Aug 19 2025
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Dayna Pidhoresky Returns to TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

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By Paul Gains 

 Canadian International Dayna Pidhoresky will return to the scene of arguably her greatest triumph October 19 at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.    

It was at this World Athletics Elite Label Race in 2019 that the long-time Vancouver resident cemented her place on Canada’s Tokyo Olympic team winning the Canadian Championship and, with it, an automatic berth.  

Now 38, that effort was also rewarded by a personal best of 2:29:03, a time which still ranks her the 9th fastest Canadian woman ever. The 2025 edition of the race will once again be a Canadian championship and mark her fourth time competing in the event.   

“I know it’s pretty fast based on having run my two fastest time there,” she says of her eagerness to return, “and just being a Canadian championship is a huge draw. There’s a little more incentive than lining up in Chicago or something like that.  

“That, I think, as well as being in Canada, it’s a little bit easier to get to than travelling far. All those things keep me coming back. It’s hard to race somewhere else in the fall, I think.” 

Pidhoresky represented Canada at the 2017 World Championships in London prior to her Olympic experience. The latter turned into something more like a nightmare than a dream.  

On her transpacific flight she had been seated near a passenger who tested positive for Covid. Instead of experiencing the joys of being an Olympian she was ordered to undergo a fourteen-day quarantine – hardly the ideal preparation for the biggest race of her career. On race day she finished in last place.  

Since then, she has returned to her winning ways, winning the Vancouver Marathon in both 2023 and 2025. The Canadian marathon title would be a welcome addition to her resume. 

“My [national] championships wins are so spaced out from each other,” she explains. “I think 2011 was my first Canadian championship at 10k, then the marathon in 2019.  So, I think if I could take another one in 2025, I feel like that’s such a span.” 

Remaining healthy has been a challenge throughout her career and together with husband/coach Josh Seifarth she has adjusted her training to maintain consistency.  

 “I definitely cross train a lot more. That’s something I have done the last couple of years trying to find the right balance of cross training with running,” Pidhoresky reveals.  

“So, in the past maybe I would have run north of 170km or had many weeks at 160km. Now, although I might be fine doing that, I think it’s a little safer to keep it in the 130 to 140km range in a marathon buildup and then supplement that with cycling.” 

Six years on from recording her personal best she is confident that she can produce even better times. 

“Yah, I think so for sure!” she declares. “I think that’s the frustrating part and maybe why I keep at it. I think if I wasn’t working out well and also not racing to my ability it would be easy to throw in the towel.  

“I know I can still have my best results, I know for sure. It’s just whether it comes together on race day. That’s racing (laughs).  But that’s what keeps me coming back from injuries because I know my best days are ahead of me.”  

It’s not lost on her that Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak, an occasional training partner, is still racing well at the age of 43 and Malindi Elmore represented Canada at the Paris Olympics last year age 44. Athletes are enjoying extended careers. 

A keen photographer, Pidhoresky and her sister took an extended vacation following her second Vancouver Marathon victory this May.  They flew to Sweden and then spent time in Norway before flying up to Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago well above the arctic circle. They spent three days there encountering reindeer and walruses. Clearly the adventure was a welcome break from training and racing. But now she is in full marathon buildup.   

While Pidhoresky was born in Tecumseh, Ontario – near the border city of Windsor – she says she won’t be putting pressure on friends and family to come see her perform.  

“It’s a four-hour drive so I don’t want to say, ‘you have got to come and watch’,” she says laughing. But as she well knows from experience the Toronto Waterfront crowds are especially supportive of Canada’s elite. 

 

Aug 14 2025
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Olympic Steeplechaser John Gay Commits To TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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By Paul Gains

Canada’s top marathoners have typically graduated from running on the track to the roads and the latest to do so is steeplechaser John Gay who marks his debut at the upcoming TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, October 19.

Unlike his fellow Olympian, Ben Flanagan, who announced this week he too will debut in Toronto Waterfront, Gay has very little experience on the roads.

That doesn’t seem to bother this 28-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C. who has traditionally run marathon-like training throughout his stellar career.  Indeed, he has represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha as well as the 2023 World Cross Country Championships.

“Maybe most distance runners can relate to this, there is something about the marathon that carries such cache,” Gay says from his training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I knew at some point, while I was in my prime, I wanted to take a stab at the distance. It’s an event that has always been very interesting to me.”

Gay ran a personal best 3,000m steeplechase of 8:16.99 to earn a coveted place in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic final. That time ranks him the 4th fastest Canadian ever.  A year later he finished 4th in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK.  But a series of injuries over the following two years was the impetus to make his move to the marathon earlier.

“I struggled a lot the last number of years with injuries that have related pretty directly to steeplechasing,” he explains. “In 2023 I tore my hamstring hurdling. In 2024 I tore my achilles in a (steeplechase) water pit and the wear and tear of a decade plus focusing on the steeplechase seemed to be clashing with my longevity in the sport.

“It was a little bit a ‘now or never’ mentality to be honest. I missed out on the 2024 Olympic team having to end my season with injury for the second year in a row. I decided it was probably the best time to move to a longer event.”

Since October 2024 he has been a member of the Verde Track Club joining Canadian Olympic marathoner Rory Linkletter and Ben Flanagan under the tutelage of coach Jon Green. In August he and his wife, Camille, who works remotely in urban planning, moved to Flagstaff, Arizona where he has Linkletter for a training partner. The popular training site is located at 7,000 feet (2,130m) elevation.

“I have been coming to Flagstaff for a number of years. Early on I was leaning heavily on a lot of great research that Dr Trent Stellingworth through Athletics Canada has put out a lot of protocols for athletes heading up to altitude training camps,” he says.

“I was fortunate that when I first came to Flagstaff it was with the assistance of Athletics Canada. There was a lot of blood monitoring, heart rate monitoring, oxygen level monitoring. That established a really good baseline of knowledge for me so with every successive training camp I have been able to build off that knowledge. The more time you spend at high elevation the easier I find it gets to return every subsequent trip so at this point in my career it’s pretty much ‘plug and play’.”

While his road race experience is limited to the 2025 Houston Half Marathon where he ran an unexceptional 65:05 his training under former coach, University of British Columbia’s Chris Johnson, had incorporated modern training theory.

“The buzzword over the last couple of years of course has been ‘threshold training’. That’s something I have been doing for the last number of years,” he reveals. “Those high-volume sessions where you might be logging anywhere from ten to fifteen miles worth of decent quality aerobic work split across a couple of sessions.

“I think that gave me a decent base and gave me the confidence I could handle fairly high-volume weeks pushing up into the 180 -190kms a week. And then from there it’s been a matter of layering on specificity of the marathon. Being my first (Toronto Waterfront) is a bit of a venture into the unknown.”

The transition to marathoning then should be addressed and greatly enhanc ed by his altitude training alongside the experienced Linkletter. And because of his history of injuries he says he has now incorporated essential elements such as recovery, stretching and nutrition into his daily routine.

For more than five years he received funding from Athletics Canada but lost that income after a disappointing couple of years.

“I failed to produce performance results for a couple of years so understandably they let me go and I agree with that decision on their part,” he happily concedes. “I have always worked part time, the last 5 years as club manager for the Vancouver Thunderbirds and recognizing I was moving away from Vancouver I let that job go at the end of the 2024.

“Since that point I have been working for Canadian Running hosting their ‘Shakeout Podcast’ which has been a great addition to my weekly rhythm.  I was really grateful to be tapped on the shoulder by Canadian Running. It has provided a supplementary income stream as well as something to keep me focused and busy outside of training everyday.”

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon besides being a World Athletics Elite Label race will serve as the 2025 Athletics Canada Marathon Championship. Gay has won two national titles in the steeplechase and another in cross country. Being crowned national marathon champion would be a dream.

“My hope is that this has the potential long and fruitful second chapter in my running career,” is all he will say of his aspirations. “I love the running community, I love the daily work of being out there training and I love racing.”

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Aug 12 2025
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Canadian Olympian Ben Flanagan To Race TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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By Paul Gains

Earning a place in the 2024 Paris Olympic 5,000m event was a career highlight for Ben Flanagan but as it turned out that success effectively delayed his marathon debut – the distance he believes will ultimately prove to be his best.

The 30-year-old Kitchener, Ontario native will finally take on the marathon October 19 when he lines up for the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon – a World Athletics Elite Label race – which doubles as the 2025 Canadian Marathon Championships.

“To be honest I think this has been an overdue transition,” Flanagan says from his current home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. “ A lot of people expected me to make it three or four years ago which I was very much open to.

“At this point it was like ‘ok, what event do I think is going to maximize my chances to make a big move at the Olympics?’ and I always thought the marathon would be my best event. So, I think this was a late move, but, better to do it now three years before [the] LA [Olympics].”

Flanagan ran 13:04.62 indoors to qualify for the Paris Olympics a 5,000m time only two Canadians have bettered. But the roads have been his bread and butter.

After winning the 2018 NCAA 10,000m title for the University of Michigan he went on to win the famed Falmouth Road Race three times in addition to earning three Canadian 10km titles one of which, it so happens, was run along the Toronto Waterfront in 2021. That will be familiar when he runs the marathon.

In June 2024 he and his wife, Hannah, relocated to Cape Cod where her parents live. The move, the welcoming of a baby daughter – Nora Is now 4 months old – weren’t the only changes to Flanagan’s life. After years of training under former Michigan coach Ron Warhurst and a spell as a member of the Boston Reebok Track Club he sought the help of Jon Green who also coaches fellow Canadian Olympians Rory Linkletter and John Gay in the Verde Track Club.

While Green is permanently located in Flagstaff, Arizona the pair communicate via phone and text. Precious personal time is spent at races or when Green, a Massachusetts native, returns to visit family.

Flanagan is training solo but has the option of meeting up with Boston-based athletes should he wish. On long runs he is often accompanied by his father-in-law on a bike who carries bottles. Efforts to perfect the mechanics of fuelling during races are ongoing.

“The biggest change has been the (training) volume really. That’s always been a challenge for me.,” he reveals. “I have had a really hard time, historically, building volume without getting hurt. It’s probably been one of my most challenging areas of development. I tend to thrive on lower volume than others do.”

The focus on quality training miles has not hurt his results on the roads. Indeed, he can point to personal bests of 28:10 in the 10km and 61:00 in the half marathon. Only Canadian marathon record holder Cam Levins has run faster at the latter distance. Although they are friendly it is Rory Linkletter to whom Flanagan has turned for marathon advice.

“Rory and I were roommates at a lot of the training camps in Spain and we were roommates in Paris [Olympics] and now we have the same coach,” Flanagan explains. “Every time we step on the line we want to beat each other but we’re not afraid of being transparent with each other in terms of what we are doing; what’s worked and what hasn’t.

“He’s probably the guy I learned the most from and then Jon. One of the things that I like about Jon is he’s young, he’s the same age as me. But despite that he has a lot of extensive experience with a lot of different marathoners. The benefit of being in ‘Flag you are around the newest trends all the time. He is always up to date with everything.”

As he gets in his 140 kilometres a week Flanagan acknowledges the change in lifestyle, being a parent, means he must be effective in time management. When Hannah needs a break or is working with her mother’s children’s clothing store in Falmouth, Flanagan is at the ready.

“We have two dogs as well,” Flanagan reveals with a laugh. “Between looking after the dogs the baby and, my wife and I taking care of our own situations, it’s jam packed. We are never looking to kill time to be honest.

“I’m very happy with my situation in life: with running a huge part of my life but not being the same as it used to be where it was only about running.”

Qualifying for the 2024 Olympic meant Flanagan was able to extend his two-year contract with On Running until 2028. This has allowed him to be in a better position to prepare going forward. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is the launching pad for the marathon career he has always thought about.

“The biggest goal is to walk away from [Toronto Waterfront] feeling like having a positive experience, making as few mistakes as possible and learning from the mistakes I do make and feeling I can go faster in the next one,” he declares.

“My plan is to take it relatively conservative. I want to make sure I get to 30km and feel I have a lot more in the tank I don’t want to get myself into place I haven’t been before too early. That’s the main goal.”

The Canadian Championship is a huge enticement. Besides the aforementioned three 10km titles he also has won national gold in the 5km road race and at 5,000m on the track. Winning another in the marathon would be special.

“It all comes down to LA now,” he says of the ultimate target he has set for himself. “If I want to make that team in 2028 it’s not unreasonable to think I am going to have to be a 2:06, 2:05 marathoner. So I am just trying not to chase it all at once; just get the first one in, feel good about it, then build off that and then hopefully it will come with a Canadian championship. It’s a realistic goal.”

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Oct 05 2023
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Olympian Anne-Marie Comeau Pursuing a Fast Time at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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by Paul Gains 

TORONTO, ON (October 3, 2023) – Five years have passed since Anne Marie Comeau represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics and now she has returned to her first passion, running.  

On October 15th the 27-year-old from St. Ferréol les Neiges in Quebec will race the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, her first competitive marathon since her inauspicious debut in Philadelphia in 2019.   

This time around the former cross-country skier will come prepared having followed the program set by her new coach, two-time Canadian Olympic marathoner, Reid Coolsaet. The two paired up in November 2022. Coolsaet has developed both her physical and mental preparation and Comeau has a specific goal in mind. 

“I talked to Reid last week,” she reveals. “My first goal is to go under 2:32. But he told me if I want to take risks in my race I should try to do 2:29:30 or just under 2:30. He told me it’s a big risk to start at this pace but I like to take risks.” 

Once again, the race will serve as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championships with medals and a lucrative prize purse including $8,000 to the national champion. Comeau is more cautious. 

“For sure I will be happy if I am finishing on the podium,” she says. “But I don’t think about it. I don’t have a lot of experience in marathon races. I would just like to do another marathon because the last one was in 2019. 

“It’s a ‘couple’ of years so I want to start back doing one and see how I can fuel correctly in the race. Because my first one – it was very bad nutrition. I will give all that I have. I have done a lot of work. I am excited to see what it can give.” 

Comeau laughs at her recall of that Philadelphia race, a 2:41:10. But in March of this year she showed that her training is going well as she finished second at the Project 13.1 (Half Marathon) in New York’s Rockland State Park. Her time of 1:11:30 indicates that with the right volume of training she is certainly capable of dipping under the 2:30 marathon barrier.  

More recently she won the half marathon at the Marathon Beneva de Montreal in 1:13:56. That result came during her buildup for Toronto Waterfront. She did not back off her training one bit. 

“I am not a person that does a lot of high mileage,” she reveals. “My biggest week with the training in the marathon buildup was 155km. It was mostly about 130km a week. I also use other sports in preparation. 

“I am not competing anymore in cross-country skiing. But I am doing a lot of cross- country skiing in the winter and a lot of skiing up mountains but I don’t do competition anymore.” 

Cycling with her boyfriend Jean-Philippe also has a place in her overall fitness. And she is also an accomplished mountain and trail runner. Last March she represented Canada at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships finishing 15th in the women’s vertical race and 17th in the ‘up and down’ race. 

“I always loved running,” Comeau admits with a laugh. “I was running for training (for cross-country skiing). The two sports work very well together and since the age of 8 years I was running races in the woods. When I was a skier I was always running in the summer and even in the winter.  

“I wanted to try and see what my potential was in running. When I was skiing it was not perfect for running. So when I stopped I was able to concentrate my energy and see what I can do. 

For income Comeau works as an accountant for a medium size firm while studying to become a tax specialist. Recently she left a major accounting firm so she could cut back on her hours to devote more time to training and recovery. 

In her down time she says she enjoys going for bike rides and also pursuing a more relaxing pastime. 

“My boyfriend (national team trail runner) Jean-Philippe Thibobeau and I like to explore breweries,” she says with a laugh. “We love this activity and when we travel we try to choose different breweries and match our trip with that.” 

Comeau is eager to line up at Toronto Waterfront and for the first time really see what she is capable at the marathon distance. A surprise could be in store.  

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Aug 10 2023
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Dayna Pidhoresky Seeking Second Canadian Marathon Championship in Toronto  

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by Paul Gains  

TORONTO, ON (August 10, 2023) – Elite marathoners have many options to chase fast times each fall. Dayna Pidhoresky has chosen the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 15th where she will seek her second Canadian Championship gold medal in four years. 

The 36-year-old Vancouver resident was the first Canadian finisher at this event in 2019, crossing the line in a personal best 2:29:03 and was rewarded with an automatic position on Canada’s Tokyo Olympics bound team.  

Although this year’s edition of Toronto Waterfront Marathon is not an Olympic Trials it is, for the fifth consecutive year, the National Championships – and it has a World Athletics Elite Label. A stellar cast is therefore guaranteed.  

“I think for me it’s helpful that it’s familiar. The travel is familiar, the course is familiar, so it sort of takes the guess work out of that part,” she explains. “If you are doing an overseas fall marathon that can be part of that stress which is from just not knowing what to expect.  

“In this case Toronto is a race I have lined up for many times in the past. And also, it’s not a slow course; I know I can run fast there. I have run fast before. I do hope to run faster than I have before.” 

Originally from Tecumseh, a town near Windsor, Ontario she and her husband Josh Seifarth have been living in Vancouver for ten years now. Although she has raced many times in the U.S. and represented Canada at the 2017 World Championships as well as at the Tokyo Olympics, domestic races have been a large part of her curriculum vitae. Indeed, she won both the 2022 and 2023 Vancouver Marathons, the latter in 2:34:27.  

Pidhoresky realises that winning a Canadian title earns an additional 45 World Athletics Ranking points on top of points awarded for a finishing time. Those extra points could be worth more than four minutes to her. In other words, if she equals her personal best in Toronto and wins the Canadian title she would earn 1187 WA points – the same as if she had run 2:24:35 at another race. 

That would put her in contention for a spot on Canada’s team for next year’s Paris Olympics. It would mean everything if she were successful. 

“Yeah, absolutely. I feel that is one of the reasons I am working so hard,” she says. “It’s really to try and get on another Olympic team. I feel I have unfinished business at the Olympics. It’s not about placing it’s about leaving there feeling I was able to do my best on the day.” 

On her flight to Tokyo for the Olympic Games two years ago she and Josh were seated near someone who tested positive for Covid. That resulted in an enforced confinement inside their Gifu hotel room for several days during which they were not allowed to leave the room. She endured a further isolation in Sapporo – not ideal preparation for the biggest race of her life. 

Team officials brought her a stationary bicycle intended to replace her running. Already nursing a tendon injury she was a shadow of herself when it came time to run the Olympic marathon in Sapporo. She struggled home in 73rd place. The memories are bitter. A good race in Toronto would go a long way to reducing the disappointment of two years ago. 

Recently, she began her buildup towards Toronto and in contrast to previous years she is in good health.  

“So far it is going well. We are doing a twelve week build so we have just begun,” Pidhoresky reveals.  “The first week of the build I ran 161km. For us it’s about week after week of solid mileage so if we can have several weeks in a row at 180km and, I can keep grinding through that kind of training, it really works well for me.” 

Most of her training is done alone with Seifarth accompanying her on the long 38-40km runs on a bicycle. He carries drinks for her so that they don’t need to put out tables during training. A mid-week interval or fartlek session is done with some of the other athletes he coaches.

Surprisingly the subject of Toronto’s prize money doesn’t come up in conversation. There is $130,000 prize money available with the winners each receiving $20,000. Included in this purse is $8,000 for the male and female Canadian champions as well as a share of the overall purse should they finish in the top 8 overall.  It’s only when the subject is raised that she comments. 

“I did go into this year thinking I didn’t want to be chasing prize money because I am really focused on running as fast as I can,” she allows, “and sometimes that means not worrying about making money.  

“Last year I was focused on trying to win money and this year I just need to run as fast as I can. Maybe that means going to races where there is no way I can make money and instead I am losing money to run a fast time. I think that it would be nice to come home with a little cheque though.” 

A year and a half ago the couple bought a condominium in Vancouver close to ideal training terrain at the University of British Columbia and Pacific Spirit Park. Seifarth started an automotive software company called Visifii working out of a home office. Pidhoresky contributes a few hours a week between training, physiotherapy, massage therapy and strength training sessions. And she has other interests which she finds soothing. 

