk-Run-Roll 5km (Scarborough)
Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010
Sun and cloud 12 degrees celcius
This was an event that fell under the radar screen in the midst of a busy September race calendar. I was alerted to it by a friend who was running for Toronto City Councillor, as he was invited to take part in the opening festivities. This was chip timed and run along the neighbourhood roads just north of Scarborough’s Variety Village headquarters on Kingston Rd.
The route was a pleasant surprise, proving to be a fast and straight-forward route along the neighbourhood streets of a local sub-division. The race course was more-or-less a single loop that found itself back onto Kingston Road for a wide open finishing stretch. One water station was provided at the half-way mark. The finish line was more narrow that I was accustomed to, but was not really a concern. Roughly 150 runners and walkers took part in the event.
Overall, an event worth looking into if you need a pre-marathon speed tune-up.
