Fitness Swellness: 2024 Toronto Half-Marathon Race Recap

May 9, 2024

I started the year thinking I’d run a spring marathon, but then my immune system had other plans.

I registered for Around the Bay 30k before the end of 2023 since I knew it’d sell out, and I figured if I’m training up to that distance, I might as well continue training and run a spring marathon. But then in February I caught a cold and cough that lasted about four weeks and I wasn’t able to train at all. By the time I felt well enough to run again in late February, I had zero base fitness and it occurred to me I only had five weeks to train to run ATB (which I discovered this year was actually 34k due to a reroute–I clearly didn’t read the registration carefully when I signed up). Since five weeks is not nearly enough time to train for that distance, I sold my bib. But I continued to build my base fitness so that I could consider a spring half-marathon.

I was able to train regularly for 11 weeks, other than during week-long trips to Sooke, B.C. (where I didn’t run at all), and St. Kitts (where I did two HIIT treadmill runs). In general, I wasn’t as motivated and committed to do the speed workouts outlined in my training plan, so more often than not, I did much shorter, and much less intense HIIT and interval workouts on the treadmill using the Peloton app.

What I did add to my training cycle though was more cross training. Although I was doing less in terms of speed work, I did incorporate regular stretching, spinning, and some strength and meditation as I’ve been consistently working out with the Peloton app.

So in mid-April, I registered for the Toronto Half-Marathon (I did consider the Mississauga Half but it is held a week prior and I wanted that extra week of training!).

RACE DAY

The forecast was for 80 percent chance of rain and sure enough, it was raining when I got up on Sunday. I uber pooled to the start (with two other riders were also running the race!), dropped my bag at the bag check then went inside Yonge-Sheppard Centre. I appreciated the mall being open so that we could all stay dry and warm and use the washrooms instead of portapotties.

THE RACE START

With the race starting at 8:30, at 8:20, I went to exit the mall to go join the starting chute…and it was pouring rain. So I stood in the mall entrance with other runners for a bit longer. And at 8:25, I figured I’d better get into my corral since the race was starting at 8:30.

Except the race didn’t start on time. It started 14 minutes late. So we all stood there getting nice and soaked so that we started off the race late and all soggy. There were also no defined corrals that I saw — the starting area was a free for all — which was evident once I started running and I had to work on passing slower runners. Also, while waiting for the race to start, I could see the 2:20 and 2:25 pace bunnies up ahead near the start line. I’m sorry, while I appreciate that you’re volunteering as a pacer…you should know better and should not be placing yourself that close to the start line if you’re the pacer for a 2:20+ half-marathon finish.

When the race finally kicked off at 8:44, thankfully, the rain had lightened up and it was mainly just very light drizzle or mist, so I ditched the garbage bag I’d worn to keep dry, and was soon able to take off my arm sleeves–the temp was about 9 degrees.

What was my plan or goal for this race? I didn’t have pushing for a PB in mind. I didn’t think it was feasible given the light approach I’d taken to speed work during training. I almost PB-ed in October in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon and for that training cycle, I was consistent with the speed training, which in the plan I have been following is quite intense. I wrote out a pace band for a PB (just in case I felt fantastic!), and one for my C goal (1:59). But as the race started, it kind of quickly felt like work. Perhaps it was the hill at Hoggs Hollow that did me in (I’m not strong when it comes to hills). But the New Balance Super Comp Elite V4, which had felt so bouncy and light for the two test runs I’d done in them–I wasn’t getting the same boost in the first few kilometres. They felt comfortable, but just not the same extra springiness mentally and I knew if I was already thinking this was a slog, that it wasn’t a PB kind of day.

So I set out to do this race with a vague goal of sub-2 hours and with it feeling not easy so early on, I just focused on running well and feeling good–I didn’t want to feel the discomfort of pushing to meet a pace target, and if it’s not a PB…why be uncomfortable? That’s my rationale.

I knew my best friend would be around the 7k mark and I was so happy when I spotted her. She’d made a sign, and took my arm sleeves for me–and I even stopped to chat with her. If you know me, this is major. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped in a race ever just to chat–I’ve stopped when I’ve needed to regroup mentally or walked when I needed a break, of course, but I’ve never stopped because I don’t ever want to add time to my finishing time! So you know this means I love you and also that I had a relaxed state of mind when it came to this race.

I knew a couple of other friends would be cheering on the route, and my sister — but I never managed to spot them. I think the race starting late didn’t help (as they were basing when they’d spot me based on my pace and they wouldn’t have been aware the race started late). Although I’d shared my location on google maps, that function glitched, so no one knew where I was on the route.

When we got to Rosedale Valley Rd, I’m told this is where the route converged with the marathoners and walkers. I honestly didn’t notice that it was more crowded starting here as I found it quite thick with runners the entire race. I spent a lot of time working my way to get around slower runners and I found there were a lot of friends running together (creating a wall of two or more people to make your way around if you wanted to pass). Rosedale Valley Rd is my favourite part of this run given it’s downhill and you’ve got the trees surrounding you, and my pace at this point shows I was doing well.

HALFWAY POINT

For the second half of the race, I was feeling strong. I could see from my paces that I was faster for some km or at the very least maintaining the same pace during the front half, and I felt good about this. I felt strong. I normally slow right a decent amount in the second half of a race. I just enjoyed the actual running and was looking at this race as a strong run and let go of the stress of “I’m racing–go faster!” And I think you can see this in the official race photos–I don’t think I’ve ever had so many photos where I am so smiley, haha!

I don’t recall much entertainment along the route. There were some great cheer squads, some good signs (“Run like your ex is behind you!”) and there’s the tough little hill just before the finish line, but kind of before I knew it, there was the finish line and I felt pretty good.

I didn’t feel like I was going to lose my breakfast (I almost vomited after the finish line in the fall!) and slowly made my way through the finish chute towards the Queen Elizabeth Building, which was the race finish area. And this is where I experienced more of the disorganization this race has become known for.

THE POST-RACE CHAOS

If you’re a runner in Toronto, you’ve likely heard or know firsthand of this race’s reputation of being poorly organized–I think it’s gotten worse in the past few years. For me, I experienced this mostly at the finish area. The crowd moved at a snail’s pace to get into the building, as there’s just four doors and thousands of runners trying to get inside.

When I finally got in, it was slow to get a bottle of water. We all moved at a snail’s pace in a roughly defined line and we received our medals (I’m lucky to have gotten one as they did run out!). Then, the line basically spit you out in a space and I didn’t understand where I was to go next. I could see the area for snacks, but eventually realized I had to backtrack to get into line to get my banana and pita bread. It was all extremely unclear and I saw lots of confused runners trying to figure out where the heck to get some fuel.

I eventually got my recovery drink and banana, and then I wanted to get my bag that I had checked. The race website said it’d be in the building. I saw zero signs for bag check. So I went to ask a girl at the race t-shirt tables. She pointed to a door and told me to go out those doors and bag check was outside.

I took her at her word as she said it so confidently, but knew I could not exit the doors she pointed at as those were the entrance doors (maybe I should’ve clued in that she didn’t know what she was talking about). So I exited and immediately outside the doors, there’s a huge crowd of family and friends blocking the exit–zero crowd control happening here…only to go outside and not see bag check outside where she’d pointed and now here I was stuck in the huge crowd getting into the building again.

This added an hour to my time at the finish area. I was surrounded by a million runners and at this point I’m still in my shorts and tank top and I’m cold. There were no foil blankets handed out so I’m shivering waiting outside for about 50 minutes and I start panicking that I’m going to faint. This was a bad situation and I’m surprised I didn’t witness more people having a health issue considering they’d just finished running and were stuck without hydration or fuel or warm clothes while waiting in a crowd to get into the finish area.

I was so cranky about this chaotic post-race situation that once I finally got my bag (bag check was in a back corner area I didn’t see the first time I was inside–and with dividers behind the area for tshirts where the volunteer gave me bad information that lead me outside, it was blocked from view), I put on a sweatshirt and left as quickly as possible to head home to warm up, shower and head out to grab lunch.

I haven’t run this race in several years (it was possibly still the Goodlife Toronto Marathon when I last ran it, back in 2015), and it’s a great route–it’s fun to run down Yonge St and Rosedale Valley Rd. For the full marathon, I do recall at a certain point (it’s been awhile since I’ve run the full in this race) the route crisscrosses like a figure 8 and reddit tells me this is still the case–so that is a bit…odd. But overall I’ve always been a fan of this race given the route. My very first marathon is actually the Goodlife Toronto Marathon in 2012 (which I can’t seem to find my race recap for, sigh).

So it’s sad to see that they haven’t improved how the race is managed. I witnessed how chaotic it was last year as I ran a few kilometres with my friend Simone, who was doing the half. Well, one improvement this year is that runners and non-runners were not walking around with literal boxes full of water, bananas and snacks like they were last year. (I suppose the opposite happened — so many runners didn’t know how to get into the area to get the post-race snacks.) I feel for the runners who did not receive a medal; I’ve read that the race organizers attributed this to a number of runners switching last minute from the full to the half and it threw off the quantities for the medals. I understand people experienced other issues along the route (including a lack of portapotties and at the water stations) but I carried my sports drink and didn’t need a washroom during the run so I can’t speak to that. (By the way, I only ran with my electrolyte drink, and no gummies or gels–mostly because I didn’t have a chance to buy some before the race; I’m probably not carbing up enough during the race–I’ll need to work on this!). 

HOW DID MY RACE GO?

I finished with a time of 1:56:03. At first, I thought this seemed incorrect, as my watch showed a time of about 30 seconds faster–but it turns out that I had auto-pause on for my app (even though I thought I had toggled it off the day before), so it paused when I stopped to talk to my friend. This time places me 27th out of 217 in my age group, 660th female out of 3,904 female runners and 2,670th out of 7,927 runners. It’s also pretty much exactly what my B goal was–not a PB, and sub-1:59.

How do I feel about that time? Initially, I decided I was just OK with it. It was what I figured I would run given how I trained. But yesterday, I remembered that many of my half times are longer than I realize yet somehow in the past few years I’ve convinced myself what is acceptable time for me for 21.1k (which is actually faster than what I’ve typically run a half distance in), so in fact, I’m actually pretty pleased with this time given that I think it indicates that I haven’t I’ve slowed down over time since I started running this distance, so if anything I’m at the same level of fitness. I actually felt good in the second half of the race–this is significant.

I’ve seen many people say they will never run this race again. I would consider it, as the route is great…but truly hope the organizers can work on the issues many runners experienced. I hope they move the finish area back to the parking lot like it used to be. I hope every runner gets the medal they worked so hard for this year.

Now, onto the next one! Just figuring out my running plans for fall 2024!

Filed under: Fitness Swellness

Tags: race recap, running, Toronto Half-Marathon, Toronto Marathon