Good luck you ATB'ers. I hope the weather is wonderful!

I just got back from a long weekend in MA to visit family and now I'm off tomorrow to California for a triathlon training weekend with some gals from another forum. I can't believe I'm flying across the country to meet a bunch of people I only know from the internet. We'll be running and biking in the mountainss northeast of LA. I just hope I can hang with them all for more than 1 mile! I'm really excited about it. I get 4 whole days to myself - Woo Hoo!

D.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by tired and sore:
Help : I' m thinking of running one of the half marathons this fall in Toronto. Could any one give some advice as to which of the two might be the nicer run. Thanks a lot .
Running distinctly in Quebec<HR>

Both the Waterfront Half Marathon September 24th and the Toronto Marathon in October have their pros and cons.

The Waterfront in September can be hot and humid. It's pretty flat as you do a couple of out and backs and the Lake Ontario waterfront. The first out and back is underneath an elevated expressway and is a bit ugly, but a really good band near the first hairpin gets good echos off the overpass. Yes, there are a few good bands playing on this course. The out and back to the west is pretty nice as you pass Ontario Place and the dockfronts, but not a lot of shade if it's sunny out. You can see the leaders sprint by you going the other way eventually (unless your doing a sub 1:10 half ). About 5,000 runners in the half. Finishes and starts in the heart of the Toronto downtown.

The Toronto Half Marathon on October 15th usually has cool and windy weather. It's a net downhill with a large 660M hill at about the 4K mark. Also the last 2K is a gradual uphill from the waterfront. It's starts in the north part of the city (your on your own to get to the start line, a hassle since the subway don't start until after the race start, or return to it if you left your car there.) and goes down the main Toronto drag, Yonge St. which is mostly small business, condos, before you veer off down a nice forested street. Then you hit a ugly industrial area before ending up underneath the small expressway as the Waterfront marathon. You finish going up to the Ontario Parliament building with a long half kilometer 3/4 lap around the ring road, which means you don't see the finish line until your about 50M away. About 4,000 in the half for this race.

Not many spectators for either race. I slightly like the Waterfront Marathon better.

I think griz said last week of April, so plenty o' time yet.

Looks like over 4200 registered for the ATB 30k. I may have to arrive earlier than normal to get a parking spot.

I think the Waterfront race usually has better weather, though last year was a bit of an aberration. I didn't notice the humidity as much that day (I didn't run the half) although I would say that the weather for the later race was just perfect.

You're going to run a faster time at the Waterfront race because it's pancake flat, and the logistics are much better.

Hello from Valyermo, CA. I'm at a triathlon training camp up in the mountains northeast of LA. We did a 1 hour trail run yesterday and then a 2 1/2 hour hard ride. Whew! My legs were toast by the end of it. I did half my weekly workout volume in one day. This will be a great jump start to my longer training days.

This place is stunning. Mountains to the west and desert to the east. Very peaceful. There are 9 other women here along with a handful of guys. Lots of fun, lots of training, lots of wine and good food.

Back to reality on Monday, so I'm going to enjoy every minute while I'm here. I'll post some pics when I get back.

Dawn

Hey Dawn, I'm in California too...and I can't see you.Maybe I was looking the wrong way. I'm just south of San Fran....wave at 11 am and I might be able to pick you out.

I have done some hiking in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, but nada on the running. At my cousins house there are 12% grades regardless of the direction you go...and they are simply too steep to run either up or down...Hogg's Hollow on the Toronto Marathon is 6%...12% looks like a wall in front of you. I was out for a walk and it hurt to walk down.

BTW...I much prefer the Toronto Half to the Scotiabank.
I like running down Yonge St...and the downhill on Rosedale Valley lets me think I'm fast. The final K's up University seem streeper than they are.

Yeah, it was an awesome day. I ran 17 today in the Don Valley, it was great to be able to wear shorts.

How did everyone do at Around the Bay? The results show that it was a great finish, two guys finished a second apart. I tried looking up Jim, but I don't know his last name.

Yep, it's on the Sportstats website.

http://sportstats.ca/res2006/march2006.htm[/URL" target="_blank">