Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

It’s been a while since Houston and my last Blog. So it’s great to be back at it, and to be able to announce that Paul GAINS — who wrote so many SUPER stories leading up to STWM last summer and Fall — has agreed to do features throughout Canada Running Series 2012 on other races, not just Waterfront. His piece today “LAUNCHES” CRS 2012. From my point of view, it also provides a nice, different point of view on where we are, and what we do. While Paul focuses a lot on the sharper end of the sport, I think he’s also captured well that we are about SO much more than just the pro athlets at the front of the pack. As I told Get Out There mag earlier this week, we’ve been long-time champions of the “big tent” approach. It’s vital to us that there is room for everyone at CRS road races — and in the sport in general: an “inclusive”, “catholic” approach. Masses of recreational and lifestyle runners; charity runners; and the pro athlete, Canadian (and international) champions, heroes, role models ALL have an important place on the Start line. This is what makes for “complete events”, and the best road races and marathons. We feel strongly at CRS that everyone is welcome, that our races should be great experiences for everyone, and that we all feed off each others’ energy. That’s what builds the buzzzzzz….

So here we go. CRS 2012 is now “Officially Launched” by Paul. Stay with us online AND at the races. It’s Olympic year. It’s going to be a marvellous, fantastic ride where BIG DREAMS come true — for those up front, for ALL of us, and for our charities as we give back to the communities we run through. Hold on!!  

And we're off! Harry's Spring Run off Toronto 8K, 2011 START

“Canada Running Series Set for Another Dynamic Year,” by Paul Gains

Quality race management, memorable courses and the support of all of Canada’s elite distance runners has propelled the Canada Running Series into the forefront of the sport. The eight race series kicks off in Vancouver March 25th with the Harry’s Spring Run Off 8k race and culminates with the world class Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 14th.

The STWM has earned the prestigious IAAF Silver Label status. Accolades notwithstanding, the Canada Running Series embraces all levels of recreational and fitness runners as well as being a committed vehicle for charitable fundraising. Indeed, in 2011 alone, the 61,068 CRS participants helped raise $6.57 million for charities.

Reid Coolsaet duels teammate Eric Gillis at Toronto Yonge Street 10K 2011

Last year’s overall men’s winner, Reid Coolsaet, will focus his attention on the London Olympic marathon in 2012 but will use several CRS races to prepare. The 32 year old from Hamilton, Ontario credits the CRS for his success. “It’s given me an opportunity to run on the roads in competitive races which is important for me to make the transition from the track to roads,” Coolsaet says of the Series. “Of course, getting to races so close to home is a lot easier than having to travel – especially the marathon itself. You have guys running under 2:08 less than an hour’s drive from my home. That’s not something a lot of people in North America can say.”

The Series’ beginnings can be traced back to 1990 when a six race schedule existed in Toronto under the sponsorship of Coors Lite. Current race director Alan Brookes incorporated two existing races into that series and from these roots the Canada Running Series evolved. Runners accumulate points based on their results at each of the CRS races. At the end of the season the overall winner is awarded $2,500. Naturally Coolsaet’s third place finish at the 2011 STWM earned him considerably more money but having top level races throughout the season has also proven invaluable. “The big one is always the (STWM) Toronto marathon,” says Coolsaet who has just returned from six weeks of high altitude training in Kenya. “It has always been the peak of my season but it’s also the best race as far as the depth of talent.” Coolsaet also competed in the Oasis Zoo run last September, winning the national 10km championship as well as the Toronto Acura 10 miler and the Montreal Scotiabank Half Marathon. “Every race has a lot to offer but the marathon is the big one for obvious reasons.” Coolsaet declares.

Dayna powering herself past Grenadier Pond en route to victory at Harry's Spring Run Off 8K, 2011

 While Coolsaet was a successful track runner before turning to the roads Dayna Pidhoresky the 2011 women’s overall CRS champion has developed into a promising marathon runner through participating in the series. “I think it has played a major part in my career,” she admits. “It’s nice that they take care of the athletes they invite. It’s basically all covered for us so it allows us to go to more events and really allows us to get more experience racing the elites. That’s been big for me. I had never really raced that competitively so much in one season. So Alan really jump started my competitive career.” The 25 year old from Tecumseh, Ontario won the national 10km championship in Toronto last Fall. The University of Windsor also ran a personal best 1:11:46 half marathon, albeit on a point to point course, and now has designs on a marathon debut next fall possibly in New York. In the mean time she has committed to racing in the Harry’s Spring Run Off 8km race in Toronto’s High Park (April 7th) and the Toronto Yonge St 10km (April 22nd). Brookes has been involved in road race management for three decades and when he first came into the sport he was surprised at the inaccuracy of many road race courses. Adding to his bewilderment, some races only guaranteed finishing times to the first few hundred. The majority of participants were therefore dependent upon their own wrist watches. “When we started out organizing events we promised people an accurate and safe course and an accurate finish time and place,” Brookes recalls. “The rest is part of the hoopla, the bands, the medals, the shirts, So I think we go to great lengths to organize all the events in our Canada Running Series.” The athletes aren’t the only ones impressed with the work of Brookes and his Toronto based full time team of race management officials. Athletics Canada has used some of the events as national road race championships in order to further grow the sport. The Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto and Montreal’s Scotiabank Half Marathon are both national road race championships. “One only needs to look at the CRS ranking lists to recognize that Canada’s elite endurance runners appreciate and value this excellent series,” declares Thelma Wright a 1972 Olympian and now Athletics Canada’s National Cross Country coach. “Whether using a race as a test of fitness and test of readiness for a longer race, going for Olympic standard or a challenge to the Canadian record, such as Reid, Eric (Gillis) and Dylan (Wykes) runs at STWM last October, the CRS serves a vital role in the development of our best. The CRS provides top competition in favorable conditions within Canada and much needed financial support to our athletes.” Coolsaet, who leaves for another spell of high altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona adds another important point the quality of competition for younger runners. “Now it seems like there’s more Canadian talent running the races.” he explains. “It gives the next level down the opportunity to run against the top guys in Canada. Five years ago some races were really deep but sometimes the Canadian content was not nearly like it has been the last few years.”

2012 Canada Running Series

Harry’s Spring Run-Off 8km to fight Prostate Cancer, March 25th Vancouver

Harry’s Spring Run-Off 8km & 5km to fight Prostate Cancer, April 7th Toronto

Toronto Yonge Street 10km, April 22nd Toronto

Banque Scotia 21km de Montreal et 5km, April 29th Montreal

Scotiabank Vancouver Half-marathon & 5km, June 24th Vancouver

The Beaches Jazz Tune-Up Training Run 20km, 10km, 5km, July 22nd Toronto *

Toronto International 15km & 5km, August 12th Toronto

Oasis ZooRun 10km, 5km Run/Walk & Club Run, September 22nd Toronto

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, 21km & 5km, October 14th Toronto

* No series points awarded at Tune-Up Training runs

Introductory Note: This blog post is taken from “Alan’s Journal” in today’s Canada Running Series/STWM Newsletter. You can see the complete Newsletter [and sign up to receive it free, approximately every 2 weeks] online.