“Sometimes I bake. I do enjoy baking these days,” she says laughing. “I have a friend who lives in the building right besides ours and we will bake.  Then our husbands will eat 95% of what we bake. So it’s sort of perfect.” 

Life is good for Pidhoresky and she hopes that a stellar performance in Toronto will seal a place on Canada’s team for next year’s Olympics in Paris. Then it will be redemption time. 

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Aug 03 2023
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Tristan Woodfine Eyes Paris Berth at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon  

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by Paul Gains 

 TORONTO, ON (August 3, 2023) – Tristan Woodfine’s pursuit of an Olympic Games berth resumes October 15th at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. 

The event is once again a World Athletics Elite Label race and will also serve as the 2023 Canadian marathon championship. This presents the 30 year old native of Cobden, Ontario with a splendid opportunity to earn enough valuable world ranking points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

This is his second attempt at becoming a Canadian Olympian.  

In 2020 he ran a personal best of 2:10:51 at the London Marathon – well under the 2020 Olympic qualifying standard – and looked to have secured his place in the Canadian team bound for the Tokyo Games. But then Vancouver’s Ben Preisner ran 34 seconds faster to bump him from the third position. 

Despite an appeal he remained at home.  

For the past year he has been coached by Reid Coolsaet, himself a two time Canadian Olympic marathoner (2012 and 2016). The pair went about choosing Toronto for his Olympic attempt methodically. 

“It minimizes travel so I don’t have to worry about jet lag,” Woodfine explains. “Second, the Canada Running Series puts on a great series. They take care of the elites well and it’s well run. So that limits the unknown stress of doing a foreign race where you don’t know how things will go. I have complete trust in (race director) Alan (Brookes) and his team.” 

The 2024 Olympic automatic qualifying standard is 2:08:10, a time which has been bettered by only one Canadian in history, Cam Levins.  So the prospect of earning valuable points, which come with winning a national championships, on top of a fast time, was too much to resist. 

Coolsaet pointed out that winning a national championship is worth an additional 45 points, which on the World Athletics scoring tables, is equivalent to running 2 minutes 30 seconds faster. In other words, if Woodfine were to run a personal best and win in Toronto it would be like running 2:08:00 in a World Marathon Major like Berlin. 

“You can hit Olympic qualifying standard,” Woodfine continues, “but if you have to get through on points there are extra points available because it is the Canadian championships. So for those reasons it made sense. 

“We were trying to figure out how to maximize the points. You want to maximize time and you want to maximize points and you try and find the balance. If you maximize the points but run too slow then it doesn’t matter. It felt like Toronto was the best of both worlds.” 

Woodfine ran the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon finishing 13th in 2:13:16 but since then has really gone from strength to strength.  

A year ago he won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon in a personal best of 62:45. The race is run simultaneously with the marathon and since the emphasis is on the classic marathon distance there are some restrictions. 

“Alan has strict policy you (half marathoners) can’t go ahead of the marathoners because of TV coverage and all that,” he reveals. “So I felt in that half I could have gone faster.  I was thinking ‘this is actually too easy for a half,’ but obviously I couldn’t go and had to wait for the last kilometre. 

“At the same time I ran my 2:10:51 (in London) when my personal best in the half marathon was 63:30. I tend to do better the longer the distance gets. I don’t necessarily need a fast half marathon PB to run a good marathon. It’s nice to have the faster half marathon PB but mentally it doesn’t affect me quite as much.” 

Woodfine has had some impressive races over shorter distances already this year with a 10km personal best of 29:06. That came at the chaotic Valencia 10km where many of the elite racers collided at the start and fell to the ground. Although he wasn’t directly affected he was slow off the line in an attempt to avoid the mayhem. A sub 29 clocking was in his grasp that day. 

He won the Under Armour Toronto Waterfront 10km in 29:12 on June 17th running alone from 3 kilometres onward. All this has him in a positive mood as he begins his twelve week marathon buildup. 

“If the weather cooperates Toronto is a pretty fast course,” he says. “You can still run fast if you don’t hit some horrendous weather days. I think it’s the best blend of both worlds.” 

Not once during a telephone interview does Woodfine mention the $8,000 winner’s purse allocated for the Canadian champion, an amount that would surely come in handy for he and his wife Madeline in their home near Eganville, Ontario.  

Although he graduated from the Ontario College of Health and Technology he has put his career as a paramedic on hold to continue running. A three month clinical placement involving long exhausting shifts was enough to convince him that he could not combine serious running with that vocation. To make ends meet he has an online coaching service. 

“For right now it’s fine,” he says of his income. “In the future, looking at having kids, you know certainly that means you have to make more money supporting another human being. Down the road I will have to look at another career but right now it’s fine for the lifestyle I am currently living.” 

Woodfine will stand on the Toronto start line with high expectations but knowing he is chasing an Olympic dream that very few realize. 

“It would be great (to be Canadian champion),” he acknowledges. “I think I have won just one Canadian championship – the 2019 Canadian Half Marathon – so adding the marathon to that would be awesome. 

“Everything is just focused on the 2024 Olympic cycle and doing everything I can to maximize performance over the next year basically. That’s my priority – I haven’t thought too much beyond the next summer.” 

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Oct 06 2022
0

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Women’s Race Preview

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Three years ago, on the last occasion, when thousands lined up in person for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Magdalyne Masai stopped the clock at 2:22:16.  

