By Paul Gains

Organizers of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon are once again excited about the upcoming marathon debut of a young Canadian runner.

The lure of winning a Canadian championship title – the national marathon championships being run concurrently with this World Athletics Elite Label race – has brought 25-year-old Andrew Alexander to the fight.

“I want to be the first Canadian to cross the line,” says the Toronto native. “I want to be at least one one-thousandth of a second ahead of the second Canadian. If the (fast) time comes with that I will be happy. But for the first marathon it’s just get this out and, if it goes well, focus on time chasing after that.”

Considering this graduate of Notre Dame University won the 2023 Canadian indoor 1,500m and 3,000m titles and then claimed the national 10,000m gold in May of this year, racing the marathon is one giant leap. Still, he has a lot of support for this challenge.

Coached by former Canadian 1,500m record holder, Dave Reid, and current Canadian 3,000m steeplechase record holder, Matt Hughes, that potential was clearly demonstrated when he won the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon in 62:44.

He has also run 10,000m on the track in 28:17.24, not world class, but encouraging for a marathon runner.

“Since I started working with them they said they thought my event would be the marathon as much as it’s painful to hear that,” he recalls with a laugh. “I thought there was no better time than now. I had completed the Olympics trials (1,500m) last summer and didn’t really have the result I was looking for. I haven’t done a marathon so let’s give this a go!”

“Toronto is as great a place as any other to start my marathon journey just because it’s home and I am familiar with it, and I have tons of people support. I am looking forward to it.”

With both Reid and Hughes often accompanying him on their bikes he has increased his training volume to around 160km a week. Whereas his longest run a year ago might be roughly 28 kilometres during this buildup for Toronto Waterfront he has added some Sunday runs of 40-43 kilometres.

“The big challenge has been getting used to the fluids and nutrition intake kind of taking it in right,” he reveals. “After the first few workouts while practicing nutrition I threw up immediately after.”

“I remember thinking to myself ‘Oh my God what have I signed up for? ’Practicing that over the last few weeks I have honed in on that and it’s going well.”

At the beginning of 2024 Reid and Hughes helped arrange a six-week altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona for their athlete – his first experience at high altitude. Alexander stayed with the Under Armour Dark Sky Group and called it a ‘gut punch’ as the acclimation took some time. Still, he believes it helped lay a base for the upcoming season.

Alexander attended Neil McNeil High School in Scarborough, Ontario – an institution where the late comedian John Candy also studied – and while running for the school he earned a place on Canada’s team for the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda.

After he had won the Ontario High School championships (OFSAA) for Neil McNeil he accepted a scholarship to Notre Dame University. Five years with the ‘Fighting Irish’ led to him coming home with a Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a Master’s in Business Management. For the moment he is focusing on his running career and has temporarily delayed a career that would utilize his education. Working part time in a specialty running store together with an online apparel store provides income.

Turning his attention once again to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon he eventually concedes having thought of a time goal for his debut – a couple of minutes on either side of 2 hours 10 minutes would be sufficient he says. But being a Canadian champion is the primary motivator.

“The national championship side of it definitely excites me,” he explains. “I have heard there is more depth on the Canadian side this year which I am super excited about. I just love the competition and competing against our Canadian guys.

By Paul Gains

While the international field for the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon has rarely been stronger the number of elite Canadian entries continues to grow. Justin Kent, who represented Canada at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, has now added his name to the medal contenders for this Canadian Championships which are run concurrently within this World Athletics Elite Label race.

Kent says he has prepared well and is looking to beat his personal best time of 2:13:07, recorded while finishing 10th in the 2023 Prague Marathon. That race led to his call-up for a place on Canada’s 2023 World Championships team with his long-time training partner, Ben Preisner (2:08:58 personal best).

“Budapest was definitely a memorable experience,” Kent remembers, “Having my team-mate Ben there, and we ran kind of side by side which was really cool. It was pretty special. You get to wear that Canadian singlet longer than in any other event. It was awesome.”

“It was hot so Ben and I had pretty strict orders to run conservatively the first half then swallow up as many bodies as we could in the second half. I still have this sensation of us – it felt like we just hopped into the race that last ten kilometres as we were going by guys that were just zombies because they were so depleted. We were like 80th at halfway and we ended up 27th (Preisner) and 29th.”

