Oct 09 2025
0

Ben Flanagan and Dayna Pidhoresky Lead Canadian Marathon Championships Fields

By | Athletes | No Comments

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
0

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

By | Announcement, Athletes | No Comments

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
0

Ethiopian Asimarech Naga to Race TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon  

By | Announcement, Athletes | No Comments

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 09 2025
0

Noah Kipkemboi Has Victory in Mind at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Announcement, Athletes | No Comments

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.

-30-

Sep 08 2025
0

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

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

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.

-30-

Sep 03 2025
0

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.

-30-

Aug 28 2025
0

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.

Aug 28 2025
0

Young Ethiopian Duo Set Sights on TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Announcement, Athletes | No Comments

By Paul Gains

Ethiopian runners from the UK based Moyo Sports management group emerged victorious in both the men’s and women’s races at last year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon with Mulugeta Uma winning the men’s division and Waganesh Makesha taking the women’s.

Now, the group has high hopes for two more of their athletes who have committed to the 2025 edition of the race set for October 19. They are Almaz Kebebe and Adane Anmaw.

Neither would garner much attention under normal circumstances, but the raw potential of these two young women is compelling.

“Toronto is a race that is known in my training group.,” says Adane, 21, who is making her marathon debut at Toronto Waterfront. “We had the winners last year and podiums in previous years. Toronto is a race I have seen on TV.  But more importantly I have chatted to my teammates about it.”

Adane turns 22 on October 21, two days after the race. A year ago, she established her credentials as a world class distance runner with her performance at the 2024 Cardiff Half Marathon where she was 4th in 67:47. To put that in perspective that is two minutes faster than Canadian marathon record holder, Natasha Wodak, has run for the distance.

“I would like to be in the pace for the first group which will mean I can be together with other women, especially my training partner Almaz,” she adds.

Depending upon weather conditions, that group could be targeting the course record Waganesh Makesha set last year (2:20:44). Asked if she is nervous about lining up for her first marathon, she shrugs it off.

“Who doesn’t have nerves sometimes? It is a good thing if managed well,” she responds. “So I am sure I will be a bit nervous. But when the gun goes, I will be focused only on doing a good race.”

Earlier this year she traveled alone to the United States where Moyo Sports had arranged two races for her. She crossed the line second in the Cherry Blossom/US Ten Mile Championships running 51:00.  Adane also took second in the famed Lilac Bloomsday 12km.

“This was great. It was good overall to get some short races in,” Adane explains. “My management has had athletes win in the Lilac Bloomsday and Cherry Blossom 10-mile race before. So, we always have athletes from our team in these races.”

Almaz Kebebe, meanwhile, is the more experienced marathoner of the pair having run a total of two marathons already – both in 2025. Yet, she is still a teenager – turning 20 on September 15th. She was 8th in Dubai in 2:23:30 and also 8th in Rotterdam (2:24:03).

“Dubai was my debut, yes. I was so pleased to run a good first marathon and, even though I was only 8th, for me, this was just the start,” she declares.

“I learnt that patience is important as I was only new to this distance. And that trusting your coach and training is important.”

Almaz was born in Bekoji, the legendary ‘Town of Runners’ known for many of Ethiopia’s Olympic champions such as Kenenisa Bekele, TIrunesh Dibaba and Derartu Tulu. She moved to Addis five years ago. It is where most leading coaches are based. Now she and Adane train together with Waganesh Mekasha and also with Mestawut Fikir, (2nd in 2024 Berlin with a time of 2:18: 48) and Kumeshi Sichala, winner of the 2025 Houston Marathon (2:20:42).  Keeping up with such impressive training partners has given her much confidence.

“I am aiming to run a personal best (at Toronto Waterfront),” she offers. “This is an important next step for me. But I believe I can be on the podium, if not win this race.”

Clearly, this group has developed an affinity for the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Now it’s a case of seeing if whether they can produce more winners of this World Athletics Elite Label Race. Almaz Kebebe and Adane Anmaw are brimming with confidence.

Aug 21 2025
0

Rwandan Marathoner Nyirarukundo to Race TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

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

By Paul Gains

Salome Nyirarukundo has made an extraordinary impact on the Canadian road race scene since her arrival from Rwanda seven years ago most recently with a victory at the 2025 Under Armour Toronto 10km.

Now, this Ottawa resident turns her attention to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, October 19.

This will be her first marathon since 2019 when she finished 4th in the Ottawa Marathon with a time of 2:30:44. The only other marathon she has run was the 2018 Montreal Marathon – a race she won in 2:28:05.

