Since 1977, the Toronto Marathon has been synonymous with good times and fast times, one of Canada’s best big city races. Drawing participants from around the world, and running icons like Kathrine Switzer, the Toronto Marathon on May 1, will be Canada’s first large-scale in-person event since the start of the pandemic.
The pent-up demand has race director Jay Glassman and his team excited to be among the first large-scale events to welcome runners back after a two year absence.
“The city has changed over the course of the COVID pandemic, but running has only increased as has the desire of Canadian runners for a big in-person event to compete in,” says Glassman, who has been race director of the Toronto Marathon since 1995. “It’s a return to running, a return to racing, and I can say that our entire team is looking forward to welcoming runners back.”
A distance for every ability, the Toronto Marathon offers a fast Boston-qualifying marathon, half marathon, 5 and 10K events. The multiple distances are all offered on a single day, May1, and the event is fun and imbued with positive feelings as runners make their way through the many neighbourhoods of Toronto to the finish line at the Exhibition Grounds. With robust cheering from the thousands of spectators lining the point-to-point course and more than 1,200 enthusiastic volunteers, the Toronto Marathon is where this author, in fact, scored his lifetime PB, finally breaking three hours in 2016. Indeed, the Toronto Marathon is poised to become the running world’s Coachella—a once in a lifetime running event that’s guaranteed to bring runners together from far and wide.
“We know, given everything that we’ve all been through over that past two years, that runners are looking forward participating in a ‘live event’ with other competitors in a race that draws people from over 60 countries,” says Glassman, adding that, for many new racers who picked up running during the pandemic, his event will be their first taste of the best part of our sport. “It’s an exciting time to be a race director. It’s an exciting time to welcome people back to our sport.”
For more information on the Toronto Marathon, please go to: torontomarathon.com.
