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Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Oct 05 2015
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The Importance of a Support Crew on Race Day

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO October 6th 2015. Digital Champion Rebecca Wemyss started running in 2009 when she moved to Ottawa and wanted to find something to do. She quickly found running was a great way to make new friends and completed her first marathon last year. Rebecca is inspired to be a better runner by her son who frequently yells “Mom, come on, go faster!” When she’s not running, Rebecca is a high school teacher and track coach with the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club. Connect with Rebecca on Twitter, Instagram and her blog.

The Importance of a Support Crew on Race Day. By Rebecca Wemyss.

Originally I wanted to title this post “what Rebecca Cheeringhappens when things go wrong” as I’ve had a very problematic running season. I’ve been on the sidelines for much of the summer because of an ongoing lower left leg issue. Because my injury is taking awhile to heal, I’ve had to make a switch and change my race to the half marathon. Fellow STWM Digital Champion, Jess, wrote a great post in July about what happens when you get injured. Like Jess, I’ve been going through many emotions during this time: anger, frustration, disappointment and envy whenever I see someone out running. However, I am trying to turn a negative into a positive by attending the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon regardless whether I can run or not. I am determined to have a great time in Toronto doing something that I love: cheering runners on as they head towards the marathon finish line.

If you are an experienced runner, you can probably think of a few races when someone you knew was there for you. You could have been having an awful race, but hearing your name made you forget about the aches and pains for a few moments.  Maybe you saw your family, with one kilometre to go, a reminder of how hard you worked to train for the marathon, and an inspiration to sprint to the finish! I remember a cross country race last year involving a high school team that I coached. I stood in the middle of the “big hill” and cheered on every single runner running up the hill. For those runners that I personally knew, I added in some personalized cheers to make them smile. According to my team, it helped them conquer that hill. Every cheer helps.

There are a variety of ways that you can cheer on friends, family or even complete strangers on the big day:

1. Grab a sign and head to the route

Funny running signs can really brighten up the marathon route and make runners laugh and smile while on the course. My own sign (which will be making an appearance at STWM) is a play on a Breaking Bad quote: “You’re done running when I say you’re done” complete with a picture of “Heisenberg”. Noisemakers are also fun! Even if you don’t know anyone on the course, find a runner and look for their name on their bib. Simply shouting a name can totally make a runner’s day

2.  Track a runner

For many big races, including STWM, real-time runner tracking is available. This year, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon will be using “Real-Time Runner Tracking (RTRT)” as well as Sportstats. With these services, you can easily follow your favourite runner and cheer them on! If you know they’re running with their phone, send them a text message or a tweet as a pick-me-up. When I finished my first marathon, my phone was filled with congratulatory texts and tweets and I was so amazed at how many people were tracking me.

3. Volunteer

cs_stwm14_0644Do you want to get as close to the action as you can on race day? Then volunteer! Races do not run themselves and volunteers can help in many different ways. I have volunteered at several different races in the Ottawa area, including Ottawa Race Weekend. Volunteers are needed for water stations, finish line, race expo and kit pickup. You can support runners by providing a few hours of your time to help run the race. In my experience, so many runners say thank you and are so appreciative of volunteers. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is still looking for volunteers. If you are interested, apply here.

4. Extra Support

Besides cheering, you can help runners by providing support on the big day! Can you give a ride to the start or back home after the race? Can you bring warm clothes to greet your family and friends who are running at the finish line? Maybe you can help plan a post-race gathering at the local pub for a celebratory beverage. There are lots of ways to make race day easier for someone who is running. When I run my longer races, my husband and son are usually biking along the route, waiting for me to finish. Last year I had to make an emergency call to my husband after only 1k because I realized I had no sunscreen on and it was a very sunny day. Luckily he was in close range and soon met me with some sunscreen so I could avoid a  major burn.

5. Cheer on every last runner

cs_stwm14_1107Lastly. if you are running STWM, don’t forget to cheer on your fellow runners once you are done! My plan for October 18th is to finish the half-marathon, grab my Heisenberg sign, and cheer on all my friends completing the marathon! I cannot wait to see everyone’s faces when they reach the finish and realize what an incredible feat they have accomplished. Every last runner deserves as much cheering as possible.

