Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2010 – Review
I completed the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on 26 September 2010. The weather was beautiful, I set a new personal record (PR), and it was one of my favorite marathons to date. Here is my review of the good and bad aspects of the 2010 event.
Exposition
- Good: Well-organized
- Good: Open until 8 p.m. on Friday
- Bad: Seemed small for 15,000 racers
- Bad: Held at Direct Energy Centre, far from start/finish line, requiring expensive taxi or long public-transit ride for out-of-towners staying near start/finish line
- Bad: Very little memorabilia for sale beyond the Brooks area, which felt as if it were part of the packet-pickup chute and therefore inaccessible once exited
- Bad: Not enough sponsors
$2 Charge to leave a bag at the bag drop
- Good: Raised money — probably about $45,000 — for three charities
- Bad: Not typical, which is probably why I saw some racers on the course running with their drop bags
Toilets
- Good: Relatively plentiful along the course
- Bad: The usual (stinky)
Start line
- Good: Efficient start (~10-12 minutes total for marathoners + half-marathoners together)
- Good: Color-coded staging based on expected paces
- Good: Near the bag-drop location (Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, overlooking Nathan Phillips Square)
- Bad: Hard to hear start gun from the back of the pack
Police
- Good: Blocked car and truck drivers well
- Bad: Did not block pedestrian course-crossers well
- Bad: Did not stop “damn” bicyclists
Water-station people
- Good: Cheered racers onward
- Bad: No “You’re welcome!” for “Thank you!”
Water stations
- Good: Heavily manned; reliable pattern of Gatorade first, water second (with person with public-address system to announce the one exception)
- Bad: No food (no gels, etc.)
Spectator turnout
- Good: Very supportive (often yelled names on bibs)
- Bad: Relatively sparse
Course
- Good: Very pretty and picturesque in the first half
- Good: Beautiful weather
- Good: Very flat
- Bad: Industrial and windy (extremely close to Lake Ontario) in the second half
Finish area
- Good: Lots of arches of balloons near the finish area
- Bad: Balloons near finish were relatively far from the actual finish, which caused many racers to sprint too soon
- Bad: Long walk to get medal after crossing finish line (no immediate reward)
- Bad: Many medals simply handed to finishers instead of put over their heads
Medals
- Good: Hefty, gold(?)-plated medal for marathon finishers
- Bad (to some): Half-size medal on shorter ribbon for half-marathoners
- Bad: From a distance, 5K medal and ribbon looked more similar to marathon medal and ribbon than to half-marathon medal and ribbon
Post-race area
- Good: Water bottles and foil body-warmers dispensed right after medals to finishers
- Bad: Minimal food (bananas and bagels), with Lassonde Oasis fruit juices as the bright exception
Conclusion
I give the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon an “A” grade. Simply keep in mind the “Bad” aspects so that you are prepared for them.
Have you had a similar set of experiences? Where? Please leave a comment. Thanks!