Not only was this a new personal best for the affable Kenyan but she had also shaved one second off the Canadian All-comers’ record.  

The former mark (2:22:17) had been set by Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka in Ottawa a year earlier and, in an exciting match-up which the organizers have arranged, both athletes will be on the starting line fit and ready to battle for the $25,000 first place prize money, October 16th. 

The global pandemic put most racing on hold. But Gelete squeezed in two marathons before everything shut down winning the 2019 Paris Marathon and finishing 3rd in Chicago six months later.  

The 36-year-old, who has a best time of 2:20:45 from the 2018 Dubai Marathon, was scheduled to return to Ottawa this past spring but her passport was not returned to her in time to travel. The disappointment of completing an extended marathon buildup and then being robbed of a competitive opportunity has left this three-time Olympian desperately starved for a race. Organizers hope her appetite is satiated in Toronto. 

Masai herself has not raced since winning the 2019 Toronto Waterfront. She and her husband, New Zealand international Jake Robertson, became parents of a baby boy, Jake Jr., in July 2021. Prior to his birth they spent several months in Mount Maunganui just outside Auckland. She has maintained fitness throughout but is anxious to test herself once more on the roads. 

While the focus has understandably been on these two record-setters it is easy to forget that both Ruth Chebitok of Kenya (2:21:03) and Ethiopia’s Bedatu Hirpa (2:21:32) have also run faster than the Toronto course record and come prepared to challenge for the top rung of the podium.  

This will not be Chebitok’s first time in Toronto. In 2018 she finished 3rd in 2:23:29 and was 6th in 2019 (2:24:13).  That experience could come in handy as she navigates her way along the streets of Toronto. Her personal best came in finishing 2nd in Vienna on April 24th of this year –  one place ahead of Gelete Burka. 

Hirpa, just 23 years old, was 3rd in the 2020 Dubai Marathon (2:21:55) while her personal best of 2:21:32 came in 2018 when she was 3rd in Frankfurt.  Not bad for the former world youth 1,500m champion. 

Canadian fortunes rest on the shoulders of 42-year-old Malindi Elmore whose 9th place finish in the 2021 Olympics was the best by a Canadian woman since Sylvia Ruegger’s 8th in the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon. That was all the way back in 1984. 

 After seeing her Canadian record (2:24:50) obliterated recently, Elmore will no doubt see Toronto Waterfront as the chance to regain the standard. Indeed, Natasha Wodak’s 2:23:12 in Berlin must be a prime motivator for a woman enjoying a second running career. Elmore, after all, ran the 1,500m for Canada at the 2004 Olympics.  

The pace in Toronto is likely to be more comfortable and more conducive for a 2:22 finish than what the Berlin front runners demanded. She proved in Sapporo that she can run with the world’s best. Now is her chance to go for broke. 

While Elmore would have to suffer an ‘off day’ to miss the top spot in the Canadian Championships which are held concurrently, Dayna Pidhoresky, the 2019 Canadian champion, will be watching her closely in case of signs of weakness.  

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About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. 

To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

Media Contact  

Kate Van Buskirk, Marketing and Communications Coordinator   
kate@canadarunningseries.com   
905-867-1117  

Oct 06 2022
0

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Men’s Race Preview

By | Athletes, Canadian Athlete Announcements | No Comments

By: Paul Gains 

 Once again, the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon will come down to an East African bust-up with Ethiopians Yihunilign Adane and Kebede Wami tackling a strong Kenyan squad led by Barselius Kipyego, Felix Kandie and Felix Kibitok. 

The Kenyan presence would have been even stronger were it not for the late withdrawal through injury of the man who set the Canadian All-comers record of 2:05:00 here in 2019, Philemon Rono. 

As it is, Kipyego’s focus is acutely set on that record, especially since his personal best is 2:04:48, a performance recorded at the 2021 Paris Marathon. Like many of his Kenyan compatriots, he has sacrificed time with his family by living in his ‘2Running Club’ training camp seven days a week in preparation for Toronto. While most athletes return home on weekends, Kipyego has gone that extra step. 

With a personal best of 2:06:03, Felix Kandie returns to Toronto after a 3rd place finish in the 2018 edition of the race. A seasoned veteran (now 35) he has proved his mettle by finishing 4th in Boston and 5th in Berlin in 2019 – both ‘Abbott World Marathon Majors’. Watching the 2019 Toronto livestream inspired him to think about breaking the course record if his fellow elite are up for the challenge. 

Earlier this year Kibitok finished 5th in the Barcelona Marathon running a personal best of 2:06:28. Having run under one hour for the half marathon on three occasions, including 59:33 in January this year, he is starting to realize his marathon potential.  

The Ethiopian pair, both 26 years of age, will line up hoping to end the Kenyan dominance of this race. The last time an Ethiopian emerged the victor was in 2013 when Derissa Chimsa ran 2:07:05. At the time, this was a Canadian All-comers’ record. 

Yihunilign Adane will be encouraged that his training partner, Leul Gebrsilase, finished 2nd in the recent London Marathon. With his personal best of 2:05:53 – a new Barcelona course record – he knows he can mix it up with the mighty Kenyans on the quick Toronto Waterfront course. He is hungry to explore his massive potential at the distance. 