Canada Running Series has made it easy for you to “get your cheer on” at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon! Check out their 2015 STWM Spectator Guide as well as their Interactive RacePoint Map which allows you to predict your favourite runner’s arrival at various locations along the course, according to their estimated finish time. As always, use the hashtag #STWM to share all your race day content via social media and I’ll see you at the finish line!

Oct 05 2015
0

Train With Grains Recipe: No Sweat Apple Crisp

By | Community Leaders, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments
Train With Grains Recipe: No Sweat Apple Crisp by Andrew Chak

This year we’re teaming up with the Grain Farmers of Ontario to bring you the best pre and post-run recipes to fuel your marathon training! Each week we’ll feature a new and unique recipe from one of our CRS Community Leader Ambassadors. This week Andrew Chak shares a healthy and delicous post-run treat to warm you up after a cool fall run. Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a “Good in Every Grain” Prize Pack valued at $50!

As runners, we often work up enough sweat on our own so it’s great to find solutions that make the other parts of our lives just a little bit easier. When it comes to a nutritious snack, I’m thankful for what my wife can whip up to feed a hungry marathoner and three growing boys.

Over the years, she has made us a dish of “no sweat apple crisp” that has the taste of apple pie with much less effort. Feel free to adjust the sugar content to your liking. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of apples – washed, peeled and 4-Mixed Ingredientssliced
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar to coat the apples
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar for the crisp
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. of crunchy flax cereal for some extra oomph in the crisp
  • 1/3 cup butter – softened

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Place the sliced apples into a baking dish. Add 2 tbsp. brown sugar and mix with the apples to coat them.
  3. Pour the brown sugar, rolled oats, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, and crunch flax cereal into a mixing bowl. Grab a fork and imagine yourself doing track repeats in the bowl as you mix the ingredients together.
  4. Mix in the softened butter until it is nice and crumbly.
  5. Sprinkle the crumbly mix over the apples.
  6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the fruit is tender.
  7. Fight every urge to start munching down the crumble until it at least cools down a bit.

8-The Finished Product


* Just TWO weeks left to WIN! Share your favourite pre or post run snack or meal on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a $50 “Good In Every Grain” prize pack! We’re choosing one winner every week until STWM!

Sep 30 2015
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Chasing Boston at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO September 30th 2015. Digital Champion Christina Menssen started running over 10 years ago and is hoping to run a Boston-qualifying time at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 18th. Christina loves the marathon distance because it’s a physical and mental challenge, pushing her beyond her perceived limits even when she wants to quit. When she’s not running, you can find Christian blogging at theathletarian.com, teaching, watching Netflix, and eating Mexican food!  Connect with Christina on Twitter, Instagram and her blog.

Chasing Boston at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. By Christina Menssen

Christina Blog Image 2Let me start off by telling you that never in a million years did I think I would publicly declare that my ultimate dream and goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Ten years ago I would have even laughed at the idea of calling myself a runner!  I think it’s safe to say that I was anti-exercise up until my early 20s.  I can’t even say why or how I started running.  I recall signing up for my very first 10K race back in 2003 – I trained just enough and finished with a half smile on my face.  It took me five years to return to the running scene and I set the lofty goal of completing a half marathon (and I did!).  Since then, I have run 10 half marathons, 4 full marathons and several shorter distance races.  The bulk of my racing has taken place over the last 2-3 years when I realized that I am actually not that horrible at running.

The full marathon distance scares me, though I think it scares a lot of people.  It is a beast of a race with so many factors that it’s almost impossible to predict how race day will go.  I ran my very first 42.2 in 2010 at the Ottawa Marathon and when I crossed the finish line I told myself I would never run another marathon again.  I made the mistake of completing about 90% of my training on a treadmill, which may work for some people but definitely did not work for me.  I was not mentally prepared but still managed to finish in 4:19.

Four years later, a friend convinced me to run the Phoenix Marathon.  When runners say they will “never” do something again, they are almost always not telling you the truth.  We just need a little bit of time to forget about the pain before we start making crazy plans again!  I think running the Phoenix Marathon was a turning point for me.  I trained really hard throughout the grueling winter and got to that start line with a newfound confidence.  If I can run for 3+ hours in cold, snow and ice, then I can definitely run a marathon in warm, sunny Phoenix…right?!  I finished in 3:53, a whole 26 minutes faster than my first 42.2!

