I am at a loss to understand with all the wonderful areas to run in Toronto why the race is pushed down to the water treatment plant and boring dock areas. Having run several marathons in the US I find most Canadian races are run through uninspiring areas with little fan support and dull scenery.
The other disappointment was the finish line area. Long walk to the food and disappointing when you got there. After running 26 miles a bagel and more water or gatorade isn't what a runner is looking for. Cleveland marathon had ice cold chocolate milk and great cookies at the finish. Fantastic !!!!

I usually run the Goodlife Fitness Marathon here in May; the way the calendar fell in place this fall allowed me to run both Chicago and Toronto, and the Toronto Waterfront Marathon was really a great event (getting in the start wave was a hassle, but quickly forgotten). Great course and energy.

I flew over from the UK to run Toronto and wasn't disappointed: personal best time and first Vet 60+. The course is fast but the long wide highways make it difficult to run the tangents - can we have a 'race line' as in London etc? A bit chaotic at the start, better at the finish, good crowds but some long lonely stretches. Also NB I stayed at the Metropolitan which was HOPELESS, avoid that. I ran with no breakfast. Overall, well done Toronto.

I am so glad I chose Toronto marathon as my 3rd marathon. What a beautiful City!
I came here to destroy my personal best but due to rain, slippery roads, High winds I missed to run a PB. But everyone from top to bottom ran slow in second half due to weather.
COURSE: Nice course! You can run a personal best. Nice incline to start then flat, down hill, mostly flat for 30k last 12k are rolling inclines and and nasty wind. But it is a fast course.
My only problem was 2 things 4 hairpin turns and the nasty weather!
I will recommend this race! And I will be back! The Race Director Mr. Brookes i met him at finish line and got to shake his hand! Very nice gentleman. I <3 TO RUN TO!!!

What a way to run my 40th marathon! A great city (best theatre in North America, best restaurants and a fight club for artists!). It was quite an experience meeting runners from all my various races throughout the course. Chatting with Scott from the TO Ultra Marathon in January, George who ran 400k in 72 hours in Phoenix, Dr. Raymond who ran his 277th marathon, the other maniacs and finally Peter Donato. There were some problems though:
1. Starting line: Fences kept runners out and was chaos prior to the race. Don't need them or atleast not as many as them. Better if race kit tells you which street your corral was at
2. No Vaseline stations
3. Only one gel station
4. No Gatorade at the station at 14k
5. Barren landscape on Lakeshore Blvd - should loop down Bloor to Dufferin and down on Ossington to Queen or something

Not to sound negative but the race did feature a good expo, great medals and good bands. Thanks to all the runners in the subway ride back for a fun way to run 40 marathons. My 4 am alarms, twice a day training, mileage on my car, excessive registration fees were worth it. See you in Columbia City, Indiana!
Sanjay

You can tell the race organizers took the bag check comments from 2011 to heart. There were no issues whatsoever this year. I thought the course was great (twists and turns, but I'd take that over a lot of hills) and I was pleasantly surprised how many spectators were on course. The water station volunteers were outstanding and, again, I was surprised how many people were holding out cups at each station. Nice work, everyone. I would happily come back.

Every aspect of this marathon is well done. From registration through email update to the expo and the race they got it right. The one thing they don't control is the weather. And when they get that nice cold clear windless October day it will make for excellent running. I believe the changes from last year made for a huge improvement in the organization. To me things went off seamlessly.

A couple of suggestions would be maps of the start and finish area. It wasn't hard to find the entrance to the corrals but having a picture of how it was controlled would have been nice. Also the finish area was the same. Maybe I just didn't see the maps. Just copy the Boston booklet. I actually only ran the half so can't comment on the whole course but I enjoyed the front side. I am not a real fan of multiple races starting at the same time, but if you have to do it this worked well. Does give a 'larger' marathon feel at the start. Separation at the end was good.

My only criticism is of the pasta dinner at the Trattoria Mercatto. And this really has little to do with the race. They had a marathon special but they really missed the boat on quantity. You'd have thought they would have made up on quality but the portions were small and cold. In the end probably the right amount but not what you expect.

Overall a great event.

Generally not bad but there were lineups at every porto potty. In Chicago it was a lot better. I get it...porto potties cost a lot of money and each extra one takes away from the bottom line...but for the average runner...this is important.

The baggage pick up has been written about and it truly did suck. However, I sent an e-mail to the race director the following day making some suggestions to fix the problems and within 24 hours he got back to me saying it was already being restructured. Everything else was great: the course offered a chance to see the leaders, the rolling terrain made things interesting, the neighbourhoods were tremendously supportive and the medal is very nice. The t-shirt is OK and the post-race food could be improved quite a bit. Overall, I'd still recommend this race - but don't kid yourself, it isn't pancake flat.

I was very lucky to avoid the bag check fiasco as my office overlooks the finish line. I saw what a mess it was. Alan Brookes has acknowledged it and promised it won't happen again. I think it will be sorted out next year...just a one year hiccup. That being said, a problem like this will cause people to skip this race in the future.....it is that important to get things like this right.