Since I wrote it yesterday afternoon, mynextrace.com has also posted an interesting opinion piece on Canadian versus US Olympic Selection processes for the marathon event, entitled “American Olympic Trials: Fair or Unfair?”  

Thanks too, to Tim Payne who has already sent me an email this morning saying 1984 was NOT the only year that Canada has gone to the Marathon Trials format — as he ran in the Canadian Oly Trials in 1976, held in conjunction with the Ottawa Marathon.  

Dear Fellow Runners,

Hope you are all “up and running” for 2012, getting out the door and enjoying some of the unusually fine weather we’ve been having, setting your goals for the year, and signing up for some key Canada Running Series races as part of the plan. I hope you’re taking advantage of Combo Packs AND Early Bird prices to get the best deals, and to sign up before we sell out?

I have to say I am buzzing! 2012 really promises to kick into high gear with lots and lots of BUZZZZZZ, and excitement this weekend at the US Olympic Trials Marathons on Saturday and the regular Houston Marathon on Sunday, with MAJOR Canadian content. Your Canada Running Series team will be there in the thick of things, trying to bring you the best of the action, with tweets, Facebook posts and Blogs! I’ll be doing them, while Chris, Heather, Dave, Clif & Tom will see it all up close and personal, from the inside, as they work all 3 races as part of Houston Course Director Stan Coburn’s Ops Team. Our gang will have special responsibilities for water stations.

There are LOTS of great pre-race Reviews of the US Trials, so I won’t be repetitive here –simply Google and check a few out! (If U need a quick fix, check-out Toni Reavis’ always informed, always insightful reviews that also put American marathoning and marathoners in perspective: Men, Women ;  and Today’s piece on the MEN from LetsRun . Runner’s World also has extensive pre-race and “live” Blog coverage on Saturday morning).

Simon Bairu pictured after a successful outing at the OASIS ZooRun 2009 where he claimed the AC National 10K Championship title

 But what I would like to share is how fascinating – and full of HUGE DRAMA — the weekend will be for us Canucks as well as the Americans. It also underscores another of our differences. The Yanks have a simple system they employ every 4 years. They hold Marathon Trials (I believe we only did this once, in 1984). The men and women always race separately. And until this year, they’re usually different dates in different cities. For Beijing, the US Men’s Trials were run in New York City; the women in Boston. In both cases, they were staged the day before the mass New York City and Boston Marathons. For the Yanks, they spend a couple of years training and racing like demons, to qualify to run in the Trials. This Saturday morning, for the first time ever, the Trials for Men & Women will be held in the same city on the same day – dateline Houston. The 2-year qualifying window closed in December. The standard for Men was sub 2:19:00 (or 1:05 Half); for Women it was 2:46 (1:15 Half). 158 men will take off at 8am, undoubtedly led by favourites Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi and Dathan Ritzenhein. 223 women will start their race for Olympic dreams at 8:15am with Desi Davila, Shalene Flanagan, Amy Hastings, Magdalena Lewy Boulet and Kara Goucher likely to be at the front of the pack (and maybe my dark horse fave Stephanie Rothstein whose birthday it is on the weekend!) One thing is certain. By 10:45am we will know who will be running for the USA in the London Olympic Marathon in August. It’s simple, replicating the Games themselves. The first 3 past the post will have punched their tickets to glory. They can start training for London next week. The other 155 guys and 220 women will go home.

In contrast, we in Canada follow a process shared by most of the rest of the world, including marathon powerhouses like Kenya and Ethiopia. Instead of Trials, we have a window, a “qualifying period” and standards. Our current window is from January 2011 to April 22nd, 2012. On April 23rd, we will take the fastest three men and women under the standards. For London 2012, they are 2:11:29 for Men and 2:29:59 for women. Less drama you say… maybe NOT! You’ll recall the magical moments at STWM 2011 last October when first Reid Coolsaet (2:10:55) then teammate Eric Gillis (2.11:28) crossed the line to achieve the really tough standards – Gillis by the most slender of margins of 1 second, after 42.195 kilometres!

As you’ve probably read, Regina’s Simon Bairu is racing in Houston this weekend, but on Sunday at 7am, in the regular Houston Marathon. Simon set a scorching new Canadian 10,000m record of 27:23 in May 2010, then decided to move to the marathon for London rather than stay on the track. 42.195km has not been kind to him. In November 2010 he DNF-ed in his debut in New York. Then he DNS-ed (Did Not Start) at STWM 2011, withdrawing in the final weeks. Will Houston be 3rd time lucky? Or 3 strikes and you’re out? Drama… In an online chat with Canadian Running magazine on Monday this week Simon said he’s planning to run conservatively, going for a 65:30 split at halfway.

Eric & Reid in their pre-Olympic-quest "happy moment" at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last October 16th, after both making the standard

What if he finishes in 2:11:20? That means Eric Gillis has to crank up the marathon training and most likely run another marathon in Rotterdam (April 15) or London (April 22) – because Vancouver’s Dylan Wykes, our #3-ranked marathoner, ran 2:12:57 at STWM11 and will be running another marathon in Japan on March 4th. IF he runs better than Eric’s 2:11:28 on March 4th AND Simon already has this Sunday, then Eric would be 4th man, and stay at home… Drama. But what if Simon splits halfway in 65:30, picks it up just a tad, and finishes in 2:10:50? Then Reid may want to crank up the training for Rotterdam or London, because he would have the #2 time (to Simon), but with Dylan and Eric set to race in March and April, he could end up #4 if they both go faster than his 2:10:55 (Dylan ran 62:14 at New York City Half last March to Reid’s 62:42). Drama. Of course, having cranked it up after Sunday, Eric and Reid could “stand down” if Simon hasn’t made 2:11:27 on Sunday and Dylan doesn’t on March 4th. Or maybe not! Because we can’t forget “the outsiders”, Matt Loiselle and Rob Watson, who are rumoured to be planning another run at things on April 15th or 22nd in Rotterdam or London or Zurich. It could come down to the last day. Canadian Drama! (also check out Canadian Running’s weekly podcast, ‘Road to Houston’ interview with Eric).

If your head isn’t spinning by now, well mine is. I’m just not sure if it’s from the # of permutations and possible scenarios, or the excitement of it all! One thing is for certain, our CRS/STWM team are gonna be there. Dateline Houston. This Saturday AND Sunday. You can follow my tweets direct @alnbrookes AND on Sunday as part of a dynamic “live” BLOG being hosted by Canadian Running mag. Buzzzzzzzzzzz.

Gotta run! But stay with me on Twitter and Facebook. It is going to be a RIDE [I’ll be on Sunday’s lead truck] and a wonderful contrast of our two countries, two methods.

To “TRIAL” or not-to-TRIAL. Which do YOU think is best?

Alan (aka http://www.twitter.com/alnbrookes)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, to all our friends and fellow runners, wherever you are in the world! 

It’s definitely that time where we all reflect back on the year gone by, and make some prognostications, some plans and goals for the year ahead. So here’s my two cents! 