I returned to the Phoenix Marathon this year, where I shaved off another 7 minutes and finished in 3:46.  It was after this race that I thought to myself maybe Boston wasn’t so far out of reach.  What seemed impossible after running my first marathon didn’t seem so farfetched anymore.  Sure, I would have to put in a lot of work and dial into my training a little more but the Boston Marathon is now within sight.  It has become my goal!  My dream!  And it feels so. freaking. good. to say that!!

My qualifying time is 3:35 and the way things have gone over the last couple of years, I probably need closer to a 3:33 to be considered “safe”.  I know that is a whole 13 minutes faster than my current marathon PB which is a lot in running time.  That doesn’t scare me anymore though.  I know what I’m capable of and I know that it’s possible.  How great would it be to qualify for Boston in my own city?  I’ve never run a marathon in Toronto before so I’m pretty stoked to race on familiar streets and see familiar faces on October 18th.  I’m nervous and excited but most of all, I’m ready.  Ready to give it everything I’ve got and for the first time ever, attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Sep 29 2015
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New Zealand’s Mary Davies Chasing Rio Standard at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. By Paul Gains

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments
Photo Credit: Photo Run

Photo Credit: Photo Run

TORONTO September 29th 2015. Three years ago Mary Davies’ victory at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon wasn’t so much a surprise as a shock to the thousands lining the streets expecting another East African to reach the finish line first.

But the New Zealander’s persistence paid off as she earned both $20,000 prize money and a personal best time of 2:28:57.

“I remember it being very surreal,” she says from her home in Houston, Texas. “I think it took like a week to realize I had won it. It was just an amazing experience.

“I passed (Kenya’s Agnes) Kiprop around 41k and really wasn’t sure, I couldn’t really believe I was passing her, and then with 800 metres to go I looked around and there was no one there.”

The Kenyan had run a personal best 2:23:54 a year earlier and was favoured to win. But after going out hard she had nothing left in the final few kilometres and Davies could see her struggling.

Davies remembers being overjoyed that day but there was little time to celebrate. She and her husband Gabriel Sawakuchi, together with their infant son, Lucas, caught a train back to Ottawa a few hours later. Sawakuchi was a physics lecturer at Carleton University at the time.

Now at the age of 33, and having given birth to a baby girl fifteen months ago, Davies is returning to Toronto to attempt the qualifying standard for the Rio Olympics in this IAAF Gold Label race.

“Our Olympic ‘A’ standard for the Rio is 2:27 and the ‘B’ is 2:29 so definitely I am after 2:29 in Toronto,” she says, “and we will see how the day is and what the pacers are doing and go from there. But definitely the 2:29 is the preferred goal and then anything after that.

“Training is good. In terms of the quality and I am feeling similar to how I was before Toronto in 2012.”

A little over two years ago Davies and her family moved to Houston where Gabriel is a medical physicist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre. The couple had met while studying at Oklahoma State University. Davies had been recruited to the NCAA institution to run and in her final year she made news by winning a unique triple at the Big 12 conference – 5000m, 10000m and 3,000m steeplechase. She was also third in the NCAA 10,000m final.

Davies has an added incentive to get the standard for Rio. Gabriel is Brazilian. If she is successful in Toronto the family will likely be on site to lend support.

“I think they will all go,” Davies reveals. “A lot of Gabriel’s family is in Brazil and it would be pretty special if I made the team and having that goal there in the background is going to be pushing me in the training.

“I think my husband is very supportive and that helps a lot. And my mother in law, before important races, comes from Brazil and stays for two or three months.  So when I am training I can leave the kids with her. So for those months I have a lot of support. And then the times when I don’t I have been kind of doing it before my husband goes to work and after work. We have found a balance that works.”

Photo Credit: Photo Run

Photo Credit: Photo Run

Davies runs 160 kilometres in a typical week under the guidance of Jim Bevan, head coach of the Rice University Women’s team. An occasional training partner is Becky Wade winner of the California International Marathon in 2:30:41. And she remains good friends with Canada’s Krista DuChene who stayed with her for a few weeks while training for the Rotterdam Marathon in the spring.

“She came down for a training camp before Rotterdam,” Davies reveals. “That worked out really well. She is a lovely lady and we get along very well. I was very sad to hear that she had broken a bone in her foot. But having the standard at least that is a bonus, in terms of Rio. But I know for her Toronto is a big one being on home soil and with the record there.”

