Aug 14 2026
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Kenya’s Beatrice Cheserek Returns to TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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By Paul Gains  

A year after choosing the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon to make her debut at the 42.2km  distance Kenya’s Beatrice Cheserek will return to the 2026 edition of the race October 18 with great ambition. 

The now 27-year-old could manage just 5th place in 2:30:25 last year.  Four months later she finished second in the Seville Marathon (February 15) with a time of 2:21:56. There is a simple explanation for such a dramatic improvement.  

“This year my training is stronger than last year because then (2025) I was coming from maternity,” she explains from her hotel room in Bogota, Colombia where she had finished 4th in the Bogota Half Marathon a few days earlier.  

“So it’s more training than last year. I have done a lot of mileage.  This time around a lot of mileage, speed work and strength so now I can run better.” 

Cheserek’s husband Cyrus Kiplagat is her main training partner and she is now running up to 150 kilometres a week in preparation for TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which is a World Athletics Elite Label race.  

In 2024 the couple welcomed a son into the world. They named him Fabian and she proudly announces: “He is doing good. He is almost three years old now.” While she is away training and competing her sister-in-law serves as a nanny.  

“Toronto last year, it’s a good place but it was my first time running a marathon,” she recalls. “I was doubting myself because it was my debut. I was doubting whether I could finish or if I would drop out. Then afterwards I raced Seville and I was happy there. I am thinking I will do something there in Toronto.” 

‘Something’ refers to a new personal best and, if conditions are suitable there could be an assault on the Toronto Waterfront Marathon course record which was set in 2024 by Ethiopia’s Waganesh Mekasha (2:20:44). And she will not be alone in her quest. While the team at Canada Running Series always hires pacemakers for the elite athletes this time Cyrus will accompany her to Toronto to be one of the two pacers for the lead women’s group. 

Cheserek has an excellent personal best of 1:06:48 for the half marathon which led to speculation among running experts that her step up to the full marathon distance would be noteworthy. And her talent led to her being selected as the designated pacemaker for fellow Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru when she won the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. She performed similar duties for the 2025 London Marathon elite women’s field. Having Cyrus in Toronto she expects will help tremendously. 

“Even before I went to Seville I was with him training and he was the one pushing me,” Cheserek adds. “It is good for me (that Cyrus will be in Toronto) to try to lower the course record. All the marathon races before I was pacing so he never came with me. It was just me and the other people. And, he was not in Seville.” 

Beatrice and her family live in Iten, ‘The Home of Champions’ as it is known in Kenya at around 2,400m above sea level. Bogota sits at a slightly higher elevation. So the two weeks away from her home training ground has not interrupted her preparation for Toronto Waterfront Marathon in any way. 

“I am spending two weeks in Colombia; this is my first time to be here,” she offers. “Colombia is a very good place for training. It is (also) a good place to race in hot conditions. I have my fellow colleagues from Kenya here.” 

Cheserek finished 4th in the Bogota Half Marathon on July 26 in 1:12:42 just 13 seconds behind the winner. As expected, the field was dominated by athletes from high altitude countries including Ethiopia and Kenya who are best suited to Bogota’s 2,600m elevation.  

Then, on August 9th, she finished 4th in the Cali 10k (32:57) the day before an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, struck. She and her compatriots were at the Cali airport checking in when panic ensued. They returned to their hotel as the airport was temporarily closed.   

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon organizers (Canada Running Series) will be wishing for ideal conditions to allow athletes such as Beatrice Cheserek to challenge the course records. Clearly, all her preparation is focused on the race.   

Oct 09 2025
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Ben Flanagan and Dayna Pidhoresky Lead Canadian Marathon Championships Fields

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By Paul Gains

While the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is well known around the world as a World Athletics ‘Elite Label Race’ the event will again serve as the official 2025 Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championships.

The lure of Canadian specific prize money ($8,000 to the national champion) and championship medals has attracted some of the country’s best. Of course, Canadians are also eligible for open prize money – $25,000 to the overall winner – in addition.

No doubt most running aficionados will have their eyes on Ben Flanagan who is making his marathon debut in the October 19 race.

The 30 year old from Kitchener, Ontario earned a place on Canada’s 2024 Olympic team after running a personal best 5,000m time of 13:04.62. Since winning the 2018 NCAA 10,000m title for the University of Michigan, though, much of his success has been as a road racer. It is believed he can make a smoother transition to marathoning than those coming straight from the track.

A three-time winner of both the Falmouth Road Race and the Canadian 10km title he has personal best half marathon time of 61:00. That makes him the second fastest Canadian ever at the distance only surpassed by national marathon record holder Cam Levins.

With a declared goal of representing Canada in the 2028 Olympic marathon he sees this year’s Toronto Waterfront as the first step to becoming world class at the distance.

