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Jun 30, 2024

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 81 to 91]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 7 8 9 10 11 .. 23 > ]

penny moreton from Ulverston,Cumbria,England (10/11/2005) "My first marathon across the Atlantic - a blast" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I helped organize a trip to this marathon after meeting with the race director, Alan Brookes, at the London Marathon expo. As a result, seven of us from Ulverston and the Hoad Hill Harriers club came across the Atlantic for the first time. The flight/hotel package was exceptional, not only for price, but also for quality; it certainly made our stay very enjoyable. The race was very well organized, being a veteran of 13 marathons now; entry was easy, race instructions very clear on the net, the organization of being met and taken to the race start and baggage area was slick, and the race expo was efficient in its registration procedures. The only concern I had was the technical t-shirt available for the women was amazingly small, even in the large size, and I felt not of the same durable quality of the men's. Race-day was hot and the availability of refreshments was more than adequate and plentiful. The snacks at the end helped immediate refuelling. The presentations were great; never had the chance to see the awarding of prizes before. (I must be running faster.) So thank you Alan, Jenny and John Bingham for making us all so very welcome and I hope we shall return very soon to Canada; we were very impressed with its friendliness, politeness, cleanliness and liberal way of life.
S. H. from Atlanta, Georgia (10/6/2005) "Great organizastion" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really liked running the course in the city. However, the middle seemed to drag. Running along the water and back into the city was a little boring. All in all, it was a great first marathon and I really thought it was well organized. I could not find a pace runner for 3:40 so I ran with the 3:30 pace group.
D. D. from CANADA (10/5/2005) "PERSONALIZED BIB NUMBER" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The personalized bib number made a huge difference. The crowd and other runners were encouraging us by calling our own name...that was GREAT! It gave me more energy and in the last kilometers it made me smile; I just loved it! Everyone was pleased with it; I hope that other races will use it as well.
m. s. from New York (10/4/2005) "A safe bet; a city worth visiting" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Raucous, well-funded, and rather outré - this was my initial impression of the STWM from their website and printed collateral. I mean, if you see a rather butch, tattooed lady waving her arms at you every time you surf into the website, and you know the marathon is being sponsored by the Bank of Nova Scotia, and the website design is the visual equivalent of Times Square - well, you assume the race is going to be out of the ordinary, right? Anyway, I did, but I was wrong. It was a humdrum affair on a duller-than-dirt course. Nearly a third of the route was an out-and-back along a marshy spit of land far, far from the hubbub of downtown Toronto. And by the way, there is no hubbub in downtown Toronto, not on a Sunday anyway. The pasta dinner, at C$25, was simply a ripoff. I signed up for the first seating (4:30) but in the end there was no first seating; or rather, the 4:30 seating became allocated to the Team in Training diners (who from the looks of 'em like to eat early and often). I got squeezed in with the 6:00 pm crowd, and had to stand in line for 35 minutes. Long before I got to the steam table, most of the other diners had already finished and were hanging around to listen to the guest speaker, John 'The Penguin' Bingham. The kitchen kept running out of pasta and salads, stopping the queue for another ten minutes while they cooked up some more. Fortunately, by the time I got my food a few of the diners got tired of waiting for the speaker, and cleared out... meaning there was at last a place for me to sit. The pasta was excellent; too bad I was unable to get a second helping. One can't complain about Torontonians, though: nice, unpretentious and helpful people, if a trifle over-surprised to learn that there is a marathon going on (can you imagine this in London or New York?). Just like Ottawans, only there are more of 'em and they have a subway that scoots you around in a jiff. I knocked a very few minutes off my last marathon time (Ottawa, May '05), but Ottawa was much better.
S. M. from Windsor (10/4/2005) "No people or crowd support" (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Not exactly as advertised! Toronto is a great city and I love it but will not run this one again. Ugly out-and-back course with most of it in a barren part of the city. The only people were at the water stations and some of the promised cheering stations didn't even exist. Surely, Toronto has more to offer the marathoner than this loop course.
R. P. from London, Ontario (10/3/2005) "A fantastic race in every way!" (about: 2005) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I went with the early-bird start at 6:15 a.m. Course support was great even that early. Early registrants had their first names printed on their race bibs, so fans called out your name as you passed. That was really special. The only complaint would be drab, limited food at the end of the race. They were out of bananas when I got done.
C. P. from Ottawa, Canada (10/3/2005) "First marathon, helped a charity... win-win (PTL)!" (about: 2005) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first-ever marathon! I set the goal after I began running just two years ago. When I began, I couldn't run on the treadmill for longer than 2 minutes without stopping to 'recover.' Over time, and with some encouragement along the way, I increased my endurance.... Ran a 10K in May '04 to start and then my first half-marathon in May '05. It was a challenge to maintain training over the summer with temperatures well over 30C. But I persevered, knowing that I wanted to achieve the goal of running a marathon in my 50th year. (This even after I developed plantar fasciitis on my last long run three weeks before the race date.) By God's grace, I was in good form on race day. Although I had to stop running, I kept up my fitness level by cross-training and entrusted the results to Him. How exhilarating to accomplish my goal by completing the course on September 25! I was even able to help a charity along the way! PTL!
K. o. from Amherst, NY (9/29/2005) "Very enjoyable, but not quite as described!" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I picked this marathon to be my first for a couple of reasons; partly its proximity to western NY, but mostly because it was described as a scenic, flat course with great spectators. The route was very boring and lonely in places, especially on the Leslie Spit (6 or so barren miles of scrub and no spectators). However, the people that did come out in support made up for it and the bands (mostly percussion) certainly gave me a lift. Overall, organization was great, including lots of friendly volunteers, adequate water & Gatorade stops, and visible markers every 2k or so (but no times except at the half). Gel stations were sometimes a little harder to spot. I think some changes in the routing of the course, would be a great improvement. That said, I had such a great experience, I'd do it again.
J. S. from Windsor, Ontario (9/28/2005) "Great idea to have first names on bibs" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Toronto Waterfront Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I just ran the marathon for the second consecutive year. I enjoyed it more this time around (knowing the course from the previous year helped). There are really 2 slight inclines; otherwise it is flat. I was a little disappointed with the KM markers (hard to find or missing) and as one runner pointed out... it's called the Waterfront Marathon, yet you don't run along the water! Great idea to have names on bibs. It was very encouraging to have people cheer you on using your first name, especially when you are struggling! Water and Gatorade stations were plentiful and I had a great time in Toronto. Will be back.
R. C. from Tucson, AZ (9/27/2005) "Flat and fun." (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Toronto Waterfront Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 My wife and I plan our vacations around roughly four marathons per year. We get to see new parts of North America and the world and get some running in. My point is, our feelings about a marathon are based upon our overall experience. In our case, we had a blast. We arrived Thursday and the weather couldn't be better. It stayed temperate until Sunday, race day, when it got cloudy and grey, which we like for running. I have no complaints about the organization or the course. The spectators were a bit sparse, but that's what Boston and Chicago are for. I'm not sure what the the previous comment was complaining about. I saw all km markers, and had a medal at the end. Maybe the half was a bit disorganized because they had many more runners. I have mixed feelings about out-and-back courses, but at least you get to see other runners, including the elites. All in all, it was pretty much as advertised: a mid-sized, big-city marathon. Mostly, we loved Toronto and would happily go back there (great food!). It's like New York, without the trash!

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