Reid Coolsaet boldly pushes the pace through The Beach, with Kenyans Kenneth Mungara and Nixon Machichim (rear) and Ethiopia's Shami Dawit

As many sage sooth-sayers have already noted, 2011 was an exceptional year for road running and especially the marathon, all around the globe. Participation numbers hit record highs, as did fundraising totals. I noted the huge surge forward in numbers and the global spread of the marathon movement in my 2010 Review. But a tremendous amount of the buzz and excitement, and the awareness  that was generated for our sport in 2011, came from remarkable improvements in performance, improved depth in the quality of performances, and some super head-to-head battles in so many races. It was the stuff that the sports journos salivated over and the athletics world often looked on in astonishment. As Julin & Jalava noted in their 2011 Review for the IAAF: 

“what really made 2011 a year that will be considered of historical significance in the sport of marathon running was that it changed our perception of what is really possible.”  

STWM2010 Champion Sharon Cherop was part of the "Kenyan domination" in 2011 as she went onto 3rd in Boston & a bronze medal at World Championships, as Kenyan women swept the podium

The World Marathon Majors noted in their Review, that all 5 of their events saw new Course Records, including a new World Record by Patrick Makau in Berlin: 

“All five World Marathon Majors — Virgin London, BAA Boston, BMW Berlin, Bank of America Chicago, and ING New York City, in chronological order — saw new course records set, and in Boston and New York, the standards were taken down to times that few fans or pundits would ever have deemed possible for those race courses. There was a new all-time fastest marathon by Geoffrey Mutai, a 2:03:02 in Boston followed closely by Moses Mosop’s 2:03:06. And while that wasn’t deemed a “world record” by the governing bodies (because of the geographical distance between Boston’s Hopkinton start and its downtown Boston finish), there was a “real” world record of 2:03:38 by Patrick Makau in Berlin in September — followed not long after by Wilson Kipsang’s close brush with that new standard, his own 2:03:42 in Frankfurt. ” 

As that last line suggests, the remarkable performances and excitement were not confined solely to the world’s largest and richest, WMM events. Our good friend Jo Schindler, Christoph Kopp and the team in FRANKFURT got many people’s votes for THE best men’s marathon of 2011 — perhaps one of the best of all time. Besides Kipsang being only 4 seconds off the new World Record set in Berlin a month earlier, the top 6 men ran under 2:07; 19 guys finished under 2:10:30! And of these 19, 14 were Kenyans. Again, much has been written about the total dominance of Kenyan men this year. Toni Reavis blogged on December 28th, there were   182 sub 2:10 marathons run in 2011 verus 66 in 2004. Of the 182, “athletes from Kenya ran 110 (61%)”. In a New Year’s VIDEO interview, one of the world’s top marathon coaches, Renato CANOVA, waxes eloquent about Kenyan excellence this past year; gives his take on how training techniques have prompted the big surge forward, and predicts a new World Record and sub-2:03 THIS Spring!  (ALSO check out a very good new piece in The Guardian from Jauary 4th).  

I’m absolutely delighted to be able to say the Canada Running Series, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Canada were very much part of the road racing and “Marathon Mania” that gripped the planet this past 12 months. 

In terms of sheer numbers, Canada Running Series’ 8 races passed 60,000 participants for the first time, and $6.5 million was raised for 238 charities in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — both records! Yet like the rest of the world, it was the quality of the competition and the performance of CANADIAN runners that really stood out, and gave us SO much to cheer about. I’ve summed up the CRS season elsewhere, as the year of “the unbeatable Coolsaet, the unstoppable Pidhoresky”.  

Eric Gillis & Reid Coolsaet celebrate at the STWM11 Finish line

The Canadian marathon men really stepped up to international calibre. Whether it was Dylan Wykes leading the charge with his super 62:14 at the New York City Half Marathon in March, or Reid Coolsaet racing shoulder to shoulder with the 2:07 Africans until 37km at STWM before slipping off the pace a bit to still record a 2:10:55 — the fastest time by a Canuck in 35 years and 2nd fastest of all time (see STWM11 HIGHLIGHTS video) — there was thrilling racing and Canadians were in the thick of it! Reid’s STWM performance also put him on the podium, in 3rd place, at an IAAF Silver Label marathon. Excellent “Live” CBC TV coverage only added to the BUZZzzzzzz! Eric Gillis defended his title at Harry’s Spring Run Off Toronto 8K on April 2nd, then became the first Canadian since 1998 to win the prestigious Vancouver SunRun 10K on April 17th, all leading up to his spectacular sprint finish at STWM that got him the tough Canadian Olympic qualifying standard for London 2012 by 1 second, with his 2:11;28. Several of you have suggested that Reid’s cheering and embracing of club-mate Eric at the STWM Finish line was THE “highlight” moment of 2011! The Coolsaet-Gillis-Kip Kangogo battle to the line and final 800m sprint to the tape at the Toronto Yonge Street 10K [formerly Sporting Life Toronto 10K] was and IS a joy watch and re-watch (VIDEO)!   

Eric Gillis started his season off with a victory at Harry's Spring Run Off Toronto 8K

But it wasn’t just Coolsaet, Gillis & Wykes [who narrowly missed the standard with a courageous 2:12:57 at STWM on a tough day]; the Canadian men’s DEPTH that developed over the year was super! The year began at Houston Marathon in January where Rob Watson ran a tough, mostly-solo 2:16:17. Matt Loiselle ran a strong 44:44 at the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville in a top quality field in March before being the only Canadian to challenge Reid Coolsaet for the Athletics Canada Half Marathon Championship title at Banque Scotia 21K de Montreal in April. He then made a significant improvement over the 42K distance at Waterfront with a 2:16:01. Athletics Toronto teammate Rejean Chiasson debuted at STWM in 2:17:48. 

On the Canadian women’s side, Dayna Pidhoresky stole the show, with Megan Brown up there too. As I’ve noted elsewhere, it was a marvellous debut season for Dayna that included taking the overall Canada Running Series crown, winning outright at Around the Bay 30k, and beating an impressive group of all-comers to take the women’s Athletics Canada National 10K Championship at OASIS ZooRun on September 24th. En route to taking the CRS title, she had victories at Harry’s Spring Run Off Toronto 8K, the Toronto Yonge Street 10K, and the Acura Toronto 10 miler as well as at the Zoo.  

Dayna Pidhoresky's most-frequent position in 2011 -- breaking the tape for another "W" -- here at the Sporting Life 10K, now the Toronto Yonge Street 10K.

Her defeat by Megan Brown at the Montral Half marathon Championships was her only defeat. Along the way, though she and Megan had some great tussles, climaxing in the 10K championship at OASIS ZooRun where Dayna prevailed by 9 seconds.    

Perhaps epitomized by the Pidhoresky vs Brown or the Coolsaet vs Gillis vs Wykes contests, it was really the quality, head-to-head battles (that included Canadians) that are MY highlights from 2011.    