Extraordinary bad luck befell Vancouver’s Thomas Broatch who won this race and the Canadian title in 2023 before going on to run 2:10:35 in Houston this past January. A visit to a hospital emergency room revealed a case of appendicitis forcing him to withdraw three weeks before the event.

Also scratched from the race was Canadian steeplechaser John Gay with an injury. He was to make his debut in Toronto Waterfront.

In Broatch and Gay’s absence one wonders if Toronto’s Andrew Alexander might break through. At 26 years of age he is having a remarkable year.

It began with a new marathon personal best of 2:12:55 in Houston followed by a superb 3rd place finish at the Canadian 10k championship four months later. This will be his second Toronto Waterfront appearance. He made his marathon debut here a year ago running 2:14:13 to collect the Canadian Championship bronze medal. He finished in 10th place overall.

Phillipe Parrot-Migas might also contend for a medal. The London, Ontario resident ran a new personal best of 2:13:24 in Houston which represented an improvement of more than two minutes over his previous best. That had been recorded in the 2014 Chicago Marathon. At 32 years of age he also has some international experience.

Besides the city marathons he represented Canada at the 2023 World Road Racing Championships, the 2023 World Cross Country Championships, the 2022 Pan Am Cross Country Championships and the 2022 NACAC Half Marathon Championships.

The women’s field is no less competitive. This year marks the fifth appearance of Dayna Pidhoresky in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The long time Vancouver resident – originally from Windsor, Ontario – ran her personal best (2:29:03) here in 2019 winning the Canadian Olympic trials in the process. However, she suffered misfortune in Japan.

Because she had been seated near a Covid positive passenger en route to Japan for the Olympics she underwent two weeks quarantine in a hotel room. That’s hardly the best preparation for an Olympic Games competitor.

Now 38 she won the Vancouver Marathon for the third time this past May. If she has been able to train steadily and avoid injury hiccups she should be a strong favourite. In 2022 she ran 2:30:58 on this course. She believes she can still run a personal best.

Rachel Hannah remains a strong competitor and, alongside Pidhoresky, another fine example of how distance runners can enjoy increased longevity with the right combination of training and nutrition. The 39 year old Port Elgin, Ontario resident set her personal best (2:32:09) at the 2016 Houston Marathon but consistently runs in the 2:34 range which might be enough to claim a medal.

Indeed, she ran 2:34:42 in Boston in April this year. And, given that she finished 5th in the Canadian 10km championships just four weeks later and in a time of 33:38 – just thirty seconds off her personal best set a decade ago – she has reason to be optimistic.

Hannah, who works as a nutritional consultant, was also the 2015 Pan Am Games bronze medalist.

The Houston Marathon is a popular destination for Canadian marathoners and in January of this year Eliyah Brawdy, 25, turned in the best Canadian performance there finishing 9th in 2:35:33. It was also her debut at the distance.

Originally from Smithers, British Columbia (1,150 km north of Vancouver) this ‘Smithereen’ is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. She won the 2024 Canadian 10,000m title and was a standout cross country runner at her alma mater.

Currently she works full time as a patient care coordinator at a pediatric dentistry clinic in North Vancouver. In her spare time she also tutors students in mathematics. She’d like nothing more than to cause an upset in this battle for her second Canadian title.

At the time of writing the status of Salome Nyirarukundo remained uncertain. The Rwandan won the 2018 Montreal Marathon in 2:28:02 which remains her personal best. Ever since she has lived in Ottawa where she now trains with the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club under coach Ray Dupuis. She has long wished to obtain Canadian citizenship.

This will be her first marathon since finishing 4th in the 2019 Ottawa Marathon in 2:30:44.

Nyirarukundo, 27, still holds the Rwandan national records at 5,000m 10,000m and the half marathon. She competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 10,000m. Presently she holds down two shifts as a personal social worker while running up to 130km a week.

At the 2025 Boston Marathon Kylee Raftis edged Rachel Hannah by a second running a personal best of 2:34:41. The 26 year old Boston College graduate is showing remarkable promise.

She ran the Berlin Marathon on September 21st where she finished in 2:41:58 on what was an unseasonably warm day. Toronto race fans, and Raftis herself, will certainly learn how much that effort took out of her when she competes in these Canadian Championships.

Once again these fine athletes will come together in Canada’s biggest city to contend for prize money and to measure themselves against one another. The lure of a Canadian championship medal is again foremost in their minds.

Oct 02 2025
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Kenya’s Sıla Kiptoo to Challenge for TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Crown

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By Paul Gains

To the list of outstanding contenders for victory at the 2025 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon the name Sila Kiptoo can now be added.

The 27-year-old Kenyan joins a superb men’s field which includes the top three finishers from last year’s race:  the winner Ethiopian Mulugeta Uma and Kenyans Dominic Ngeno (2nd in 2024) and Noah Kipkemboi (3rd).

