Race Report - Toronto Marathon

Race Report

Had some difficulty getting to sleep last night - but awoke in time to eat my Vector cereal and take Bud on an early morning walk. Wore last year's marathon tech shirt, running shorts, with sweater and pants to keep warm until the race. Due to the rain (fortunately it was light rain throughout the race!), wore a cap and took a couple of kleenex. Opted to leave the gloves at home since it was 10C.

Left the house and walked to Yonge and College for the shuttle bus. I think it was a good idea that the volunteers were only allowing half marathoners to board the shuttle since their race started at 8 AM. Fifteen minutes passed by and then the marathoners could board. I would have preferred the driver to go north on Yonge so we could see the route but he chose to go on the DVP instead. To let the time go by, I took along a couple of newspapers to read while waiting in the City Hall.

With 9 AM approaching, I did a brief stretch of the legs and a light jog just to get warmed up. There was a starting corral system and seeded myself between the 4:00 and 4:30 area.

Always amazing to run south on Yonge Street! I stopped at each of the water stations and walked briefly. The first station was located after Hoggs Hollow -- I did run on this hill twice during training -- during the March Break, the double mileage of training caused my left foot injury :-( Running up Hoggs Hollow was fine, with no issues. I enjoy running downhill but wonder what effect it has on the legs. At major intersections, there were 2 police officers stationed to stop traffic. South on Eglinton, we turned west on Chaplin Crescent, passing Upper Canada College and Bishop Strachan School. Once we reach Spadina Road, we went south, passing my deceased godmother's apartment, and then passing Castle Loma. Steep downhill! Making our way on Davenport, we reach the Rosedale Valley Road (a favourite!) and it was downhill -- I miss the amazing fall colours! Reaching Bayview Avenue, we turn west on King Street, making our way past St. Lawrence Market. Right after Yonge Street, we reach the 21.1 K mark, but there is no time clock so I have no idea how fast I ran the first half. Am getting tired and enjoy the downhill.

Now the full and half marathon diverge and we head south on York Street, making our way to Queen's Quay for flat surface running. The Martin Goodman Trail I have done endless time in training so I know the route well. West to the Humber River Bridge and then back. I love the numerous water stations and there are plenty in the 2nd half. At times, the wind is strong and that makes the running challenging. There is a hill and I power walk most of it. The 2nd half was not easy at all but I did my best to keep going. Once we arrive at York Street, it's 3 K north to the finish line -- uphill incline (!). It didn't last forever but there were brief walk breaks. The final K was particularly difficult and I did run the last 400 m or so with the turn to the finish line. Saw the time clock and it said 4:22 (oh, boy). My slowest marathon of the 6 I have run to date.

Place = 842 out of 1296
Gun Time = 4:22:28.7
Chip Time = 4:21:28.2
Pace = 6:14
Age Category = 88 out of 121
Gender Place = 593 out of 829
First 21.1 K = 2:01:35
Last 21.1 K = 2:20:55 (yeah, it was a struggle!)
First 30 K = 2:58:36 (an improvement over the ATB 30 K)
Last 12.2 K = 1:23:53

Overall, I am thrilled I finished my 6th marathon as a runner. Didn't get the opportunity for speed work since I was conservative after the left foot injury. The weather behaved as having light rain is not bad -- sure is better than it being sunny and humid. I overhead one man say this weather is better than the winter training -- so true. During the race, I picked up 3 TTC tokens from the ground -- somehow I only took home 2 tokens -- lost 1 myself. With the light rain, the number of spectators were not great. Also, with the Mississauga Marathon on the same day as the Toronto Marathon, the number of racers were down for both races. First year I have done the Mississauga race -- if they are 2 weeks apart next year, I could run the Mississauga half marathon -- excellent downhill route. I do like both races since they cater to the "everyday" runner -- rather than the elites.

The finisher medal:

Bud posing with the finisher's medal -- he allowed me to take 7 photos of him wearing it -- trick is to take it when he's tired (e.g., after a nap):