Let’s make the Pan Am marathons ROCK! Canada Running Series stars; Toronto Run Crew Cheer sites.

TORONTO. July 6th 2015. We’re having not one but two once-in-lifetime run parties, on July 18^th and July 25^th and we’re ALL invited! The 2015 Pan Am Games is coming to OUR city: your Canada Running Series team will be working as key volunteers for the Women’s Marathon on Saturday 18^th, and the Men’s Marathon the following Saturday the 25^th. OK, so it’s early, both 7am starts, but we’re used to running early aren’t we?! AND the two Championship races feature 4 of our CRS stars that you all know so well!

Our current CRS Women’s Champion @RachelHannahRD, Rachel Hannah and the fabulous @runmommaster, Catherine Watkins will be first up to rep the Maple Leaf; @KipKangogo, Kip Kangogo [4x winner of the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon; winner of the Toronto Yonge Street 10k and CRS Men’s Overall Champion in 2013] and @robbiedxc, Rob Watson [2:13:29 PB at STWM 2013 ] will take on the best of the Americas men on the 25^th. We run with these peeps almost every month in Canada Running Series races. They’re our running friends and family. Now they’re putting it all on the line for Canada. THEY NEED OUR CHEERS!

There are TWO great options for you to join the Pan Am Marathon action on July 18th and 25th: 

1. There are still some Grandstand seats available for purchase from Toronto 2015, to put you right at the Start & Finish line with us. Purchase tickets here. [See Marathons on July 18^th and 25^th].

2. FOUR of our awesome Toronto run crews have stepped up to host 4 on-course CHEER SITES. EVERYONE is invited! You can join them for free, and show Canada and the world how Toronto rocks! It’s a unique opportunity to get to know your fellow-Toronto runners; and your cheers, your signs, your energy WILL make a difference, especially to Rachel, Catherine, Kip and Robbie. Any more fun and it would be illegal – guaranteed! Here’s where you can CHEER:

Night Terrors Run Crew

Location: Lakeshore and Jameson (South side)
Connect: @nightterrorsrun, @nightterrorsrun

Pace and Mind

Location: The Queensway and Parkside Drive (West side)
Connect: @paceandmind, @paceandmind

Parkdale Roadrunners

Location: Lakeshore, right in front of Palais Royale (North side)
Connect: @Parkdale_RR, @parkdaleroadrunners

Tribe Fitness

Location: High Park (South-West corner of Centre Rd. and Spring Rd.)
Connect: @Tribe_Fitness, @Tribe_Fitness

Here’s the link to the PanAm Marathon course

The marathon course starts and finishes at Ontario Place. It’s a tough one! Run a 2.195km initial loop, then 4 x 10km loops along Lakeshore West [the western half of Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon course], into High Park and back, including the Centre Road Hill we all know and LOVE from the 3km mark of Harry’s Spring Run Off 8K.

This means that if you’re at one of the Crew Cheer Sites, you’ll see the runners 8 times.  Are you ready? While our CRS team are working furiously on the final details of water stations and drinks bottles, timing, bib number allocations, marshalling and anti-doping, YOU can start on your race-day signs, banners, balloons, costumes, drums, noise-makers, cow-bells, tunes and more!

Let’s get ready… set, GO CANADA GO! July 18^th and 25^th. We can do it, TOGETHER!

There are other great opportunities to cheer on our other Canada Running stars on the track at York University, in the week in between the two marathons.

“Running in my home city, it’s a dream come true. And something that most athletes never get to do…  Slowly but surely I’ve been sharing this awesome news with my friends and family. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey. It is just starting and I am so excited for what is to come.” – Sasha Gollish, W1500m.

LANNI MARCHANT & NATASHA WODAK in the Women’s 10,000m final with very real podium chances if we cheer loud enough! It’s the 2015 #BettyandVeronica Show part 6!

ALEX GENEST, who comes to lots of our Toronto Yonge Street 10K and STWM Tune Up runs, representing Speed River TFC, will be in the 3000m steeplechase along with Oshawa’s Matt Hughes.

GEN LALONDE of Speed River, who we’ve also run with in the CRS Tune Up training runs, in the Women’s 3000m steeple.

LUCAS BRUCHET from the BC Endurance Project [like Natasha W and Catherine], who was 4^th at MODO Vancouver Spring Run Off 8k in March, plus the awesome CAM LEVINS, pride of Black Creek, in the Men’s 5000m.

NATASHA LABEAUD [2014 Vancouver Eastside Champion] along with Winnipeg’s JESS O’CONNELL in the Women’s 5000m

AARON HENDRIKX, another of our friends from U of Guelph & Speed River TFC, plus MO AHMED, pride of St.Catharine’s, in the Men’s 10,000m

SASHA GOLLISH of University of Toronto Track Club and NICOLE SIFUENTES in the Women’s 1500m

There are just SOOOOO many of our running friends to cheer for, and they need our Canada Running Series family to provide a home-field advantage!

Click here for a complete list of our Athletics Canada’s TEAM CANADA. 

Click here for a complete SCHEDULE at the York University track. 

Click here to purchase tickets. 

If you’re not able to get to all the track events, our very own scribe, PAUL GAINS, will be part of the CBC team in their coverage, so no need to miss a step. See CBC Pan Am page http://panam.cbc.ca/

Share the Games, the journey and the races directly with our CRS STARS via social media: