Community Advocates

Hey TO waterfront team, we want to introduce you to the 2022 TCS Charity Challenge Community Advocates: Diane, Trisha, Olivia, Mariel and Kalista! These five members of our amazing community accepted the challenge to #chooseTOrun or walk in the 5K, half marathon, marathon or one of the challenges at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16th to raise funds for one of our 150 charity partners. 

Looking for some motivation? You can follow along with our Advocates as they share their training and fundraising journeys over on their socials. We can’t wait to see what the road to race weekend looks like for each of them! Learn more about our advocates below

Trisha Enriquez

Nearly a decade ago, while on maternity leave with her then infant daughter Harper, first-time mom Trisha was looking for a creative outlet and wanted to reignite her passion for fitness. She began exercising her blogging skills and also received her certification as a pre- and post-natal fitness specialist. Through her blog she started connecting with like-minded women on the topics of motherhood, health and fitness. Today, Trisha continues to share her expertise as a wellness coach and content creator focusing on family fitness and lifestyle … just now with two daughters in tow! 

Trisha is an advocate for women’s health and promotes well-balanced and positive living. She is so excited about running in the TCS Charity Challenge in support of SickKids, which is a hospital her family holds close to their heart given the support they received when Harper underwent a surgery there at the young age of 4. Check out her blog at trishaenriquez.com!

Post-Race Quote: “I really loved being a Community Advocate and taking part in the TCS Charity Challenge. My whole family was motivated to train for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon event because we were running for a good cause. This experience is one we will always remember because we were also able to raise funds for a charity that is very close to our hearts!”

Charity: SickKids Foundation
Connect with Trisha on Instagram

Olivia Gudaniec

Olivia Gudaniec is an actress and content creator from Toronto, Ontario. Olivia has chosen to participate in the 2022 TCS Charity Challenge to finish the year off strong and to keep her body moving, despite the cooling temperatures. As for her charity of choice, Olivia is running on behalf of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto as it’s a charity close to her heart. Olivia would love to have you join her and her team on October 16th! 

Post-Race Quote: “I had a fabulous time at the TCS Charity Challenge and I’m so glad that I participated this year. You could feel the energy leading up to the event and it did not disappoint. I felt my community got stronger and it was good to give back to a charity that means a lot to me. I believe that in our daily actions, we make an impact on our world.”

Charity: Alzheimer Society of Toronto
Connect with Olivia on Instagram

Mariel Gonzalez

Meet Mariel Gonzalez, a 28 year-old Mexican runner based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Mariel has been running for 10 years now, everything from trails to marathons. More than a passion, she considers running another full-time job! Running is the personal moment that she enjoys the most, it makes her feel free. 

What excites Mariel the most is investing her kilometers in a good cause. She is participating in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and the TCS Charity Challenge to run for the planet; running for Trees for Life because there is no future without a clean, healthy planet. Mariel’s dream is to keep running for years and years, for as long as this world and her body allows her to, and to inspire people as she goes! 

Post-Race Quote: “This was my first time running for a cause and raising funds, I had such a good time, and I’d do it all over again! Running becomes much more meaningful when you dedicate your kilometers to something or someone, along with a personal objective.”

Charity: Trees for Life
Connect with Mariel on Tik Tok and Instagram

Kalista Senter

Kalista is a soldier, a wife and a mom of many through biology, adoption and foster care. She started running during the pandemic as a way to cope with all the added stress and through it, she found community, confidence and purpose. She is so excited to be taking part in the TCS Charity Challenge and to be raising money for the Indigenous Spirit Fund at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto. 

Kalista and her husband have been foster parents for nearly seven years. In that time, they have been lucky enough to get to love 16 different children. Throughout the years, they have gotten to know so many kids and their families, hearing their stories of heartbreak and loss. Kalista became passionate about supporting not just the kids, but their families too. Being able to combine two of her passions like this is such a unique and exciting opportunity! 

Charity: Indigenous Spirit Fund at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto
Connect with Kalista on Instagram

Diane Lauren

Meet Diane, a software developer and runner from Toronto, Ontario. She will be racing in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon as a part of the TCS Charity Challenge to raise money for the Canadian Celiac Association. After years of playing soccer and many other sports growing up, Diane discovered the world of distance and cross country running and instantly fell in love. She has had the chance to compete in a range of event distances from 5k all the way to a full marathon, including the Boston Marathon in 2019! 

About four years ago, Diane was diagnosed with celiac disease after a tumultuous struggle with her health. Celiac disease is still widely misunderstood, extremely underdiagnosed and a lifelong condition that those who have it are forced to learn how to live with for the rest of their lives. Diane is so excited to run in support of a charity that has had a direct impact on her life and the lives of so many others. In 2022 alone, celiac disease was the reason she wasn’t able to make it to five of the start lines that she had planned to be on, so she  could not be more excited to get on the start line of the half marathon this October despite it. 

Charity: Canadian Celiac Association
Connect with Diane on Tik Tok