“Yes, I am coming there maybe to win maybe,” Kiptoo declares. “If not, I will try to run a PB (personal best).”

“My training is going well so I am waiting for the day to come and compete against the guys. I will normally run 35km a day, so it means each week about 210km. It’s the same for Paris. I didn’t make any changes from when I was going to Paris.”

Earlier this year he ran a personal best of 2:06:21 to finish third in the Paris Marathon, two places ahead of Ngeno. Although they are from the same area of Kenya they train in different groups and had not met before.

Kiptoo has a history of earning podium places at major city marathons. In 2024 for instance, he finished 3rd in Rome and was the winner of the Gyeongju International Marathon in Korea. He was also 2nd in the 2023 Madrid Marathon. He says he is looking forward to his first visit to Canada.

“I train with Benson Kipruto and Sebastian Sawe,” he reveals. “Benson has come there to Toronto before and says the course is good. He ran there in 2019 he went there and ran a ‘PB’ with Philemon Rono.”

Kipruto, it should be remembered, was 4th in the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:05:13 in a race where Rono set the still standing course record of 2:05:00. That also remains the Canadian All Comers’ Record. Of course, Kipruto went on to even greater notoriety earning the 2024 Olympic bronze medal while Sebastian Sawe won both the London and Berlin marathons this year.

Those are just two of the training partners Kiptoo enjoys time with at the group’s camp in Kapsabet. They are coached by the famed Italian Claudio Berardelli.

“I live in Kapsabet but I grew up in a place known as Kosirai in Nandi County,” Kiptoo explains.  “It’s not far away from my training ground, around 8km.  I am staying in the camp (all week) so no driving home.”

Part of the sacrifice Kiptoo and his friends have made is to isolate themselves and dedicate everything to their athletics success. Like many he has a wife, Asca Jemutai, who is studying to be a clinical officer at the Kaptagat Medical Training College. The couple has a three-year-old daughter named June-Bethel Jepkirui. The camp, however, is designed to be as comfortable as possible since they spend five or six days a week there away from their families.

During a video call the affable Kenyan provides a tour holding up his phone camera as he wanders the grounds.

“We are around thirty people, runners,” he says providing video of the dining room with a large picnic table in the centre. “And this is where we eat lunch or whatever. There is also a room where we do our exercises. The other building is the ladies’ (dormitory) building.  Behind them is ours.

“Normally after training we eat in the dining room and if you feel like going to sleep you go. We have a television and other things.  We play pool here.  And we watch football. I am a fan of Manchester United.”

Being a supporter of the Reds is something that Kiptoo shares with Toronto Waterfront race director, Alan Brookes.  And since it is tradition in the Kapsabet camp that winners of major marathons are celebrated with a cake, Brookes has committed to paying for the celebration, should he win this year’s race.

Tradition is important in the Kenyan running environment and influences from one generation to another are common. Like many Kenyans Kiptoo would see runners training on the dirt roads in the rural area in which he grew up. But, from those early years he also had a link to marathon running.

“I started in primary school 2004 and I finished school in 2015,” he says of his education. “So, when I was starting in running my uncle was an international runner, Martin Lel (a three-time London Marathon winner). He was the one who gave me inspiration to run. I was watching him and sometimes we would meet with him. He gave me advice on how to start running.”

Surrounded by such excellence in marathon running for much of his life Sila Kiptoo is destined for greatness. A victory in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon would surely be another major leap forward.

Sep 30 2025
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Ethiopian Asimarech Naga to Race TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon  

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By Paul Gains 

Up until two years ago Asimarech Naga was a promising track athlete favouring the 3,000m steeplechase event. Now, the 26-year-old Ethiopian expects to contend for the $25,000 CDN first place prize money at the 2025 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 19. 

“If it is God’s will I want to win as I am preparing well for it,” she declares. “I know the Toronto Waterfront Marathon is the biggest marathon in Canada and the course is flat. I am so excited to be there for the first time and do something great.” 

Plagued by injuries she believes were caused by wearing track spikes for her chosen event she made the decision to join legendary coach Haji Adillo’s marathon training group in 2023. The decision has paid off handsomely.  

Last year she won the Dublin Marathon in a time of 2:24:13 setting a new course record in the process. And in March of this year, she finished second in the Wuxi Marathon in China running a solid 2:24:21 and firming up her status as an Ethiopian marathon runner to keep an eye on. Having successfully immersed herself in coach Haji’s training program the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label race, is a challenge she welcomes. 

“I have so many strong athletes (to train with) and as the coaching program is great it is really helping me,” Asimarech says adding she has drawn inspiration from a variety of influences during her ascent in the world of marathoning. 

