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Toronto Waterfront Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Toronto Waterfront Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 228 [displaying comments 41 to 51]
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Sid Busch from Goose Creek , SC
(9/28/2010)
 "Better every year" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Toronto Waterfront Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my fourth time running this marathon and it gets better every year. If you're looking for a PR, this is the course to run; just look at the winning time this year and the top finishing times. Great support, fantastic volunteers, and good organization that ranges from packet pick-up to the medal being hung around your neck. Highly recommend this marathon. | |
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Sanjay Mohanta from Ottawa, ON
(9/28/2010)
 "Can do better" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Toronto Waterfront Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This was the sixth time running this course, my 24th marathon. They didn't have any gels on the course and there weren't many porta-potties at the stations. They could have been doubled. The water stations should have come every 2 K as well. The cost of parking for the race kit pick-up was too high. They should have it at the convention center like last year. | |
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Sid Busch from Goose Creek SC
(10/18/2009)
"GREAT NEW COURSE" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Toronto Waterfront Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and the new course was really great. Instead of the barren Thompson Park, you run through an area called the BEACHES, and with all of the people cheering you on before 30K, it really helped. One man even gave out watermelon slices, and they tasted SOOOOO good. There was a problem with the expo buses at the beginning, but that was solved in a timely manner. The expo was great, with plenty of free stuff and great speakers. Really enjoyed the FRIENDSHIP RUN held on Saturday - free food and a nice way to stay loose and meet your fellow runners, and having Joan Benoit Samuelson there wasn't bad either. I really recommend doing this free run. I have run 161 marathons so far, and this one is as good as a lot of the BIGGER ones. Great job. I will be back. | |
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M. w. from Irvine, CA
(10/10/2009)
 "Waterfront was nice" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course for this race was well planned out - pretty flat and scenic along the coast, and then also through some towns where there were plenty of eager folks cheering us on and little festivals (which were unrelated to the race but uplifting nonetheless). The out-and-back portion was also nice, getting to see the faster and slower runners each way! Organization was fairly good for the expo. I appreciated the shuttles that transported us there from the downtown hotel. Pre-race morning organization was lacking! Bag check was particularly terrible - the worst I have seen, and the only one to charge! Double boo! Course organization was fine, but more restrooms in the first miles are needed, as half and full runners were together, making the wait for the potties over five minutes! The post-race area was also ok - we were all kept together and going in the same direction, and there was adequate food: bagels and fruit. | |
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T. C. from New Jersey, USA
(10/9/2009)
"well organized and flat course" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course is as flat as a marathon course can get. The few little "rolls" are hardly noticeable. The expo was ok, and packet pickup was great. The race is pretty crowded at the start since the full and half start at the same time. I ran Toronto hoping for a flat course, a city feel and a good race time - and I got all three. My only negative comment is that, for a "waterfront" marathon, I rarely saw any water. | |
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David Trevino from Arlington, Virginia
(10/2/2009)
 "My 1st Marathon outside the United States" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have read some of the comments that other runners have posted, and I just like to know if there were two marathons on the same day in Toronto. The reason I ask is because I think I may have run in the best of the two. From the time I checked into the hotel, to the point where I checked out to return to the United States, my whole experience with the Toronto Waterfront Marathon was great. The course was flat. Sure, there may have been some bumps here and there, but not all marathon courses are "pancake" flat. The Toronto Marathon came pretty close to being "pancake" flat. It was announced before the race that rain was predicted, but Mother Nature gave us a gift by stopping the rain before the start of the race. Yes, it was humid, but that is not in anyone's control. Running a marathon will bring challenges, but the key to handling these challenges is to come prepared - in other words, do some hill training, and train in warm conditions (you may have to scale back on your pace at the beginning, but like with any training program, you need to slowly build up). As for the $2 dollar charge for checking in baggage, look at the bright side: it went to charity. As mentioned above, I had a great time in Toronto, and even being "humid" I ran a strong race, and finished just a little over three minutes from my PR. This is good since I'm coming off of the heel of a bad hamstring/groin injury. I even earned my Boston qualifier for 2010, but have decided to use it for 2011, which I believe will still be good at that time. The expo was good, and the crowd support was good - I have run in some marathons where there was hardly any crowd support except at the start, or coming in to the finish line. Toronto, I want to thank you for putting on an excellent event. Toronto is a very exciting city, and I found the citizens of Toronto to be friendly. I would highly recommend this race to anyone, and I definitely plan on keeping this on my radar screen for next year. (If not Toronto, then some other city in Canada.) | |
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t. c. from montreal, canada
(9/30/2009)
"Not so flat and very humid!" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It was very humid (95%), which lead to breathing issues for a lot of the runners I know, myself included. Also, there were several turn-arounds, which were slippery (a friend wiped out, actually). The course was not "pancake" flat as advertised. In some areas, the support was really, really great, and in some areas there was nothing and cars were trying to drive on the course. I won't run the full course at this one again, but I do suggest it if you want to get a good view of Toronto. | |
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A. A. from Edmonton, Alberta
(9/30/2009)
"Plan carefully..." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 After having run Chicago and New York, I felt that this race was very well organized, other than the start area. The gear-check line was a mile long, and I didn't know ahead of time that it was $2 to check our bag. When the gun went off at the start, I was still trying to get into my corral with hundreds of others who were bottle-necked, and by the time I crossed the start, there were mostly slower runners that I was constantly fighting to get ahead of. Being from Alberta, I also struggled with the humidity. In addition, my Garmin was completely useless during this race, which threw me off mentally because I have relied on it so much during my training. On the flip side, I loved the race expo and technical shirt, and the course was mostly flat. There were several areas along the course that were out-and-back and we could see runners heading back toward us, including the elites, which is always fun to see. I also loved the part of the course that went through the Beaches. In the future, I would get in the start corral much earlier and not count on my Garmin. | |
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a. a. from Toronto, Ontario
(9/29/2009)
"Great course but horrible finish line" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Toronto Waterfront Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Everything was great (expo, volunteers, course). However, the finish line was a deal-breaker for me. I have participated in several Canadian Running Series events and I do not understand why they insist on caging runners in like cattle at the finish line for 500 meters. It is gross and claustrophobic being stuck with a pile of stinky runners. Ottawa had more participants and got people out quicker. | |
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J. C. from Ithaca, New York
(9/28/2009)
"Flat, Well Organized, but Sparse Crowd" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first time to run the Waterfront Marathon. As many others have commented, the organization is top-notch. Without a doubt, it was the best expo I have ever been to. Packet pickup is easy and they funnel you right through and into the vendors. Packet premiums were also good. The medal is also one of the best I've received. I had some problems finding my corral, since I'm not from Toronto and did not know where the "entrance from Nathan Philips Square" was, which they kept telling me to try and find. Overall, it was a fantastic race with a flat course that lent itself to a new personal best. There are definitely some drawbacks, however. If you like running with your Garmin, forget it. You'll spend the first 3 or 4 miles under a freeway and your Garmin will get lost. It actually underestimated my total distance by nearly a mile. The course itself is sparsely populated with spectators, but the ones there are loud and fun! Enjoyable event! If you want a new personal best, this is a great place to go. I recommend staying downtown, as the race start/finish is about a block from every major hotel. |
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