“It’s been three or four years that I have been hoping to do the Toronto Waterfront Marathon,” she admits, “because it is a big race, of course.  But the timing was difficult, and I got injured and couldn’t participate. This year is a good moment for me to see what I can do.

“I am, to be honest, always really excited to come to Toronto because I think I have a good connection with Toronto fans. In past years when I have been running I have had such a good time. I have run the Toronto 10k three years. I think it will help a little bit.”

In addition to her 2025 victory in the Under Armour Toronto 10km she finished 2nd in both the 2024 and 2023 editions of the event which, like the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, is part of the Canada Running Series. The 10k race traverses the shores of Lake Ontario and makes up a large chunk of the marathon course. This, she expects, will be helpful come October 19.

Nyirarukundo is still just 27-years-old, a quite astonishing fact considering she competed in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Games for her native Rwanda. In fact, she remains the Rwandan national record holder in the 5,000m (15:34.91), 10,000m (31:45.82) and the half marathon (1:08:48). The latter is faster than Andrea Seccafien’s Canadian record of 1:09:38.

As a teenager living in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali she showed great promise.  The Dutch based sports management company, Global Sports Communications, took her on and from 2017 to 2018 she trained in Kaptagat, Kenya at the same camp as the legendary Eliud Kipchoge. The Kenyan superstar is a GSC client.

At the time Salome spoke only a little English and so her interaction with him was limited. She remembers him as being quiet and humble even taking his turn in handling camp cleaning and cooking duties despite his status.

Since coming to Canada she has been working as a personal care worker for two hospitals. Although she is grateful for employment it is clear she would like to devote more time to training.

“Unfortunately, I am not in the same situation as before,” she explains. “When I did 1:08:48 I

was training full-time morning and evening.  Now I am doing two jobs and then training. I can’t say I will do the same thing as I did in the past. There is a possibility.

“I am really confident in myself that I can do better and better. Now I have started to participate in the national 10km road race championships and performed well. That shows me I can still do what I did in the past.”

She crossed the finish line 4th at the 2025 Canadian 10km championships one place ahead of former Canadian marathon record holder Lanni Marchant. It is the exploits of the leading Canadian marathoners like Natasha Wodak and Malindi Elmore, who are competing well into their forties, who have inspired her.

“This year because I started to train for the marathon I am doing between 100km to 130km,” she reveals. “And actually, Natasha Wodak is the one who really inspired me. Because last year Wodak was number one (in Canada) and I was going to quit.

“And when I see Rachel Hannah also, they are such good runners, and I thought ‘if they can do it I can do it’. They are very strong. They inspired me to get strong and keep going.”

Hannah, the 2015 Pan American Games marathon bronze medalist, closely followed Nyirarukundo in each of the past three Toronto 10km and they have struck up a friendship. Hannah drove out to Eastern Ontario for the weekend in mid-August and the two met up for a 38km training session in Plantagenet, Ontario.

While she claims her training is going well shift work, perhaps, is not the best preparation for a marathon buildup but Nyirarukundo has learned to adapt with the help of her Ottawa Lions coach Ray Dupuis.

“Some times l wake up at 4:00 a.m. and go and run 15km or 10km then go to work at 6:00 am,” she says.  “Then after work, if l don’t have second shift, l run again.  It is not really easy but l have to do it in order to support myself and my siblings back home.

“I am the oldest and my dad passed way when we were younger. l am mother and father for them and l love them so much. Without them l could not be able do what am doing now.”

Life in Rwanda can be much more complicated. Amongst the expenses she handles for her two brothers and two sisters are their school fees. They still live in the Rutsiro district of Rwanda which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recently the two countries signed an agreement to end armed conflict.

“It’s really hard. I am always exhausted but running is my passion but at the same time I have to work afterwards,” Nyirarukundo declares. “I know it’s not the same as the person who is just training. I am hoping one day I will maybe working part-time and training full-time. I know myself I am always confident. When you have done it before you maybe can do it a second time.”

As she completes the training for her TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon debut she admits she  would like to run somewhere under 2:30. That goal remains firm. Yet, she has figured out a way to enjoy another passion.

“I don’t know how to swim but I like to go outdoor camping,” she says with a laugh. “I never did this before in my own country. When I did it here it’s very nice – nature. This year I am going to Prince Edward Island. I will camp there one week at the end of August.”

One day she hopes to represent Canada. No one can doubt she has that potential with the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon providing an important stepping stone.

Aug 19 2025
0

Dayna Pidhoresky Returns to TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

By | Canadian Athlete Announcements | No Comments

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.