“My first inspiration, and the one who built up my morale, was my sport teacher back in my elementary school. And from athletes I am inspired by the athlete Derartu Tulu.” 

Derartu Tulu became the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she won the 1992 Barcelona 10,000m. Like many of the country’s Olympic champions she is a national hero. 

On her first visit to this continent Asimarech will be accompanied by the aforementioned Haji Adillo a sure sign he has high expectations for his latest charge. Considering he has trained several Olympic and world champions plus numerous winners of World Marathon Majors during his coaching career his interest in seeing Asimarech succeed is noteworthy. 

“I have coached her two years,” he says. “If everything goes as planned and also if there will be a good pacer she will run 2:22, 2:23.” 

His training groups can number over one hundred athletes on any given day and have included some of the world’s best including the three-time Olympic track champions Tirunesh Dibaba who is the cousin of Derartu Tutu and Kenenisa Bekele.  

After unequalled track careers Tirunesh was the 2017 Chicago Marathon champion while Kenenisa won the Berlin Marathon twice. Other standouts have included Lelisa Desisa, the 2019 World Champion and two-time Boston Marathon champion. 

“There are many successes I can mention,” Haji responds when asked which performance is most treasured. “But if I have to mention one, it was and will always remain in my heart, Mare Dibaba’s 2017 World Championships win. This was the first women’s World Championships marathon win for me and also for my country, Ethiopia. And being able to deliver this win for Ethiopia is the biggest success of all. 

“I am so proud of all my athletes’ achievements and what these great athletes have reached. All were able to earn great results which make me proud but, as I mentioned earlier, the greatest moment for me is Mare’s first World Championship win.” 

It should be noted that Mare Dibaba, no relation to Tirunesh, finished second in the 2011 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. 

Haji himself was an international marathon runner during his younger days and ran 2:12:25 for the distance in the 1999 Graz Marathon in Austria. A former classmate of Haile Gebrselassie – the two-time Olympic champion and former world record holder at distances from 5,000m to the marathon – the pair traveled by bus from their town of Arsi to the Ethiopian capital of Addis as young men.  But Haji suffered serious health issues while at the height of his running prowess.  

“I think it was around 2000, and it was something related to what I ate which led me to having surgery,” he offers. The surgery did not go well, and he underwent another surgery a week later. The compounded effects put an end to his running career. 

While Haile continued his progress setting 27 world records and winning multiple World Championship and Olympic gold medals Haji began to think about coaching. He laughs when asked how many medals his athletes have won at major championships from African to World and Olympics. 

“Too many to count as my athletes are still getting medals,” he responds. “Maybe over a thousand? But I think I can say there might not be a personal coach to get as many as I have so far.” 

Clearly, he has an extraordinary ability to recognize extremely talented athletes and develop them into world beaters. Could it be that Asimarech Naga is his latest rising star?  

Sep 25 2025
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Mulugeta Uma to Defend his TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Crown

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By Paul Gains

A year after achieving victory in the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Ethiopia’s Mulugeta Uma has announced he will return to this World Athletics Elite Label race and defend his title.

“My aim is to run a fast time but if I am unable to run a fast time I must win the race,” says the 27-year-old of his intentions for the October 19 event.

Mulugeta’s addition reunites the three podium finishers from that 2024 race as the two Kenyan runners who finished behind him, Dominic Ngeno (2nd in 2024) and Noah Kipkemboi (3rd place), have already been confirmed.

The Ethiopian is a man capable of running much faster than he did on that day (2:07:16). Indeed, his stunning victory at the 2024 Paris Marathon was achieved with a personal best time of 2:05:33 and earlier this year, at the Tokyo Marathon, he ran 2:05:46 for 5th place.  Tokyo is a World Marathon Major event with formidable competition. Against this backdrop he remembers Toronto vividly.

“In the 2024 Toronto marathon, after half-way, no one was willing to lead but the Kenyan athlete (Ngeno) had a big surge and disappeared from our sight,” he recalls from his last visit.

“We decided to leave him and thought we were going for second place. In a while I decided to try my best to catch him and, finally, I caught him and managed to win the race.”

The top prize money in Toronto was $20,000 CDN (since increased to $25,000 CDN for the 2025 event) which made it a welcome payday. Besides winning the event he has other memories of his first time in Canada’s largest city.

“I enjoyed the course and had an amazing experience in Toronto,” he adds. “I do have friends there and they are the ones who took me sightseeing in Toronto.”

Born in Waliso, about 100 kilometres southwest of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, he took up running as a youngster after seeing the success of Ethiopian runners on the Olympic stage. His family are farmers and had he not become a successful runner he would almost assuredly have followed that path.

As a teenager he had tremendous success in the 1,500m event, winning silver medals at both the 2014 Olympic Youth Championships and the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships. But his career came to a halt when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, an injury he believes was caused by running in spikes.