For Davies representing New Zealand, her birthplace, is of paramount importance. Following her 2012 Toronto victory she was selected to run in the 2013 IAAF World Championships marathon in Moscow which was actually her second time at the World Championships. She had also run in Berlin in 2009. But the conditions on both occasions were less than ideal.

“I had been training in Houston so I really didn’t find the heat the problem (in Moscow),” she explains. “They found a cyst on my spleen. I had really bad stitch-like pains and they don’t really know if that was the cause of it. I couldn’t really breathe much during that race. It was a pretty terrible race. It was not much fun.”

It is quite likely the conditions in Toronto will be less sauna-like than Moscow, and far more conducive to running fast times. Race Director Alan Brookes has lined up pacemakers to help Davies, Canadian record holder Lanni Marchant and others such as Canadians Tarah McKay and Natasha Labeaud as they chase the 2:29:50 Olympic standard. Then they will fight not only for an Olympic place but for the podium.

Davies is asked if she sees herself beating her personal best time in Toronto.

“I think if everything is perfect – it’s hard in a marathon with the course the weather and all the different factors – if I can keep healthy and training keeps progressing as it has, then yes,” she replies.

And there is every reason to believe that should the East Africans – Kenya’s Sharon Cherop and Shure Demise of Ethiopia among them – falter during the race, Davies could be there in the latter stages. After all it wouldn’t be the first time.

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Sep 28 2015
0

Train With Grains Recipe: Barley, Farro and Couscous Salad.

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments
Train With Grains Recipe: Barley, Farro and Couscous Salad. By Linda Nguyen.

This year we’re teaming up with the Grain Farmers of Ontario to bring you the best pre and post-run recipes to fuel your marathon training! Each week we’ll feature a new and unique recipe from one of our CRS Community Leader Ambassadors. This week Linda Nguyen shares a fresh and filling Barley, Farro and Couscous Salad, perfect for refueling after a long run. The best part is, you can make this dish ahead and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat! Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a “Good in Every Grain” Prize Pack valued at $50!

Training for a marathon takes so much work and dedication. It is 16-plus weeks of training and a barely-there social life. Add a full time job on top of this and you can kiss your family and friends goodbye until the marathon is over.

Long runs can take up almost half your day and when you get home all you want to do is eat, shower and nap, preferably in that order! That’s why this salad recipe is the perfect post long-run meal. You can make it the night before you run and keep it chilled in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Barley, Farro, and Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

7 cups water, divided

1 cup barley

1 cup farro

1 cup couscous

1 cucumber, chopped

½ red onion, chopped

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

½ teaspoon salt

1 container crumbled feta cheeseLinda Nguyen TrainWithGrains Blog Header

 

Directions:

  1. Bring 2 ½ cups water and barley to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and water has been absorbed, about 45 minutes.
  2. Bring 3 cups water and farro to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until farro is tender and water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
  3. Bring 1 ½ cup water and couscous to a boil in a separate saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until couscous is tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 minutes.
  4. Combine farro, quinoa, couscous, cucumber, red onion, orange bell pepper and red bell pepper together in a bowl.
  5. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and salt together in a bowl. Pour dressing over grain-vegetable mixture; toss to coat.
  6. Sprinkle feta cheese over salad. Refrigerate until chilled and ready to eat. At least 2 hours.

This salad is very versatile and you can use any vegetables you want. This recipe makes quite a large serving so you can enjoy it as a main or side dish and still have enough left to share with others. It stills tastes great after a few days in the fridge and it’s an easy, no-brainer meal for those days when you’re busy hitting the pavement and training hard for your PBs!

* Share your favourite pre or post run snack or meal on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a $50 “Good In Every Grain” prize pack! We’re choosing one winner every week until STWM!  

Sep 24 2015
0

How Running Taught Me To Love Myself

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO September 24th 2015. Digital Champion Karyn Cooper started running in 2011 after suffering a miscarriage. Running cleared her head and eased her sadness, and since then she’s had a son and become a marathoner. Karyn’s most memorable accomplishment was finishing the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last year. She is inspired to be a better runner by her 3-year old son who loves to see his Mom accomplish her goals! When Karyn isn’t running, she works full-time in community-based HIV work. Connect with Karyn on Twitter and Instagram.