The other Ethiopian who bears watching, Kebede Wami, was 3rd in Barcelona this past May – just ten seconds behind Yihunilign, recording a personal best of 2:06:03, and also appears on an upward trajectory. In 2021 he was 6th in Rotterdam (2:06:27) and 5th in Sienna, Italy (2:06:32) displaying great consistency in his last three marathon starts. A member of the Dutch based NN Running Team, he trains with coach Tessema Abshero making remarkable progress since taking up marathon running in 2020. 

Word spread across both Ethiopia and Kenya in 2019 when four men finished within 13 seconds of each other led by Philemon Rono’s Canadian All-comers’ record (2:05:00). The crew of world-class athletes are aware of what the streets of Toronto offer. 

The Athletics Canada National Championships are held concurrently with the World Athletics Elite Label race and the field is led by defending champion Trevor Hofbauer (2:09:51 in 2019) and Rory Linkletter who set a personal best of 2:10:24 while finishing a solid 20th place in the 2022 World Championships.  

Linkletter, born in Calgary but residing in Flagstaff, Arizona, will be looking for another personal best which could see him pick off any of the frontrunners who falter in the latter stages of the race. Meanwhile, Hofbauer who was so magnificent while finishing 7th in the 2019 edition of this race, becoming only the second Canadian to get under 2:10, struggled home in the Olympic Games. A good performance in Toronto will wipe the slate clean. 

Canadians will also be keen to see what result running veterinarian Lee Wesselius can muster on the day. He ran a personal best (2:16:41) to finish 2nd at the 2021 Indianapolis Marathon. Earlier this year he claimed the bronze medal at the NACAC Half Marathon Championships.  His day-to-day duties working with large animals in a rural county can sometimes be an obstacle most of his peers do not encounter. Nonetheless, he continues to improve. 

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About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. 

To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

Media Contact  

Kate Van Buskirk, Marketing and Communications Coordinator    
kate@canadarunningseries.com    
905-867-1117   

Sep 29 2022
0

A Confident Felix Kandie Returns to TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Athletes, Canadian Athlete Announcements | No Comments

By: Paul Gains

A podium finish on his last visit to Toronto left such an impression on Felix Kandie that he eagerly accepted an invitation to return to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16th. 

The Kenyan star finished third at the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a time of 2:08:30, though he can point to a personal best of 2:06:03. Toronto Tourism would do well to hire the now 35-year-old to promote Canada’s biggest city as his review is simply glowing. 

“Back then when I was in Toronto I felt like I was at home,” he says during a video call from his home in Iten, Kenya.  

“It was nice for me. The city is so beautiful; the people are very friendly and the organization of the Toronto (Waterfront) Marathon is awesome. The town is indeed very good for competition. All the athletes love it and the course is very good. 

“I just walked about the place we were staying. I walked to the (Eaton Centre) mall and even when I was going for morning runs, evening runs, before the race, I used the opportunity to view Toronto and see how it is. It was amazing. Along the park down towards the lake it was very nice. I am looking forward to having another experience in Toronto.” 

Most athletes prefer to limit their excursions when they travel in order to preserve valuable energy for their competition. But the well-traveled Kandie knows his limits. And his wanderlust has not affected his racing by any means.  This past April he ran 2:07:18 to finish 7th in the Seoul Marathon.  

Following his initial Toronto appearance, he went on to finish 4th in the 2019 Boston Marathon and then 5th in Berlin – two of the Abbott Marathon Majors – and so missed the remarkable 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. That’s where his compatriot, Philemon Rono, set a Canadian All-comers record of 2:05:00 with three more men coming home in the next thirteen seconds. News of the exceptional times that day reverberated around the running world. 

“When they ran the race in that time it was really good news for me because it proved Toronto is a fast course,” he declares, “and secondly it assured it’s possible for everybody to run good. When they run personal bests it is something good and this inspired me to realize I have the chance to improve my personal best in Toronto because they have proven it’s a fast course.” 

Rono returns to Toronto joining fellow Kenyan Barselius Kipyego and Ethiopia’s Yihunilign Adane as favourites, so the field is worthy of the World Athletics Elite Label designation it has earned. While the other Kenyans belong to groups that train together Monday to Friday at special training camps, Kandie stays at home in Iten. He and his wife Millicent have started a family. 

“Yeah I have a family,” he says with a smile. “After the Toronto [Waterfront] Marathon in 2018 that’s when I got married to my lovely wife and we have a son. His name is Adrian, he is around 5 months old now. 

“Right now I am staying at my home in Iten. It’s a training centre for many athletes in Kenya and even those who come from abroad. We usually meet for training sessions with all the other athletes. Currently I am training with Gilbert Kirwa and Albert Kangogo. Gilbert Kirwa I think ran there [Toronto] in 2015 and was in the second position.” 

Kandie reports his training is going according to plan and his hopes for a personal best remain intact. 

“I think I started my training early enough that I will be able do all the necessary sessions in order for me to perform well in Toronto,” he concludes. “I have completed about 95% of my training and now am finalizing the last part. I am looking for a fantastic result in Toronto.” 