It led to a seven-year hiatus from the sport. But inspiration came from watching one of his heroes transition to road racing.

“Kenenisa (Bekele) was the athlete who inspired me,” he reveals. “I was eager to achieve what he did on the track.  Annoyingly, my injury prevented me from the track racing I loved but still my role model showed me I could run sub 2:02 thus I am working hard to run a fast time like him.”

Bekele, a three-time Olympic gold medalist on the track, missed the then world record by a mere two seconds when he ran 2:01:41 in the 2019 Berlin Marathon.

Mulugeta is married to Bone Chuluka who has herself represented Ethiopia at two World Cross Country Championships earning medals in the relay event. The couple at this time have no children.

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon course record is 2:05:00 set in 2019 by Kenya’s Philemon Rono. With training now going well for the race his response to whether he might challenge that time is succinct. ‘Yes, why not?”Few would doubt his ability to break that record.

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Sep 23 2025
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Ethiopia’s Shure Demise Seeks Third Victory at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon  

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By Paul Gains 

Ten years ago, before the birth of ‘super shoes’, a teenaged Shure Demise surprised the world with an extraordinary marathon record of 2 hours 20 minutes and 59 seconds.  At the time it was the fastest marathon ever by a teenage woman. 

Nine months later the Ethiopian starlet came to the 2015 Toronto Waterfront Marathon and finished in first place.  Another successful Toronto title followed a year later.  

Now 29 years old, and with a wealth of marathon experience gained since then, Shure returns to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 19, seeking a third title. 

“I have very fond memories of Toronto. I like the city very much—the course is excellent, and the people are always welcoming and supportive,” she says of her return adding she is not feeling pressure to win a third title. “Not at all. I am simply very happy to be back.” 

Following her two Toronto Waterfront victories Shure made an impression at several World Marathon Majors: she finished third in the 2018 Chicago Marathon, third in the 2019 Tokyo Marathon and was also chosen to represent Ethiopia at both the 2017 and 2019 World Championships. Then came a two-year absence from competition for which she has a very good explanation. 

“I gave birth to my daughter during that period,” she explains. “In 2025 I returned to competition at the Milan Marathon where I was fortunate enough to finish first.”  

That victory surprised many as she won by a full two minutes after seizing the lead near the 30km mark and running away from her competitors. At the finish she smiled, raised her arms before kneeling to pray. Showing genuine humility, she also went to the man who paced her to the end and thanked him. 

“It was a joyful and fulfilling moment because Milan was my first marathon after returning from maternity leave,” she reveals delighted with her life’s progress. “I am married and blessed with one daughter. My life is very good thanks to God.” 

Under the guidance of her long-term coach, Gemedu Dedefo, she trains with a strong group of Ethiopian marathoners which includes Amane Beriso the 2023 World Champion, who ran a personal best of 2:14:58 in Valencia. Amane, it should also be noted, finished 6th in the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.   

The group trains in a few different locations in central Ethiopia preparing for the fall marathon season.  

“I live in Lege Tafo (outside Addis) and my husband assists me with transportation to training sessions. Between sessions I focus on getting proper rest,” she says.  

“Training (for Toronto Waterfront) has been going very well, and I am running approximately 170 kilometres per week. I particularly enjoy training in Sendafa.” 

Sendafa is a small town just 20km from her home and on any given day one can see several groups of athletes training on the dirt roads which criss-cross the hills. And, with such strong training partners and already a major city marathon victory on her post-maternity comeback, she is confident of doing well in Toronto. 

The addition of Shure Demise further strengthens the women’s field. As it is she will join fellow Ethiopians Almaz Kebebe and Adane Anmaw on the start line at this year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront marathon.  

A victory would see her join remarkable company as one of only three athletes to win three or more times in Canada’s largest city.  Kenya’s Philemon Rono won three men’s titles while Kenneth Mungara has won four.  It will be a remarkable achievement if she is successful. 

Sep 09 2025
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Noah Kipkemboi Has Victory in Mind at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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By Paul Gains

Noah Kipkemboi returns to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 19 intent on victory in this World Athletics Elite Label race

A year ago the Kenyan recorded a personal best time in Toronto (2:07:31) to finish 3rd and now looks forward to another dual with the man who finished just eight seconds ahead of him in second place, his countryman Dominic Ngeno.

“I hope to win,” he says with a smile. “Because he (Ngeno) challenged me last year with two kilometres [to go]. I think this time I will be able to catch up with him.

“For sure we are training good. Last week I ran in the Klagenfurt (Austria) Half Marathon, I was third (62:09). Last year I went to that race (and ran 62:23) and then had a good race in Toronto. I think will run my best in Toronto.”