How Running Taught Me To Love Myself. By Karyn Cooper

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never quite felt good enough. I had a great childhood. I now have a great family of my own. For some reason, however, I am often consumed by negative self-talk and comparing myself to others.

Running has brought some amazing things into my life. It has helped me feel like a positive role model to my young son. It has made me a better wife because I take care of myself physically and mentally. It has brought amazing people and experiences into my life. Over time, it is changing how I’ve viewed myself for so many years.

Something it has unexpectedly brought into my life is an increased awareness of the impact negative self-talk and comparing myself to others has on my day to day life.

I began running in 2012. I’ve always been a solo runner, whether on the treadmill or in my rural neighbourhood. In the beginning, I was not active in the online running community so I worked on becoming a runner on my own without much concern or awareness of the bigger picture. As I became more active in the running community on social media, I was overwhelmed by the support. In many ways, it made me more confident, more open to new experiences, and it motivated me to continue this running life.

In other ways, however, it made me consumed with comparing image2my running ability to others. I was constantly seeing posts of other people’s pace, distance, nutrition, etc. Many times I felt like I didn’t quite measure up.

This is why I knew that my first full marathon (STWM 2014) would be a game changer. Running a full marathon was so far out of my comfort zone. To say I doubted my ability to finish would be an understatement, but I DID cross that finish line. For a long time I was embarrassed by my 5+ hour finish time, but with reflection and encouragement from others I soon realized that it was an amazing accomplishment.

I still struggle with comparison and negative thoughts, but that full marathon taught me that I’m not a quitter. It taught me that when the going gets tough, I can keep going. It taught me that running is a personal thing. We set personal goals. We accomplish personal bests. I need to continue putting the emphasis on personal. This shift in thinking is noticeable in my training for this year’s marathon. I’m focused solely on my own plan. People have noticed a more relaxed approach to my training this year. I am still nervous but I know that I will cross that finish line and that will by my personal accomplishment.

Sep 22 2015
0

Canadians Chasing Medals and Prize Money at Toronto Waterfront Marathon. By Paul Gains

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO September 22nd 2015. History will be made at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 18th as the event will serve as the Canadian Marathon Championships for the very first time.

The race has also been honoured with IAAF Gold Label status joining Boston, New York and Chicago as the only marathons to enjoy such stature in The Americas.

Canadian citizens will be eligible for Canadian Championship prize money with the first domestic male and female runner earning $5,000 each – in addition to the open prize money. Medals are also at stake.

The fields are superb and with several athletes eyeing the Rio Olympic standards the Canadians are likely to battle each other while offering the foreign contingent all they can handle.

_NGE7361Leading the Canadian women is Lanni Marchant who set a national record of 2:28:00 here two years ago. She was third overall on that occasion earning $8,000 for her position and another $28,000 bonus for beating Sylvia Ruegger’s 28 year old record. Scotiabank has put up another $30,000 for a new record this year.

The 31 year old Marchant, who works part time as a criminal lawyer in Chattanooga, Tennessee, needs to run under 2:29:50 in order to be eligible for the Rio Olympics.

At present only Krista DuChene of Brantford, Ontario has the standard having raced to a 2:29:38 clocking at the Rotterdam Marathon this past April 12th. Unfortunately, DuChene will not be running Toronto having suffered an acute fracture of a metatarsal bone. She will, however, be on site as part of the “live” broadcast team for the race.

Marchant, who earned a Pan Am Games bronze medal in the 10,000m and also finished 18th in the IAAF World Championships 10,000m in Beijing announced her participation at a Toronto press luncheon earlier this month. She noted the strength of Canadian women’s distance running which has surged since 2012 when she and DuChene narrowly missed the Olympic standard.

“I don’t think Krista or I ever expected that we would help ignite a spark in women’s marathoning in Canada when we lined up at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon,” she said. “We had some great ladies before us – obviously Sylvia but also Nicole Stephenson and Tara Quinn-smith. But women on the road hadn’t really gained the same following the men had.

“Now, just looking back over these years since 2012 we have seen more and more women line up and debut with some pretty amazing marathon performances. I think right now is the best time to be part of the Canadian running scene as there is such a charge of Canadian women absolutely killing it on the roads and I’m excited to see what will happen next.”