Perhaps fortuitously I wrote in an April 23rd blog: 

“Finally, this week, no one can tell me that fast times, records, thrilling head-to-head battles don’t generate HUGE excitement and interest in running! While definitely not wanting to sound smug, I have to say we feel a tad vindicated. For 25 years we’ve been organizing races at Canada Running Series that strived to build a balance between “competers and completers”. We’ve invested a lot in trying to encourage and build an elite race component, as well as providing a great festival experience for ALL runners – often when this wasn’t popular. I hope it’s clear to everyone now that to be the “complete race” and a major running event, you need strong “competer” as well as “completer” elements. They are complementary and not mutually exclusive.“ 

Ed Whitlock, "The Master", ran an absolutely astounding 3:15:54 at age 80 at STWM11

But the race-days and the year belonged not just to the young. Michel Boeting, friend and manager of some top guys like Emmanuel Mutai held forth that Ed Whitlock’s 3:15:54 at the age of 80 at STWM was THE run of the year, anywhere! Phenomenal and remarkable. Watch for Paul Gains’ nice article and the reaction of all the top African runners to Ed at STWM, in January’s edition of Distance Running magazine (I’ll tweet the link when it appears & post on our STWM Facebook page). And then there was Fauja… the Turbaned Tornado who propelled himself and STWM to over 1 BILLION media impressions in 2011! The first centenarian on the planet to complete the classic distance. It was a Canadian running story that reached into every corner of the globe. 

Another friend, Irene Peralto, the RD of the Caracas Marathon, emailed me in disbelief on the Monday after the race to say she’s started her day as usual by checking the online Venezuelan news service,  and there was a photo of me with Fauja at the Finish line!   

Mare Dibaba (red) and Koren Yal do battle at STWM2011 en route to an African 30K Record & a new STWM Women's Course Record of 2:22:42.5

Our STWM 2010 Women’s champ, Sharon Cherop, fought the battle of her career at Boston to come in 3rd by 6 seconds to Caroline Kilel (herself an STWM alumni from 2008, 4th) & Desi Davilla. She then did STWM alumni proud by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships Marathon in Daegu in August. Firehiwot Dado, 5th at STWM 2010 then WON New York in November. Her coach, Haji Adilo was in Toronto for Waterfront again this year (as well as in New York) with Mare Dibaba, who jointly with eventual race winner, Koren Yal, set a new African 30K record of 1:38:33 as they entered The Beach en route to their 2nd and 1st place finishes. It put STWM in the IAAF record books!  

Repeatedly, throughout the year, I was able to write about these thrilling performances at home and abroad, and exclaim with pride that “we in Canada are part of it!” 

On such a high, how can we top it for 2012? Easy, it’s an Olympic year AND we’ll have lots of exciting racing and breakthroughs, developments at home! 

Just like the past 2 years, the year will begin for Canadians in Houston on January 15th. It promises to be a fabulous weekend! First up, on Saturday 14th, we’ll get to watch the US Olympic Marathon Trials. One day. One shot, first three Men and first 3 Women past the post to go to London! (for an always-insightful and stimulating review see Toni Reavis’ recent Blog, “Wringing Out The Old”). Then the following day, Regina’s Simon Bairu [living and training in Oregon since graduating from Wisconsin] -our current national 10,000m record holder with his 27:23 on the track in 2010 — will hope it’s 3rd time lucky at the marathon distance as he goes all out to make that Canadian standard of 2:11:29. Unlike the US, we don’t have the one-day, one-race Trial, but a 16 month “qualifying window”. On April 22nd, 2012, the fastest 3 guys under the 2:11:29 mark will go to London. They’ll be the first Canadians to race in an Olympic marathon since Bruce Deacon in 2000. Right now, Coolsaet [2:10:55] and Gillis [2:11:28] are the only ones with the standard. But what if Bairu runs 2:11:00 or 2:10 on January 15th? Dylan Wykes is planning another run at the standard, most likely in Japan in February or March; Rob Watson and Matt Loiselle, the outsiders who are still in with a chance — both plan to race somewhere in Europe, perhaps Rotterdam on april 15th…. The permutations are palpitating! Exciting? You bet!!  (for another piece on the exciting permutations in the offing, with a Speed River focus, see Guelph Mercury).  

March will see Canada Running Series 2012 begin, and April will be a bonanza with not only the marathon qualifying stakes at boiling point, but the launch of a new “Run Canada Month” initiative from Speed River TFC and Athletics Canada to build awareness for our sport, and to fundraise to support the Endurance athletes going to London and to support kids’ running programmes. Coast to coast, the Vancouver SunRun 10K, plus CRS’ Harry’s SRO Toronto 8K, Toronto Yonge Street 10K and Banque Scotia 21K de Montreal [again the National Half marathon Championships] are all part of the festivities. Coolsaet and Pidhoresky are already confirmed to defend their titles at the Yonge Street 10K, and Dayna for Montreal, too! 

And that’s only the first 1/3 of the year! 

Scotiabank Vancouver Half has lots of momentum and promises excitement to keep us going into June. Then, from August 3rd to 12th all eyes will be on London, cheering for some outstanding Canadians like Dylan Armstrong, on the track and in the field events as well as on the roads! 

September promises more duels for the National 10K Championship titles at OASIS ZooRun, and then its STWM time again. Can we get a 2:07 in the men’s, another 2:22 or better in the women’s race, and 6,000 entrants for the 42K? Will Dayna Pidhoresky make her marathon debut in 2012? How well can she do — sub 2:30? Can we hit 60,000 participants again for CRS2012; can we top $7m for fundraising? 

What will be THE stories of 2012? What’s certain is that these are banner times for Canadian distance running. 2011 has been a thrilling year, to set the table for what promises to be a FEAST for 2012. R U “in”? Please join me at the races. Happy New Year and best wishes to all for JOY with your running, for faster times and PRs in abundance, personal and Olympic dreams coming true, and the exhaltation of beating your training buddies, partners. always so much more fun to beat the folks you know than those you don’t — all in the spirit of fair competition and the pursuit of excellence. I can’t wait. 2012, let the Games begin! 

Alan 

Danny, taken at the 2010 Acura toronto 10 miler at The Distillery.

 ps. While there were SO many positive highs in 2011, I would not want to say goodbye to the year without saying goodbye to a very special young man, our STWM2004 Champion, part of our Canada Running Series and larger Canadian running family — Danny Kassap, who we lost to heart failure, aged just 28, on the Sunday night following his last start in a CRS race at the Sporting Life Toronto 10K [now Toronto Yonge Street 10K] on May 1st. For “Remembering Danny” see my blog from May 2nd. Gone, but not forgotten, nor that wonderful Danny smile…

·         “Canada Running Series has revolutionized road running in Canada.” Richard Lee, coach to Dylan Wykes.

·         “CRS is one of things that make me proud to be a Canadian runner!” JP Bedard. 

Some of the record 61,068 participants in CRS 2011 dash down Canada's most-famous street

Online registration for Canada Running Series 2012 events, including Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, opens at 12 noon today at www.RunCRS.ca.  Early Bird fees and additional savings with the popular “Combo Packs” that allow runners to enter multiple events, offer particular enticements to register right away. In addition, almost all events in CRS 2011 sold out, so there is incentive to book a place in some of the country’s best road races before they reach their caps.