Kipkemboi, 32, is represented by Global Sports Communications, the Netherlands-based management company that also represents marathon superstar, Eliud Kipchoge a two-time Olympic champion at the distance. Besides training at the Global Sports camp in Kaptagat, they travelled the world together. Kipkemboi has been a faithful pacemaker for Kipchoge. Indeed, he helped him to a then world record of 2:01:09 in the 2022 Berlin Marathon.

“I am in the same camp as Eliud, we train together and we race together,” Kipkemboi reveals. “Most of the races I have been pacing have been for Eliud.

“Always I have been pacing him because he is a good guy, and you cannot push to a time he doesn’t like. I have been training with him at camp, so I always know how to run with Eliud in races when I pace him. When you are a pacemaker, you have to be ready to help push.”

The group trains under Coach Patrick Sang, himself an Olympic silver medalist in the 3,000m steeplechase. From Monday to Friday, they live at the camp, going home only on weekends.  The commitment is even more impressive considering that Kipkemboi has a wife and three young children at home in Eldoret. He has a plot of land there on which he farms, and he also owns a shop. Both ventures he sees as preparation for life after running.

“Things I sell in the shop are things human beings use like soap, flour, sweets, many things, perfumes,” he explains. “That is what I have in the small shop.”

Like many Kenyan runners he has a strong commitment to his community and to helping others.

“I am supporting some people who are in need. Like right now I’m supporting some students at my village,” he reveals. “It is opportunity to help whoever needs help in my village. I have some kids in my village who need support now and after five years.”

That support includes paying school fees and providing food. It is by competing at races such as Toronto Waterfront that allows him to help his family and the community in which they live. But Toronto, he says, has also provided cherished memories.

“We went to see Kenyan people while there last year,” he says smiling again. “In Toronto we were like at home because there were Kenyan people living there who came to say hi to us. We were as happy as if we were at home.”

Returning to Toronto to face a strong field once again is foremost on his mind as he puts in the training volume necessary to be competitive. And it is with confidence that he fine tunes the preparation in the coming weeks.

“I am now preparing for a win. It is my hope to win the race this time,” he declares. “My objective is just to win and improve my time. I ran my personal best in Toronto (2:07:31) but I want to improve upon that.”

The Toronto Waterfront course record is 2:05:00 held by another of KIpkemboi’s training partners, Philemon Rono. Should the conditions and the designated pacemakers be ideal that could well be a target on race day.

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Sep 08 2025
0

Thomas Broatch Chasing a Second Canadian Title at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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By Paul Gains

Two years ago, Thomas Broatch was crowned Canadian marathon champion at the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. It was a remarkable achievement considering it was the Vancouver native’s debut at the distance.

Now, he returns to this year’s edition a different athlete, a more seasoned competitor, with the dream of joining an exclusive group of five Canadian men who have broken the 2 hours 10 minutes barrier.

It’s an achievable goal, certainly. The University of British Columbia graduate raced to a personal best of 2:10:35 at the Houston Marathon in January of this year.  That marked an almost six-minute improvement over his first Toronto performance (2:16:25).

“It is a pretty iconic barrier, and I definitely feel I am able to shave off a second per kilometre,” Broatch, 26, says with conviction. “It seems doable.  I am planning to do a 10K one month out. If I run a time like what I ran in Ottawa, then it would give me a good indication I am ready to take a crack at sub-62:10.”

In May he finished 5th at the Canadian 10km championships in Ottawa running a new personal best of 28:56.

“I am doing some shorter 5k pace intervals once a week,” he reveals. “I haven’t found the (high) milage taking too much away from my 10k speed. I think it will be a good indicator of what I can do in the marathon.”

The lure of a Canadian championship medal also tipped the scales when it came to choosing a fall marathon. Once again, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is the official Canadian marathon championships in addition to being a World Athletics Elite Label race.

Broatch realizes the competition for the podium is stronger than two years ago and includes two Canadian Olympians:  Ben Flanagan, and his former training partner at the University of British Columbia, John Gay.

Besides running 5,000m in 13:04.62 to qualify for the Paris Olympics Flanagan is a three-time winner of the Falmouth Road Race and has a best half marathon time of 61:00. Meanwhile, John Gay ran the 2021 Olympics earning a place in the 3,000m steeplechase final.

“What they have done over the shorter distances is really impressive; much faster than I have run,” Broatch admits. “So, in some ways it’s a bit intimidating.

“It is kind of interesting two years later.  Not that I am old and experienced, having a few marathons under my belt, it will kind of balance out a bit – me being slower over the shorter distances.”

Broatch passed another milestone recently, the third-year anniversary of his work with Clir Renewables, a Vancouver based renewable energy software company. Although he is racing men who are pretty much full-time athletes he isn’t complaining. And he works mostly from his Vancouver apartment.