Marchant also said she doesn’t expect her record to stand nearly as long as Ruegger’s did. That record lasted twenty-eight years until Marchant and DuChene bettered it in Toronto. DuChene, a Brantford, Ontario resident, ran her personal best that day with 2:28:32.

Amongst those expected to challenge for medals are two female marathon debutants who have excelled on the roads in the Canada Running Series, Tarah McKay-Korir and Dayna Pidhoresky. The latter is finally healthy after several injuries and appears ready to perform to her potential. After all she ran an excellent 1:11:46 half marathon in 2011.

Another promising talent is Natasha Labeaud who debuted on the streets of Toronto a year ago finishing in 2:35:33. That earned her 8th place overall. She focused on 5,000m this past summer finishing 8th at the Pan Am Games.

Not to be forgotten is the 2014 Canadian marathon champion, Rhiannon Johns who, at the age of 23, ran cautiously to a 2:40:24 debut in Birmingham, Alabama. The fight for medal podium places is sure to be epic.

Thirty-five year old Eric Gillis will also be seeking the Rio Olympic standard and a berth on what could be his third Olympic team. The men’s standard is 2:12:50. Gillis represented Canada in the 10,000m in Beijing eight years ago and in the marathon in 2012. A year ago he raced to a new personal best of 2:11:21 in this race earning 9th place.

If everything goes according to plan Gillis will follow specially assigned pacemakers through 30 kilometres and defend the Canadian title he won a year ago in Ottawa. But should he falter both Kip Kangogo (2:15:35 PB) a Kenyan born resident of Lethbridge, Alberta, who acquired Canadian citizenship just a year ago, and Toronto’s Matt Loiselle could be there to claim his medal.

Though Loiselle’s personal best is just 2:16:01 he is determined to produce a great race when it counts.

“I have got up to about 30k at 2:12 pace. Both times that I ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon I got to 30k at 2:12 flat pace. That’s when the pacemaker dropped out,” says Loiselle.

_NGE7011“If you look at my best half marathon time, which is under 1:04, I think it’s doable. I just believe in myself and I believe we will get good training in. And, it will help having Sami there too.”

Loiselle’s training partner, Sami Jibril is making his marathon debut in Toronto. The 26 year old works the 3pm to 11pm shift installing and repairing street car lines for the Toronto Transit Commission.

“I am definitely aware of the Olympic standard,” says Jibril. “However, my goal for Toronto Waterfront, in my debut, is to run the best race I can and the rest will take care of itself.

“Matt and I do train three days a week when we can but not always, due to shift changes mainly on my part. However, we both have to do what we have to do in terms of getting miles in the legs. There is no short cut to a marathon.”

Competitive fields and a fast course await the entrants and when it is over will two new Canadian champions be crowned? The prospects of a memorable day are immense.

-30-

For more information and to run with Canada’s best marathoners:

http://www.stwm.ca

Sep 21 2015
0

So You’re Running A Marathon In A Month – Here’s What I Know.

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO September 21st 2015. Digital Champion Dawn Barnable started running in 2012, 2 years after gastric bypass surgery. She wanted something to keep her strong and fit, and running was something she could do whenever she wanted. Dawn will be completing her third marathon at STWM this year and she loves the distance because it’s in the second half of the race, that you really discover who you are. When she’s not running, you can find Dawn at the gym lifting weights, hanging out with her kids, or working as a full time Realtor. Connect with Dawn on Twitter and Instagram. Dawn Blog

So You’re Running A Marathon In A Month – Here’s What I Know. By Dawn Barnable. 

I can hardly call myself a seasoned veteran of marathon running, I only have 2 under my belt, but I sure have learned a thing or two,

I am sure you have been tracking your mileage, following a plan and building up to those long slow distance runs by now and soon you will find yourself in taper madness but whether this is your first or 21st marathon , there are still things you need to remember.

Here is a list of things I do to get myself ready to run 42.2k with only 4 weeks left.

    Run a half-marathon and practice your race pace. This past Sunday I did just that and I killed it, beating my old PR of 2:22. I ran a solid 2:20 – on a treadmill to boot. By doing this practice “race” I was able to challenge myself both physically and mentally in order to prepare myself for race day. I am by no means one who races –  I am typically one of the slowest out there. For me this practice race is a chance to get my head in the game and review what went wrong and what went right seeing as I will be repeating this distance 2 times in the next 4 weeks.