Canada Running Series 2012 will focus on enhancing the quality and quantity of the same 8 events that have gained such prestige for the circuit over the past few years. Indeed, 2011 was a banner year. According to Series’ Director Alan Brookes:

“Little did I think when I started organizing races in 1983 — with less than 100 folks at the Billy Taylor Memorial Jog-Along for the Red Cross in Guelph — that 3 decades later we’d have 60,000 folks in CRS runs for the year, and raise an absolutely stunning $6.5 million for charity.  We began with a simple concept, that we’ve held firm on. We are runners ourselves, love running as a way of life, and like to feel ourselves part of the running community. We’re out on the street a lot, and like to feel we’re close to our fellow runners. And we’ve focused unswervingly on 3 things: promoting running and fitness as a way of life, and providing well-organized, great “running experiences”; promoting and supporting the “pursuit of excellence”, to develop Canadian heroes and role models; and to give back to the communities we live and run in – by providing a cost-free, risk-free platform for usually smaller, local charities to piggy-back on our races, and support them in their fundraising and awareness efforts.”

In addition to the great numbers, CRS 2011 saw some great Canadian as well as international performances from the likes of Reid Coolsaet, Eric Gillis, Dylan Wykes, Dayna Pidhoresky, Megan Brown and Ed Whitlock. Training Clinics, Tune-Up runs, “live” television, webcasts, and extensive media coverage brought new people to running and gave it an ever-widening audience across the country.

 Over its 22 season’s Canada Running Series has gained a reputation for innovation as well as quality, well-organized, international-class events.  “We’ve always tried not to coast, or to rest on our laurels – to always be going full-throttle to learn, to scour the globe for new ideas, and lead in continual innovation,” said Brookes.

“2012 promises to be no exception. We’ve got a new logo, a new-look website, and a shorter address to get there in www.RunCRS.ca. We’re working on bringing some great, new timing initiatives to our two Vancouver races, with all the latest technology of “Live Results”, split times, text, Facebook and Twitter messaging. We are working on having an improved course in Stanley Park for Harry’s Vancouver; we’ve found a way to tweak the Oasis ZooRun course and build in more Wave Starts, to ADD another 1,000 runners to the run that perennially sells-out earliest of all the popular CRS events.”

Team Layton, led by Toronto Councillor Mike Layton, is already confirmed to lead the fight against prostate cancer at Harry’s Spring Run Off 8K & 5K to open the season in West and East. Banque Scotia 21K de Montreal (April 29^th) promises some great buzz in Quebec as Athletics Canada’s National Half marathon Championships. Oasis ZooRun (September 22^nd) will again be the National 10K Championships, and a super, final tune-up for the Grand Finale, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half & 5K on October 14^th, featuring Canada’s very best going head to head with international stars.  Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon will also return to its signature, more-spacious Nathan Phillips Square venue and is again committed to “live” television and a global webcast.

2012 also promises to be an exciting year for CRS’ Spring Toronto 10K. That’s the event that has been the “Sporting Life Toronto 10K” for the past 14 years, and is now the “Toronto Yonge Street 10K” to be run on April 22^nd (race history). When the Series agreed to move off their traditional first-Sunday-in-May date to help accommodate the GoodLife Marathon’s move to the Spring, the title sponsor and their charity decided to leave the Series to hold their own run with more of a complete charity focus.   “While we’re sorry to see Sporting Life move on, we understand they want to go in other directions, and we’re pumped about the opportunities that have now opened up,” said Brookes. “In the broadest strokes, we will have a free reign to build the event as a ‘Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in the Spring’ – ‘the complete run’, with a balanced focus on the 3 concepts that have been at CRS’ core for 30 years.”

A just-announced partnership with Running Room Clinics will undoubtedly bring a shared passion and considerable resources to promote running and healthy lifestyles around the 10K, and bring lots of new folks to the sport. Moving to a Charity Challenge format (like STWM) will allow the Toronto Yonge Street 10K to bring another 15 or 20 new local charities into the mix, reaching into many additional, needy corners of the community.  And the continued partnership with New Balance with their slogan “Let’s Make Excellent Happen”, with NB athletes like Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis, provides the foundation to build the quality of the Toronto Yonge Street 10K as well as the quantity. Coolsaet and Gillis, who finished 1-2 at the 10K this past Spring, in one of the most-exciting sprint finishes of the year (VIDEO), are committed to return, as part of Run Canada Month on the road to the London 2012 Olympics. According to Reid: “There is no better place in Canada to run a 10km PB than the Toronto Yonge Street 10k. The course is fast, fun and entertaining.” And Eric adds: “I love the festive atmosphere. The Canada Running Series organizers know how to put on a first-class, big city road race, that’s for sure!” The Toronto Yonge Street 10K course remains the same as previous years, down Yonge from Eglinton to the EX.

“There’s SO many great reasons to sign up for CRS2012,” says Brookes. “It’s where the Canadian running community comes together to enjoy and celebrate what we do!” Full Canada Running Series 2012 Calendar, information and registration at www.RunCRS.ca

For now, DON’T forget to start signing up TODAY, MONDAY, November 28^th, at NOON, to book your place in your favourite CRS events, and take advantage of the great combination of Early Bird fees AND Combo Packs!

TORONTO. November 14th. Reid Coolsaet of Hamilton, ON and Dayna Pidhoresky of Tecumseh, ON were announced today as Canada Running Series 2011 Champions. Coolsaet finished the year with 165 points and Pidhoresky with 159. They each take home an additional $2,500 on top of their winnings from individual races this year.  Montreal’s Terry Gehl and Calgary’s Lisa Harvey claimed the Masters’ [40+] crowns, each worth an additional $750. Both Coolsaet and Pidhoresky had outstanding seasons in what was a remarkable year for distance running around the world. From Berlin and Frankfurt to Boston, New York, Chicago and Toronto Waterfront, marathon and road racing records for both participation and performance, fell like autumn leaves in a windstorm. Led by Reid and Dayna, Canada Running Series was very much part of this global movement. In its 22^ndyear, the Series attracted a record 61,068 participants: up 14% over 2010. The number of official charities in the 8-race Series grew to 238 this year, and charity runners raised a remarkable $6.5 million for these mostly-local causes. But it was the increase in quality as well as quantity that made 2011 stand out. Led by the performances of Coolsaet and Pidhoresky this year, it’s clear that Canada is also enjoying a great renaissance in road racing. 

Some of the 61,000 participants in a record-setting CRS 2011 pouring down Yonge Street in the Toronto 10K

The 31 year-old Coolsaet, who trains with the Speed River TFC in Guelph, came into the 2011 CRS season on a roll, following his impressive 2:11:23 at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last Fall, that captured the country’s attention– the fastest marathon by a Canuck in 24 years – and he never looked back. This year, he went 5 for 5 in his CRS performances. They began in April in a windswept Parc Jean Drapeau at the Banque Scotia 21K de montreal that also doubled as the Athletics Canada National Half marathon Championships. Setting the tone for the year, he swept aside all comers, dusting off Athletics Toronto’s Matt Loiselle around the 13km mark to battle the elements to the finish in 64:55.  The plot changed for the Sporting Life Toronto 10K [now the Toronto Yonge Street 10K] on May 1^st, where he left things to the last kilometre before outsprinting teammate Eric Gillis and Lethbridge’s Kip Kangogo in a thrilling 800m dash to victory [28:08; Gillis just 1 second back; Kangogo 2 seconds]. [video & story ]. 