“Not having the commute defining helps,” he says. “I almost never run in the middle of the day I still always run before and after work. I don’t find it that hard. It’s definitely a big commitment but I think I have a pretty efficient schedule. I don’t do weights or any of that other stuff. I just run.”

Now he reckons his training is going well as his training volume rises to 200 kilometres a week. In July he flew to Australia to run the Gold Coast Marathon and after running quickly over the first half of the race he had ‘a pretty big blowup’. The positive outcome is that he took some time to recover and build back gradually for Toronto.

An avid reader he says he has recently enjoyed another book ‘The Wandering Earth’ by the Chinese author Liu Cixin who also wrote ‘The Three Body Problem’. And he’s found another pastime – going to his local library.

“They have a good collection of magazines that they refresh every month and that has been a nice change from reading a lot of books,” he explains. “Depending on the mood I am in National Geographic is good. I am still reading a bit and playing golf regularly.”

“I had a good round a few weeks ago with some people from my club and my coach.”

In a two on two he and his friend Evan Elder ‘suffered’ defeat at the hands of coach Chris Johnson.

“I guess technically we lost but we felt we won because we were considerable underdogs and we both had our best round ever,” he says to rationalize the loss. “We lost but in the same way as running you can lose and still run a good time and feel good.”

With two clear objectives for this year’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon – a podium finish and a sub two-hour ten-minute clocking – Broatch is highly motivated. And the fact he will face a strong international and domestic field bodes well.

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Sep 03 2025
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Rachel Hannah Chasing Best Performance at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Announcement, Athletes, Canadian Athlete Announcements | No Comments

By Paul Gains

Shoe technology, better nutrition and modernized training methods are allowing distance runners to continue their careers far beyond what was once considered retirement age. Rachel Hannah is a prime example.

At 39 years of age the Port Elgin, Ontario resident is running as well as ever and is now aiming for a personal best at the 2025 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, October 19.

Hannah ran 2:32:09 at the 2016 Houston Marathon six months after claiming the 2015 Pan Am Games marathon bronze medal in Toronto.

“That is definitely my goal for Toronto –  to get a personal best,” she says between appointments for the nutrition counselling business she owns. “I tried to get one last fall. My race times have improved slightly so I feel in a better spot going into this race. I am going to go for it. To get under 2:32 would be awesome.”

Earlier this year, just four weeks after running 2:34:42 on the hilly and point-to-point Boston Marathon course, she finished 5th in the Canadian 10km championships in 33:38. Those championships were held in Ottawa. Her personal best at the latter distance is 33:08 set a decade ago. The Ottawa result surprised her. Needless to say, she is encouraged.

“I find I recover really well. I have learned to make sleep more of a priority,” Hannah admits. “Definitely I credit my nutrition, keeping my protein high, focusing a lot on recovery nutrition.  Over the years I have been consistent, I haven’t had to take time off with injury for five or six years. I take time off after a marathon but that part of it helps.”

Twice a week now she is also doing weight training at home. Besides her home-based nutrition counselling business – she has a degree in human nutrition from Georgia State University – she is a nutritionist for the University of Guelph. Six years ago she also earned the International Olympic Committee’s Sport Nutrition Diploma.

Recently she has focused on remote interviews with Guelph students rather than making the two-hour (each way) commute.  That has helped find the time to put in the 160km to 180km a week she has been doing in preparation for what will be her fourth Toronto Waterfront.

“I am pretty consistent, I will block off my mornings to train,” she reveals. “I find people want mid-day to later day appointments in nutrition counselling. Most people don’t want to talk first thing in the morning.

“I do weight training in the morning and I have to get back. If I do it in the morning. Three days a week I run doubles with a second run around appointments. I work 95% from home now.”

Coached by her husband Joe Chappell she reveals she has been doing ‘double threshold’ workouts.

In addition to being a World Athletics Elite Label race, again, the event will be the official Athletics Canada National Marathon Championship. A year ago Hannah claimed the Canadian Championship bronze medal in 2:34:33 here. She jokes, having run around 2:34 a few times now, she must find another two minutes to get that personal best.

Amongst a growing list of world class athletes from across the globe Hannah will join 2019 Canadian Champion and 2021 Olympian, Dayna Pidhoresky plus Ottawa resident Salome Nyirarukundo on the start line. The latter, a 2016 Olympian for Rwanda, won the Under Armour Toronto 10k finishing just ahead of Hannah. The pair have spoken many times over the years at races and have developed a friendship.

On a recent Saturday morning in August Hannah met up with Nyirarukundo and her coach, Ray Dupuis, for a 30km run in Plantagenet, Ontario a site located midway between Ottawa and Cornwall, Ontario.  Hannah was visiting family in the region.

“It was awesome,” Hannah says of the experience. “We got to know each other over the years and we stayed at the same hotel during the 2025 Under Armour Toronto 10k. We were saying we should get together for training.