Like many professional runners, Kandie is intent on earning money for his post athletics career. He has a farm and has made inroads into real estate, building rental properties. 

“Actually, in the future I am looking forward to [really] getting into the real estate business,” he reveals. “It is a nice investment in Kenya. Also our company does farming. You cannot put all your eggs in one basket. You have to diversify; at least two or three investments would be nice. We have to balance.” 

Once again, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon has the potential to see records broken as the elites compete for prize money. The winner will receive CAD $25,000 with a new course record worth a bonus of CAD $15,000. Kandie of course could put some of that money to good use for his family’s future but he also has more tangible objectives for the race. 

“I am looking forward to running a fantastic race and improving my personal best,” he says.  “This is my aim.  Also, to get in a good position. This will help me to improve. I want to win or, if that is not possible, to get on the podium. Above that I want to run a personal best.” 

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About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding  

principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. 

To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

Media Contact  

Kate Van Buskirk, Marketing and Communications Coordinator 

kate@canadarunningseries.com 

905-867-1117

 

Sep 26 2022
0

Yihunilign Adane Carrying Ethiopian Hopes at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Athletes, Canadian Athlete Announcements | One Comment

By: Paul Gains

When Yihunilign Adane lines up against some of the world’s best marathoners at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16th, it will be with all the confidence of a man on a mission. He will also be carrying his country’s hopes on his shoulders. 

Taking top honours in the 2022 Barcelona Marathon in a personal best 2:05:53 has that effect on a runner. The 26-year-old Ethiopian is experienced at the distance despite his relatively young age, having turned to marathons shortly before he celebrated his 20th birthday.  

“Winning Barcelona gave me huge confidence and motivation that I can compete against world-class athletes,” he says from his home in Addis Ababa. 

“I watched the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon when (fellow Ethiopian) Lemi Berhanu was second (in 2:05:09).  I found out that Toronto is a fast course and, when my management raised it and asked if I wanted to run the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, I did not think twice.” 

The Toronto Waterfront Marathon course record (2:05:00) was set by Philemon Rono of Kenya – who returns to defend his title and attempt his fourth Toronto victory. That is also the fastest time ever run on Canadian soil. Yihunilign has obviously been studying past results and feels he belongs at the front. 

“I know in 2019 four men ran sub 2:05:14. I ran sub 2:06 in Barcelona,” he declares. “If we push together we can run sub 2:05 and my goal is to win the race and break that course record.” 

Until his Barcelona victory he was known simply as another good athlete with untapped marathon potential.  He was 3rd in Lisbon a year ago (2:07:54) and in 2020 he placed 6th in the Dubai Marathon in what was then a personal best of 2:06:22. Before that, he succumbed to the lure of the money on offer running as many as four marathons in a year. Barcelona signalled a new level. 

That he turned to the marathon in the first place was unusual. Having been a member of Ethiopia’s gold medal winning Under 20 team at the 2013 World Cross Country Championships, he originally aimed to become a 5,000m runner like his friend, Muktar Edris. The latter went on to become a two-time world champion at the distance.  

“Once upon a time while we were running a cross country race at Jan Meda (site of the 2013 Ethiopian cross-country championships) I was running 5th and Muktar was 6th approaching the finish line,” Yihunilign remembers. “Then he suddenly fell down and another athlete was approaching to take over. I helped Muktar up then I let him finish ahead of me. Edris was 5th and I was 6th. Since then we have been really good friends.” 

Ironically, it was an injury that saw him give up on his dreams of racing shorter distances like his hero Kenenisa Bekele, the former world 5000m and 10,000m record holder and three-time Olympic champion.  

Finishing 7th in the 2015 World under-20 Cross Country Championships was a pivotal moment, and when he was informed he beat Joshua Cheptegei (Olympic 10,000m champion and world 5000m and 10,000m record holder) in that race, he was astonished. 

“Honestly speaking I do not remember I had finished ahead of Joshua Cheptegei as he was not famous then,” he laughs. “Unbelievable!  If I focused on track I would beat him even now. Thanks to the achilles injury which forced me to run marathon.” 

Confidence is surely not lacking here. A perusal of his personal best times reveals nothing extraordinary until one takes into account the limited competitive opportunities available to young African athletes.  

“I know I would do better in short distances and I had the potential to do so,” he offers. “But I was suffering from an achilles tendon injury whenever I trained in spikes. I was comfortable training in road racing shoes.  That was the time I decided to switch to the marathon as a result of the injury.”  

Now he is thriving in a marathon training group. 

“I was injured before,” he says, “but in the past few years my training has changed especially since I joined Moyo Sport and began training under coach Getamesay Molla. I train with world-class athletes like (2:04:02 marathoner) Leul Gebresilase and Jemal Yimer (Ethiopian Half Marathon record holder).” 

A personal best seems tangible and if he is going to win the race he might well need an extraordinary leap because the field includes Kenyans Philemon Rono and Barselius Kipyego (holder of a 2:04:48 personal best) amongst others. Somehow, that might be just the motivation he needs.

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About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding  

principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. 

To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

Media Contact  

Kate Van Buskirk, Marketing and Communications Coordinator 

kate@canadarunningseries.com 

905-867-1117