Reid Coolsaet charges to his 2:10:55 finish at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon to cap off a fabulous season

 At the Acura Toronto 10 miler he dispatched of Gillis and the rest mid-race, in Tommy Thompson Park to cruise home in a time-trial prep for Scotia Toronto Waterfront [48:34]. The headlines at Oasis ZooRun 10K said it all: “Unbeatable Coolsaet, unstoppable Pidhoresky crown Special Day”, as Reid again dusted the field [29:35] in the second third of the race to add the AC National 10K Championship title to his belt, and underscore his superiority.  At Toronto Waterfront, he displayed his growing confidence as well as his talent, in leaving behind the other Canadians to race with the African lead pack. They went through halfway on 2:08 pace [63:58], and Reid boldly hung onto 4-time champ Kenneth Mungara of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Shami Dawit through 30K [1:31:38] and 35k [1:47:08] to finish 3^rdoverall in 2:10:55 – -the fastest a Canuck has run a marathon in 35 years, and second all-time to Jerome Drayton’s National Record of 2:10:09. It has undoubtedly earned him a trip to the London 2012 Olympics, and was a fitting triumph to cap a fabulous year. 

Behind Reid Coolsaet, who finished CRS 2011 with 165 points, came Matt Loiselle [114 points, wins $1,500], Kip Kangogo with 105 points [wins $1,000], Eric Gillis with 104 points [wins $750] and Vanouver’s Dylan Wykes with 99 points [wins $500]. Combined they can lay claim to being the best group of men’s distance runners Canada has had in a generation, and it was with great excitement that we saw them battling it out month after month in the Canada Running Series.     

Dayna flying down Yonge Street on May 1st

 Like Coolsaet, Dayna Pidhoresky was almost unbeatable in taking the CRS 2011 women’s crown. It really was a tremendous year for her, in her first full season of road racing after graduating from the University of Windsor. In fact, very few folks knew much about her before she quietly crossed the St.Clair River to win the Detroit Half marathon last October in 1:13:15  . She followed that up with a second place finish at the National Cross Country Championships in Guelph last November, to show it was no fluke. She began 2011 with as bang, taking the title at the Around the Bay 30K on March 27th [1:50:46]. She made her Canada Running Series debut just 6 days later on the hills of High Park where she still took the Harry’s Spring Run Off Toronto 8K title by more than 30 seconds over Kingston’s Emily Tallen. Dayna’s only stumble in CRS2011 came at the next stop, the Half marathon Championships in Montreal. There, she was visibly disappointed after losing to her only real competition in the year, Megan Brown of Athletics Toronto – soundly beaten by almost a minute on a nasty-weather day [1:14:09 to 1:15:04]. But she rebounded like a true champion. She mercilessly thumped all comers at the Sporting Life Toronto 10K [33:02], finishing almost 2 minutes clear of last year’s CRS women’s champion, Milton’s Josiane Aboungono [34:49], who ended up second to her in the Overall Series Standings this year [156 to 125 points]. Dayna next won the AcuraToronto 10 miler – again by a wide, 40 second margin – after Megan was forced to step off the course at 4km suffering from a bad flu. Like Coolsaet, she perhaps saved her best for last, where on the tough, rolling and winding course at the Zoo she beat Megan [33:46 to 33:54], Malindi Elmore and a quality field to claim the Series and the Athletics Canada 10K Championships.   

Behind Dayna [156 points] and Josiane [125 points], Port Moody’s Natasha Wodak ended up 3^rd in the CRS 2011 Final Standings [$1,000], with Megan Brown 4^thwith 97 points [worth $750], and Malindi Elmore 5^th with 89 points [$500]. 

“This is arguably the best year we’ve ever had for the Canada Running Series,” said Race Director Alan Brookes. “Certainly for the level of Canadian competition. From the beginning, we’ve always hoped that CRS would bring an international level of road racing to Canada, with regular, quality road races that would encourage the pursuit of excellence and the development of Canadian distance running. We’re delighted that it seems to be working!” 

Next year’s Series opens with Harry’s Vancouver and Toronto 8Ks on March 25^th and April 7^th, respectively. The Series will again consist of 8 quality events: 5 in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver and 1 in Montreal. The only changes involve a date and sponsor change for the Toronto Yonge Street 10K [formerly the Sporting Life Toronto 10K], and a “metricification” of the Acura Toronto 10 miler into a 15k event. Online registration for Series 2012 is set to open at noon on Monday November 28^th, featuring Early Bird prices and the popular “Combo Packs”, where everyone can save more by entering multiple events. “Our main focus,” said Brookes, “is to continue to build both the quality and the size of the CRS events we have. We want to continue to build the ‘experience’ at our events for everyone, from first to last. Our central goal remains the promotion of running and fitness as a way of life – and developing Canadian heroes is an important part of this.” Entry and details at a new, shorter url: www.RunCRS.ca . CRS 2011 Standings can be seen at http://www.canadarunningseries.com/crs/crsRESULT.htm

Hi everyone;

It’s been a month since STWM now. Like you, we’ve been trying to recover, but it’s also continued to be very busy as we clean up, return rental products, pay LOTS of bills, mail-out unclaimed prizes, conduct and review post-race Surveys, and do our complete Review process of the entire event. In this process, we not only look at your comments from the Survey, but receive Reports from all our CRS full-time Staff and our 223 area Managers.

Given the meltdown we had in the Baggage Reclaim process, I promised we’d be more than willing to share our debrief of this area, to explain what happened, and what our plans are to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Here it is!

As part of the Baggage Reclaim review, we also invited a “runner Rep.,” to join us at an open meeting at our CRS offices on The Esplanade on Friday, October 28th. Fidelia Hung is an experienced, keen runner, a lawyer, and an outspoken advocate!! We were pleased and very appreciative that Fidelia took the time out of her day to participate in what proved to be an open, frank, transparent and very constructive session. I’ll try to provide you with the most important points of an extensive review.

What happened & why?

• Background. While we knew last November that we would not be able to use Nathan Phillips Square as our 2011 venue because of proposed construction, for whatever reason, we did not receive permission for this year’s temporary Start & Finish locations until August 15^th. That left us 7 or 8 weeks to completely plan a massive event. Recognizing the folly of this, the City is meeting with us on Wednesday this week, to begin the 2012 planning process.
• Nevertheless, we did have what we thought was a workable Plan that completely unravelled for a variety of reasons.
• Personnel/context.I think the #1 explanation is that we did not have one, single Senior, full-time CRS Staff person (or senior, experienced, volunteer Baggage Manager) in charge of the whole Baggage process: from checking-in at Start to Reclaiming. This year, we went from a stationary Baggage site in NPS/the Sheraton hotel, to moving the baggage from the Start to a more-distant Finish at Bay & King. We do this at the [formerly Sporting Life] Toronto 10K, at the Scotia Vancouver Half marathon, and at Oasis ZooRun, but in all these instances, we have a CRS Senior Staff member (or Senior, experienced volunteer Manager) function as “Baggage Manager” all the way through the process. At STWM11, a much bigger event, we were stretched and Dave (who does this at Toronto Yonge Street 10K) was needed out on the Course. This meant that the management process was DIVIDED between Heather at the Start and Tim & Kathryn at the Finish/Party site area. There WERE 9 volunteer Managers, one associated with each truck that moved through the whole process, but not the Senior Staff person.  And Tim, a student on a 3 month contract, was “subbing” for Sabrina – our regular, post-Race Party/Site Manager who went on “Maternity Leave” on September 28th.  In terms of time and personnel, we were stretched, and we needed things to unfold smoothly. They did not.
• The #2 biggest cause was that given a stretched personnel/management situation, the baggage trucks lined up in the WRONG ORDER at the Start. This was not corrected. It meant that the largest, Half marathon truck was put in last, closest to the Start line/the runners. This meant that while the plan called for it to be the first Baggage vehicle to leave [because the Half marathoners would be at the Finish area first], it was actually the LAST to leave. Because it was last, all the late-comer runners [regardless of their bib #] threw their bags at that vehicle. They then went on the top of all the organized bags, in no order at all [and shouldn’t have been on that truck]. Because this truck left last, it arrived at the designated finish area Baggage Reclaim location LAST [instead of first], and couldn’t get into its planned location. It was also LATE, and many of the Half marathoners were already coming in, cold, wanting their bags. In the panic that ensued, the team from this truck dumped all of these bags from the largest vehicle out on top of many of the other bags already on-site. This meant that the one-truck problem now buried everyone else’s bags and made it a complete meltdown. To be sure, as many of you have pointed out, the Baggage Reclaim area we had was too small. It’s true, but it’s what we ended up with on August 15^th, as a temporary, one-year relocation because of the Nathan Phillips Square reconstruction. We had a back-up plan, that IF there was not enough space, the Crews would leave some of the bags on the actual trucks, to utilize this further space. As we know, that all went out the window – or out the back of the trucks!
• At this point the situation we unsolvable/impossible to re-organize. It was made even worse by the fact that a bunch of folks [understandably] used the Scotiabank drawstring bags to check things in, and in all the panic and rough-handling, they began to split emptying their contents, and ID tags were coming off…… Tim says it was the worst day of his life. He’s done, gone back to North Bay, and decided against a career in events. I feel badly and take the responsibility, for the position he was placed in. Again, it comes back to having that “Senior Staff” person as Baggage Manager.   

Recommendations

• I think our #1 pledge to you is to “get it right”, to get it solved so it doesn’t happen again. Just as Chicago did when they had to cancel their marathon in mid race in 2007.
• #1 recommendation is to have that Senior Staff Baggage Manager for the entire, moving of bags from Start to Finish. If we are back at Nathan Phillips Square with a “non-moving” Bag Check Area in 2012, we still need to, and will have, this Senior Manager. We had enough volunteer helpers and staff; it is the management structure that needs to be changed. This is a principle we’ll employ throughout CRS, especially in other “moving Baggage” races like Toronto Yonge Street 10K, Oasis ZooRun & Scotia Vancouver Half.
• We strongly consider using School Buses for baggage, instead of trucks, like Boston and Niagara. With ~500 bags per bus, and windows and seats, it’s a much easier, more-organized process. We DID consider this in the short time-frame we had this year, but ended up using every single bus available from the four companies we usually deal with, for shuttles, MarahonKIDS, and volunteer pick up & distribution. We have time for 2012 to find a fifth, reliable company to deal with for the baggage detail.
• Make sure we have enough physical space
• Consider using clear plastic, drawstring bags with your bib # stickers to attach for identification, like New York City Marathon. These bags and stickers will come in your Packet Pick-Up runners’ kit. This will help us control the size of the bags that are checked and assist in the planning of adequate space [as well as solving the bag-splitting and tag-fall-off issues]. We will implement this in 2012 at the Toronto Yonge Street 10K on April 22^nd [formerly Sporting Life Toronto 10k] as well as for STWM2012.
• Finally, for these two events, we should make the “Toonie” fee for bag check a “suggested donation”, at your discretion. I will add, that as long as we’ve had this fee, 100% of the toonies, all of the money, has gone to the race charities. At STWM, it has been divided equally between our 3 Featured Charities. Zero of this money has ever gone to CRS.

In conclusion, on behalf of all of us at Canada Running Series, I’d like to thank ALL of you who came out to STWM11, in record numbers, and make one final apology for the Baggage Reclaim situation. I hope that many of you had a good experience with the rest of the event. Like many of you, the CRS team “ran ‘til they dropped” on October 16^th. I’m enormously proud of the job they do, putting on some of the best races in the country, month in and month out, year after year, to bring top-class road races to Canada.  Dylan Wykes’ coach was kind enough to say that CRS “has revolutionized road running in Canada”.  Certainly, the IAAF Silver Label that the CRS team has earned for STWM through outstanding organization, is indeed something to be proud of. This year’s baggage was an ENORMOUS disappointment for me and the entire team. We took it very personally. But our best pledge to you is to get if fixed, and you have my word we WILL! Just like Chicago did in 2007 with their Water Stations. Or a few years back, when Marine Corps introduced metal detectors at the entrance to their Expo. The first year, RD Rick Nealis told me, they confiscated about 50 guns going into the Expo. They confiscated 3 guns that runners attempted to check in their Race-Day baggage. As far as he knew, he said, “no-one ran with a gun.” But one thing was for sure, there were 2+ hour waits to get into the Expo and Packet Pick Up that first year, stretching a block outside, in the pouring rain. This only happened once, as Marine Corps, like Chicago is a great race. And so is STWM. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank many of you for your kind words about STWM11, and for your continued support. We look forward to working with Fidelia and all of you, to continue to build STWM into a truly great world-marathon for Canada, and all the CRS events as great races you can mark on your calendar and look forward to every season with the assurance that you are going to be guaranteed a great time.

Alan

Moving forward! Runner Fidelia Hung (white jacket) and CRS team members involved (Kathryn, Charlotte, Heather, Dave & Tim) looking a little happier after a very positive STWM Baggage Review meeting at CRS offices, October 28th.

St.Lawrence: cheering with the 2011 Neighbourhood Champions!

Toronto. October 25th. The winners of the 2011 Neighbourhood Challenge at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon were announced today in Toronto. Twelve dynamic neighbourhoods, their runner-Champions, their charities and supporters duked it out last Sunday (October 16^th) to see who could create the best spectator cheering section, to claim not only bragging rights from the Humber to The Beach, but to take home some major prize money for their local causes, too.

“This year’s Challenge was just outstanding, by far the best we’ve ever had,”said Race Director, Alan Brookes. “I don’t know if it was the cumulative momentum of the last few years, some great neighbourhood rivalries, or the fact that we were all on national TV with CBC, but our neighbourhoods did us proud on the world stage. The crowds, the decor, the entertainment and the energy were fantastic across the 42k course. I’m just glad I didn’t have to be a judge — I think they had the toughest job of all on race day!”

GreekTown in full swing

After extensive post-race deliberations that included reviewing TV footage and race-day photos as well as their own reports, this years’ four celebrity judges awarded the title of “Neighbourhood Champions” to St.Lawrence, by “the narrowest of margins” over GreekTown. The $6,000 first-prize claimed by St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association – who had been champions in 2009 – will all go to support the Nutrition Program at Market Lane School, Downtown Alternative School and St. Michael’s Schools. The program provides breakfasts and lunches for students “to feed young minds”.

Swansea loves runners!