“We talked over text a few weeks and her coach was there and brought out some other athletes. So we had a really long run together. It was the first time to train with each other. It was really great. It was probably one of the best long runs I have done.”

Besides knowing the Toronto Waterfront course intimately Hannah credits the organization especially knowing that pacers will be provided for each group with a target pace. There is another factor that keeps her coming back.

“I think the cheer groups are really nice because you know the (people in the) cheer groups a lot of the time,” she says with a laugh. “Whereas at bigger races Chicago or Berlin I am not going to know who is cheering for me. When you put a name to the face it’s a lot nicer getting home. That’s why I like Toronto a lot.”

Like all runners Hannah will be paying attention to weather forecasts leading up to race day. Toronto generally received cooler temperatures in October and that is just fine with the elites. Whatever the conditions she knows she will have prepared to the best of her ability with a personal best and, perhaps, a Canadian championship medal in mind.

“I feel confident and I will go for it,” she declares.

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Aug 28 2025
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Kenya’s Dominic Ngeno Returning to TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Announcement, Athletes | No Comments

By Paul Gains

It says a lot about a marathon when its podium finishers are eager to return. A year ago Dominic Ngeno crossed the finish line second at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Now, from his home in Iten, Kenya, he announces he will return for this year’s edition set for October 19.

“It was an amazing race last year and I learned a lot,” he says with a grin. “The race was good. I am coming now to combat.

“I was so happy that the fans were cheering us all the way in the streets. It was so amazing.”

There have been lots of positive developments in Ngeno’s career in the past few months. He left the training camp he had been at in Kaptagat to return to his home in Iten, 2,400m above sea level. He says that Iten, the ‘Home of Champions’, is better suited to him. He is happier there.

As evidence he can point to April’s Paris Marathon where he finished 5th in a new personal best of 2:06:37.

“I ran 2:06:37 in Paris and it is a hard course,” he explains. “It is not like Toronto. When I came to Toronto (last year) I was fearing it was a hard course because for two or three years the guys were running 2:09, 210. So, I was fearing it was not like going to be fast. But when I finished the race, I saw it was good. Paris compared to Toronto? Toronto is a nice course.”

As he speaks via WhatsApp video he excitedly details how well his training is going and credits his ‘team’ of six fellow athletes with pushing him.

The night before this conversation he had run 20 kilometres and, this morning, another 10km. An evening track session, in which he will run a kilometre hard on the track fifteen times with a short rest, is to follow his interview. He has also put in some 40km runs every couple of weeks. It’s an exhausting schedule which leaves little time for anything else.

“When I am not training, I am resting in the compound – just sleeping,” he reveals with a smile. “Sleeping is part of the training part of the program. After lunch I sleep for a period of time then go for training. When I come back, I take tea and wait for dinner.”

Like many Kenyan runners he does, however, find time to watch English Premier League football.

“Yeah, I am a big fan of English Premier League. I am a big fan of Chelsea. The blues,” Ngeno says smiling. “I have a favourite Chelsea player, before it was [Ivory Coast’s] Didier Drogba for now my favourite is [English international] Cole Palmer.”

Ngeno turns 28 on September 3rd but he is still relatively new to the marathon. After high school where he enjoyed soccer, he went to college in Eldoret, Kenya for two years where he met some of the leading Kenyan runners. But it was a chance meeting with 2022 London Marathon champion – and 2019 world championship bronze medalist – Amos Kipruto at a 2021 cross country meet that opened his eyes.

“We had some small interactions,” Ngeno remembers. “He really inspired me because he didn’t run so many half marathons, and his dream came through after he started running marathons. That kept me inspired. I ran only two half marathons. I decided to be a marathoner full time.”

Ngeno recognizes that earning money as a professional runner can pave the way to a bright future. He has a contract with Asics which helps a great deal. And, he has his sight on the TCS Toronto Waterfront marathon first place prize of $25,000CDN. That sum goes a long way in Kenya.

“There is life after running so you need to invest whatever you get,” he says. “You need to do some business. Like now I have a small business – I have electronics stores also I am doing farming – and after running I will work with my family and work on that.

“I have shops and there are some guys who are working for me in the shops. Whenever somebody needs something like a television, anything, they can go to buy there.”

Some of the greatest marathoners have run well at ages once considered beyond prime. Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge all come to mind. So Ngeno could have another decade in front of him. It is something he has pondered.

“First I love running and because I love running, I want to run my best and so my life will not remain the same,” he declares. “I want to be the best. I have that dream (running for Kenya).

“This year when they were selecting the team I was not far from selection. I believe soon I will run for Team Kenya. I have love for my country, and I believe I will represent my country in years to come, maybe at the World Championships or Olympic Games.”

Now his focus is on the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon where he intends to combat a world class field.