    Figure out your nutrition and hydration plan. This is vital to anyone running for hours on a course. You may be one of the lucky ones who sails through in under 4 hours or you could be like me plodding along out there for 5+ hours. Regardless, we all need to know what our bodies like and dislike on race day. I do not carry fluids as I have always found aid stations to be readily available. I do carry gels because my tummy likes them and they don’t give me any GI issues. I make sure when passing through the water stations to grab both a Gatorade and a water and down them both. I do not tolerate a lot of sugar so mixing these makes it much easier on my stomach.

    Plan your race day outfit, including shoes, socks and clothes and take them on a test run. The shoes and socks are critical because you never, ever want to wear new shoes to a race. You absolutely need to work them in and make sure they are working for you. I had a bad experience after a race involving blood blisters on both my feet due to ill-fitting shoes that I thought were OK.  The same goes for your outfit – know that the articles of clothing you’re wearing to race are not going to ride up , chafe or fall down during the run. Take your entire race day outfit on a run at least a week prior to the race. Layer, layer, layer is the key to running any fall marathon. The temps can change significantly over the course of the morning so you need to know what to discard, tie up or toss to crowds!

    Do not build up mileage in the last few weeks before the race. You have probably been following a 18,16 or 14 week training plan with a very dedicated run schedule. Do not think that this is the time to start adding in extra runs, doing more speed work, running extra hill drills or pushing too hard on those long slow runs. You will be running your longest distance probably this week and then you will start the decrease in mileage, aka tapering. Learn from this long run both physically and mentally and challenge yourself, but don’t race it quite yet – just get a feel for the distance.

    Run at the same time as race day. This is very important especially if you are running most of your training runs after work or in the late afternoon. You should experience what it feels like to run in the morning, before race day.  The temperature is different in the morning, and your body is also in a different state. Those runs after work may have you limber and loose from being busy all day and you need to know what it feels like to run when you have just woken your body up.

    Let your mind positively embrace the fact that you are about to do something that not many have or ever will do. On those last few runs, while you are spending a lot of time alone with your thoughts, keep telling yourself that you got this. You have worked so hard for the past few months training both your body and mind to conquer this feat. Repeat that mantra in your head over and over so that when race day approaches you arrive to the start line focused and determined to finish what you started so many months ago!

Sep 21 2015
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Train With Grains Recipe: Oatmeal Fruitcake.

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

Train With Grains Recipe: Oatmeal Fruitcake.  By CRS Community Leader Alyssa Cheung.

This year we’re teaming up with the Grain Farmers of Ontario to bring you the best pre and post-run recipes to fuel your marathon training! Each week we’ll feature a new and unique recipe from one of our CRS Community Leader Ambassadors. This week Alyssa Cheung has a recipe that will satisfy any sweet tooth! This Oatmeal Fruitcake is the perfect healthy treat to enjoy the Sunday evening after your long run. Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a “Good in Every Grain” Prize Pack valued at $50!

Every runner’s favourite meal has to be dessert! Most runners like myself probably run just to feel less guilty about having an extra serving of dessert! So, fittingly one of my favourite go to dessert recipe is an oatmeal fruitcake!

This recipe is great because it can double as breakfast since it’s made with oatmeal and has fruit (at least that’s what I tell myself)! It’s super simple to make and tastes great.

The recipe starts with an oatmeal base.

  1. 1 1/2 Cups Oatmeal
  2. 3 Tbsp Honey
  3. 1/3 Cup Flour
  4. 3 Ripe Bananas Mashed

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Mix all the ingredients together and pour into round tin baking pan. Bake at 375C for 25-30 minutes. You should see the edges browning when it’s ready.

Pop the oatmeal base onto a cookie sheet and let it cool. While the base is cooling you can begin on the icing.

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“Icing” Layer 

  1. 2 Cups Vanilla Yogurt
  2. 1/2 Cup of Cool Whip

Combine and spread on cooled oatmeal base. Top with your favourite fruit! I put pineapple, strawberries and blueberries on mine!

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It’s super easy to make and a great treat after any run! Or even before!

* Share your favourite pre or post run snack or meal on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a $50 “Good In Every Grain” prize pack! We’re choosing one winner every week until STWM!  

