Toronto Marathon

[Doug Freese]

A friend is going to run the Toronto Marathon in October. I looked on
web page for some elevation numbers or words but nothing. Can anyone
tell me what the course is like with regards to elevation?

-DougF

[jobin@remove-deez-words.hotmail.com.edu]

Doug Freese <dfreese@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
> A friend is going to run the Toronto Marathon in October. I looked on
> web page for some elevation numbers or words but nothing. Can anyone
> tell me what the course is like with regards to elevation?

Doug,

Where did you look?

Check out:
http://www.runtoronto.com/coursemarathon.html

They have the map and elevation. Looks pretty flat for the first 30K,
and then downhill a bit.

jobs

[frank-in-toronto]

On Sat, 2 Apr 2005 00:52:35 +0000 (UTC),
jobin@remove-deez-words.hotmail.com.edu wrote:

>Doug Freese <dfreese@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
>> A friend is going to run the Toronto Marathon in October. I looked on
>> web page for some elevation numbers or words but nothing. Can anyone
>> tell me what the course is like with regards to elevation?
>
>Doug,
>
>Where did you look?
>
>Check out:
>http://www.runtoronto.com/coursemarathon.html
>
>They have the map and elevation. Looks pretty flat for the first 30K,
>and then downhill a bit.
the incline just after 20K has an aid station at the top. the
downhill after 32K goes into a wooded area. very nice.
and it finishes with a gradual up-hill. not tough.

the first 15K are deadly boring. and last year very windy/cold.
your friend should dress for the weather. last year quite
a few cases of hypothermia. also, there are plenty of
places to pull off and pee for the first 20K so don't
worry too much about getting it just right.
....thehick

[SwStudio]

<jobin@remove-deez-words.hotmail.com.edu> wrote in message
news:d2kqcj$7k$1@glue.ucr.edu...
> Doug Freese <dfreese@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
>> A friend is going to run the Toronto Marathon in October. I looked on
>> web page for some elevation numbers or words but nothing. Can anyone
>> tell me what the course is like with regards to elevation?
>
> Doug,
>
> Where did you look?
>
> Check out:
> http://www.runtoronto.com/coursemarathon.html
>
> They have the map and elevation. Looks pretty flat for the first 30K,
> and then downhill a bit.
>
> jobs
>


Those elevation maps are so misleading.

I've done this race three times - only completed it once. Dropped
out at around 30km the next two (broken shoulder, bad weather).

This is how it is:

The first 5k is sort of the hardest, in many ways. It's almost never
flat. Constant light, rolling hills. Some people like this. I don't like
that much of it. It's hard to get a groove going right away.

The second 5k is a little less hilly, but the tail end runs through a
park on a path that is quite twisty, with a few unsure footing places
like (often) wet wooden bridges peppered around. Too many
turns.

It's pretty flat and then even a little downhill as you run the next
10km. You pass the start line again at about 18km - a very big
"around the block". At the end of this is downhill I mentioned.
You're snaking down Yonge street at this point.

At exactly halfway is a pretty big hill. It's big enough to be a
factor in your finish time. Here's me running up it in 2002. At
the time I was in the top 30 or so:

http://www.absolutelyaccurate.com/halfway.jpg

After that, it's more or less flat until arounf the 30k point, where
you run down a short-ish but steep hill that trashes your quads.

From then on it's flat, uneventful and boring, with few spectators,
until things start picking up again in the final few km's with a lot
of people around. The last 2km or so is slightly uphill, but feels
like you are climbing a mountain. On any other day it looks
sort of flat.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON)
www.absolutelyaccurate.com - director
Southern Ontario's Summer Race Series!

[Scorn B Woe]

Like we'd believe YOU have a friend. Good one...

[Doug Freese]

<jobin@remove-deez-words.hotmail.com.edu> wrote in message
news:d2kqcj$7k$1@glue.ucr.edu...
> Where did you look?

Jobs, obviuosly I had my eyes closed. :) I see it thanks

-Doug