GreekTown, located at Eastern Avenue and Broadview (39.5km mark), will share  their $3,000 second prize award, along with the fundraising efforts of their runner-Champions, amongst the Greek communities of Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, the Hellenic Hope Centre and the Hellenic Home for the Aged. GreekTown was organized by the Greek communities of the GTA with the support of Consul General Dimitris Azemopoulos and Councillor Mary Fragedakis.

Rockin' in The Beach for Community Centre 55

This year’s Neighbourhood Challenge was so hotly contested that the judges have announced a tie for 3^rdplace between last year’s champions, Swansea, and The Beach. They will each receive $2,000 awards that will go to 4 groups in Swansea: the Ratepayers Association, the Community Recreation Centre, the Swansea Legion Branch #46 and the Town Hall; and to the Christmas Hamper Campaign at Community Centre 55 in The Beach. The West and East End friendly rivalry was also driven by a personal challenge between Councillors Sarah Doucette and Mary Margaret McMahon who were both out in person to exhort on the runners and their spectator groups.

Brazilian Dancers were stand-outs for St.Chris!

In addition, a “Most Honourable Mention” ($1,250) goes to St.Christopher House for a wonderful display, replete with Brazilian Carnival Dancers, representing King West/Liberty Village; and Honourable Mentions ($1,000 each) have been awarded to PARC: Parkdale Activity & Recreation Centre and Cabbagetown Youth Centre.

“We are SO proud of the outstanding participation by all our neighbourhoods this year,” said Brookes. “Both Canada Running Series as the organizers and Scotiabank as the sponsors, are totally committed to giving back to the communities we run through, to support their programs on a year-round basis. And the event is made so much more of an enormous success because of the engagement and support of the community.”

Awards and cheques will be handed out at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Awards night, on November 29^th, where the various neighbourhoods will also report their total fundraising achievements.

Mare Dibaba(in red), Koren Yal & Netsanet Abeyo pass Exhibition Place around 7km

The marvellous duel between Ethiopians Koren Jelela Yal and Mare Dibaba for the women’s title at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon produced not only a thrilling race but a new Course and Canadian All-Comers Record of 2:22:42.5 and a pending African Record for 30K of 1:38:33. The new CR also gave Yal a $35,000 cash bonus from title sponsor, Scotiabank. Their performances capped a remarkable weekend of record setting that continued to enhance the reputation of the event as one of the world’s fastest, and an outstanding place for up-and-coming stars and athletes of all ages to establish their careers and grab headlines. Eighty year old Ed Whitlock (3:15:54) and 100-year old Fauja Singh (8:25:17) set new age group World Records; Kenya’s Kenneth Mungara fought off Ethiopia’s Shami Dawit by 1/3 of a second (2:09:51) to claim an unprecedented 4^thstraight men’s title; and two Canadians, Reid Coolsaet (2:10:55) and Eric Gillis (2:11:28) achieved the challenging Canadian Olympic Qualifying standard (2:11:29) for London 2012.

Both Yal and Dibaba came into the race in good form, looking for fast times that would also earn them consideration for the Ethiopian team in London next summer.  In the pre-race profile on Koren Yal, Paul Gains wrote:

 The 24 year old returns to Toronto for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 16th chasing a fast time and another hefty pay cheque. A year ago she finished 4th in this IAAF Silver Label race with a personal best time of 2:24:32 but claims she is ready for more.

“My fitness and preparation has been better than last year,” she says “ My target will be to run my personal best,  under 2:24, but to do it everything depends on the weather conditions and if I have a good pacemaker like last year.”

Koren Yal. 2:22:42.5 new Course & Canadian All comers Record!

Following her Toronto Waterfront performance last Fall, she went on to win in Mumbai in January (2:26:56), and place third on another warm day in Paris in April (2:26:57). The 21 year old Dibaba ran 2:25:27 for her marathon debut in Frankfurt last October, then 68:57 at the Ras Al Khaimah Half in February. Following a disappointing 2:30:25 at the LA Marathon in March, she bounced back with an impressive gold-medal performance (70:47) at the All-Africa Games Half marathon in Maputo in September. 

Though conditions were less than ideal with gusty winds on the Toronto Waterfront, Yal and Dibaba took off at a blistering pace. They had raised a few eyebrows two days before the event when they asked for the pacemakers to take them through halfway in 69 minutes. From the gun, they showed their intent and went right after it, into the wind from 3km to 12km, passing 10k in 32:31. They hit halfway side-by-side in 68:38.1 with a buzz of incredulity amongst the crowds at the Finish line watching the CBC broadcast on the big screen. As Road Race Weekly’s David Monti wrote, they

ran yesterday’s race aggressively, blasting through the half-way mark in … a time which would win all but a handful of half-marathons held in the world this year. They kept up the hot pace through 30 km where the pair set pending world 30-K records of 1:38:33. Buffeted by strong winds, they slowed significantly in the final kilometers. Nonetheless, Yal’s time was the fastest ever run in Canada (Dibaba ran a personal best 2:23:25 in second place).”   

According to Race Director Alan Brookes, “The half split was scary, and then hanging on into the wind the last 7-K was superb.”

According to IAAF international regulations, Yal’s final victorious time of 2:22:42.5 will be rounded up to the nearest full second, matching last year’s previous Course Record performance of Kenya’s Sharon Cherop. However, the independent Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) records road racing times to the tenth of a second (where available), and recognizes world records using that degree of precision (versus the IAAF use of whole seconds). Last year, Cherop recorded 2:22:42.8, or 0.3 seconds slower than Yal.

Brookes and sponsor Scotiabank feel strongly that registering the new Course and All Comers Record and paying the $35,000 bonus is the right thing to do.

“We think the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has worked hard to build a good reputation of supporting (especially) young, developing athletes,” Brookes said. “We’re absolutely thrilled with Koren’s race yesterday in some tough, windy conditions, and are pleased to see it rewarded. Sharon Cherop said last year that ‘Toronto changed my life’, as she went onto bronze medal finishes at Boston this April and at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in August. We hope it does the same for Koren! We also very much appreciate having a great sponsor in Scotiabank, so committed to building the sport.

The marvellous duel also produced a pending African 30K Record for Mare Dibaba, who passed the certified 30K mats half a step ahead, in 1:38:32.3 to 1:38:32.6. http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records/inout=o/discType=2/disc=30RR/detail.html

To put the performance and Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront’s reputation in context, one week ago, this would have been a pending 30K World Record. The existing mark of 1:38:49 was set by Japan’s Mizuki Noguchi in Berlin in 2005. Then just last week in Chicago, Russia’s Liliya Shobukhova passed 30K in 1:38:23 en route to running the 4^thfastest women’s marathon of all time (2:18:20)! If, for any reason, Shobukhova’s Chicago Marathon time is not ratified, the record would go to Dibaba.  If, as is expected, the incomparable Shobukhova’s time is accepted, Dibaba and Yal’s duel on Toronto’s Waterfront will still put them in the books as the 2^nd and 3^rd fastest women ever at 30K, and African record holders.     

“Yes I am really very happy,” Koren Yal said with one slight hesitation. “There are a lot of Ethiopian athletes who have run 2:22 so I am not sure yet if I am going to be on the Olympic team. I will find out.”