rockenmamof5 in Niagara

arneparne

posted: 5/24/2007 at 8:07 AM
modified: 5/24/2007 at 8:08 AM

Trent writes: I enjoyed the Toronto marathon and do not like much the new course. I like hills. I spoke with somebody from the marathon about it (they were at Flying Pig) and they tell me that the main reason was to bring the marathon into one part of town so they could rally more support. It is true that there was not a lot of Toronto out watching the run. I am also concerned that the new course will spend a lot of time UNDER the Gardiner, which would not be nice. But I liked a lot of what they took out, oh well. This morning I ran the last 8 miles of the course, starting from Casa Loma. Very nice, and I felt much much stronger today than I did in October I don't think I will make it back this year due to a full Fall schedule. I have to make an entry to point out some misunderstandings from Trent about the Toronto Marathon. He says it is to avoid hills it has changed. Wrong. There were no hills on the part that is taken out. Instead there were stripmalls and not much else. The new course only crosses under the Gardiner, last year you ran under it for a bit. So it is less now. A hill has been added, in High Park there is a sharp hill around 30K. There will be more people out to watch as lots of people are using Waterfront Trail and High park. From Casa Loma you still have 20 Miles to go not 8. I think the Toronto Marathon Staff has done the smartest change since they started 13 years ago. I have done 2 and will do this fall as well. Arne

Goals 2008 1: BQ/PB <3:30:59 done feb 17th bq 3:27 2: half ironman done aug 10 3: 2 or more m. done feb 17th and boston april 22. 4: sprint tri done july 5 goals 2009 1: the norseman done="" feb="" 17th="" bq="" 3:27="" 2:="" half="" ironman="" done="" aug="" 10="" 3:="" 2="" or="" more="" m.="" done="" feb="" 17th="" and="" boston="" april="" 22.="" 4:="" sprint="" tri="" done="" july="" 5="" goals="" 2009="" 1:="" the=""></3:30:59 done feb 17th bq 3:27 2: half ironman done aug 10 3: 2 or more m. done feb 17th and boston april 22. 4: sprint tri done july 5 goals 2009 1: the norseman>

Trent

posted: 5/24/2007 at 8:32 AM
modified: 5/24/2007 at 8:33 AM

Cool. It is hard to tell all that from the maps on the website. I loved the little park you run through in the first bit of the marathon, that is now gone. There was a good downhill/uphill at the old halfway point, is that still there? I am glad to hear that my interpretation of the map is incorrect, and I look forward to hearing your report this Fall Smile

The folks I spoke with did tell me that they were trying to make it a less hilly course (their words, not mine). But I do think that the Toronto Marathon was a first-class event, with tremendous organization and a good post-race area, course support and one of the best technical shirts I have ever gotten in any race ever. Period. I also liked the sponge-bob tie-in Wink

And the event organizers went out of their way to get me back my drop bag after it was lost (it was lost due to an error on MY part). So please understand, I am a BIG fan of this race Big grin

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

tuf_aint_enough

posted: 5/25/2007 at 8:18 AM

Toronto is a funny place for marathons. There is the Toronto Int'l Marathon (10/14) and the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon (9/30). Both would likely boast being 'Toronto's marathon'. Consensus among my group of friends is that the SBWF marathon is better than the Toronto Int'l. Personally, I've only run the SBWF Half. Loved it. Great course, all along the lakefront, wonderful organization although the public support was a bit lacking. That's Toronto. I think most people feel put out that the roads are shut down. I really hope that one of these years the city rallies behind each of these races as often occurs at the big US races. The ING Ottawa marathon (5/27 - this Sun!) does a great job of this - so I hear.

Daddyo

@BeachesRunner

posted: 5/25/2007 at 12:41 PM

Trent Wrote: There was a good downhill/uphill at the old halfway point, is that still there? The hill is still there. It comes just before 3K I believe. D

maddogdelta

posted: 5/26/2007 at 8:25 AM

Niagara parkway is great... I did most of my marathon training there and ran my first 2 marathons along the parkway. It does go by the falls, and if you want to see other parts, it goes all the way along the river past Ft. Erie. Very scenic, and no hills.

rockenmamof5 in Niagara (Read 661 times)