Sep 17 2015
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Tarah McKay-Korir Running For Kenya Kids. By Paul Gains

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO September 17th 2015. Lured by the challenge of Tarah Korir HSROT 2012
the ‘classic distance’ and, with a few years of high altitude training in Kenya behind her, Tarah McKay-Korir will compete in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, October 18th.

In addition to being an IAAF Gold Label race for the first time the event will also serve as the 2015 Canadian Championships.

A junior star, who represented Canada at three successive IAAF World Cross Country Championships McKay-Korir, has slowly built up to this point in her career and encouraged by her husband, Wesley Korir, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion, she feels this is the time to debut.

“The marathon distance is something I have always wanted to cover someday,” she said from her home in Cherangany, Kenya. “ I don’t know if I will ever feel completely ready but I am confident in the training that I have been doing. I ran my first two half marathons this spring so I had started increasing my mileage earlier this year.”

In March McKay-Korir made her half marathon debut in Prague finishing cautiously in 1:13:39. Training under the guidance of Wesley, who is one of Kenya’s top marathoners, she has been running between 80 and 100 kilometres a week at high altitude with one long run of up to 32km weekly.

“I am hoping to use my debut marathon as a chance to raise money to provide scholarships to the young runners we have been mentoring in Kenya,” she adds, referring to the Transcend Running Academy she and Wesley together with the producers of the film ‘Transcend’ – a film about Wesley Korir’s life – have started. “I know how fortunate I was to get good coaching and resources in high school and university and I want to help athletes in Kenya to reach their potential.

“Many Kenyan runners lack fees to go to high school and our goal with the running academy is not only to create great runners but great future leaders of their Kenyan communities which will not be possible without an education.”

To help improve the areas of education, health and agriculture Tarah and Wesley, whom she met while running at the University of Louisville, founded the Kenyan Kids Foundation. The Canadian chapter, which is chaired by Tarah’s father, Blair McKay received official charitable status in Canada last year.

Already the Foundation has had a major impact in the Cherangany region where Wesley was elected as a Member of the Kenyan Parliament and where the couple and their two children live most of the year. With a combination of fundraising measures and donations from Canadian companies such as the Gay Lea Foundation four gigantic milk coolers together with power generators were delivered earlier this year.

Volunteers are helping construct water towers, wells and septic tanks as part of the project. In addition, a representative from Semex Canada spent a week speaking to Kenyan farmers about genetics to improve their cattle breeding techniques.

The Kenyan Kids Foundation literacy program is in full swing. Thousands of used books were also shipped to Cherangany primary schools along with computers for high school students and McKay-Korir is busy initiating a reading buddy program. And the Transcend Running Academy is also off to a great start.

“In June, we had a group of high school runners from Louisville Christian Academy come to meet our Transcend Running students and run with them and visit their homes and schools,” McKay-Korir reveals. “It is important to me that people see our students for the potential they have and not just as poor Kenyan kids in a remote Kenyan village.

Photo Credit: Transcend

Photo Credit: Transcend

“During the month of August I had a full house. The Transcend students were on holiday from school so we hosted a two week training camp for the high school students and then the week prior to their camp we hosted a camp for potential future scholarship recipients in class 7/8.”

With all the charity work she does it is a wonder that McKay-Korir is able to train at the level she does. However, she has always made her visits home count. She has won prestigious Canada Running Series races such as the Harry’s Spring Run-Off 8k and the Toronto Yonge Street 10k.

“I never lack people to run with in Kenya,” she declares. “I have been doing a number

of workouts and long runs with a group of Kenyan women who also happen to be mothers. There are some Kenyan boys who stay with us also and I sometimes also run with Wesley.

“Many marathon runners run for a cause and it gives them extra strength to push through the pain. Using my marathon debut to raise funds for these athletes to get an education is something very important to me.”

Among the group she meets up with a few times a week is Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon record holder Sharon Cherop and Mary Keitany, winner of the New York and London marathons.

On Friday October 16 McKay-Korir will appear at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon expo (6:00 p.m.) to talk about her charitable work, to introduce a special screening of ‘Transcend’ (6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.) and then participate in a Q & A with runners.

Wesley Korir will run in the Chicago marathon the Sunday prior to Toronto and then fly up to support his wife. Along with the countless spectators lining the Toronto streets there are many young Kenyans who will also be waiting to see how their mentor performs in her marathon debut.

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For more information and to register:

www.stwm.ca