Preisner will be in Toronto alongside his friend as he has offered pacemaking duties. The pair will no doubt bring that common sense approach to the race taking the weather conditions into account. During this buildup Kent has been encouraged by the fact both coach Richard Lee and Preisner have seen workouts that indicate Kent is more than capable of running around 2:10.

Only nine Canadians have gone under 2:11 and just four have beaten the 2:10 barrier.

“I don’t necessarily want to get ahead of myself. I have definitely learned the hard way of being too ambitious,” Kent says. But I know, definitely, I am the fittest I have ever been. It depends on the weather and the pacing.”

“There is a pace group (going for) 2:10 I’d like to be maybe a little bit quicker the first half and see what I can do that would set me up well to run in the 2:10’s. That’s easier said than done.”

Kent will also be accompanied in Toronto by his wife of two years, 800m runner Lindsey Butterworth, who represented Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and their four-month-old daughter, Willa.

With a family to support Kent continues to do coaching work with Mile2Marathon which he views as a chance to connect to the running community. His main source of income, however, is working as a marketing specialist for a Vancouver-based startup company called Stoko, which manufactures supportive apparel used to overcome injuries.

“I am in the office four days a week. They are flexible with my hours to get my training in or sneak out early to get my training in,” he explains. “I have been with the company for just coming up to a year.”

Meanwhile Butterworth is on maternity leave from her job as a community health specialist for Fraser Health Authority. She is back running and will, in fact, compete in the Toronto Waterfront 5km.

As for his objectives with this year’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Kent recognizes that a national championship offers bonus World Athletics points used in the qualification for next year’s World Championships in Tokyo. The automatic qualifying standard in the men’s marathon has been lowered to 2:06:30

“Definitely I think with the new standard of 2:06:30 a lot of guys are going to be trying to get bonus points at races,” he concedes. “I think that is more my aim this whole build is to win a national championship. I think the (fast) time will come with that.”

“I haven’t thought too much beyond October 20th. I know if I can run well it would give me a great opportunity to make the team next year. But the main goal is still to come away with a national title or at least contend for one.”

By Paul Gains

As the newly-appointed manager of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Elite Athlete Hospitality Program Reid Coolsaet brings much experience from his years as a world-class marathoner. Of course, it also helps that the Canada Running Series team has earned a solid reputation for taking care of the Canadian contingent as well as the international stars.

Winning a national championship earns World Athletics bonus points – something which Coolsaet was able to impress upon the entries – and, with the qualifying for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo open, this is no small carrot.

Among those who have been drawn to Toronto Waterfront this year is Canadian women’s record holder, Natasha Wodak (2:23:12) who finished a credible 13th in the Tokyo Olympics. That was her second time as an Olympian. Despite all her success Wodak has never won the national marathon title.

“What we are thinking is that if I win, and run decently in Toronto, it’s really good points and I don’t need to run the (qualifying) standard,” she admits. “I then could possibly run a marathon in Japan in early March.”

Wodak turned 42 this year but continues to be an international-class performer. Further, she is an inspiration to others who are reaching the age when retirement is normally a consideration including 37-year-old Leslie Sexton. Indeed, Sexton ran her personal best this past January finishing 8th at the Houston Marathon in 2:28:14. That makes her the fifth fastest Canadian of all time.

“I will be looking to run a competitive time, something to maximize those Canadian championship points,” Sexton said last month, “but not necessarily going for a personal best this time. I will have to see how the training goes.”

Two years ago she and her partner and coach, Steve Weiler moved to Vancouver where he is the lead endurance and cross country coach at the University of British Columbia. Sexton coaches the post-secondary endurance runners outside the varsity program.

As a much sought out coach Coolsaet has a number of elite Canadians under his wing including Erin Mawhinney, who will make her debut in Toronto. At 28, this Hamilton, Ontario full-time, home and palliative care nurse was racing on the track last year but after winning the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon – which covers the first half of the full marathon – she is now ready to challenge herself over the full distance.

“I’d like to have a controlled race. I am hoping to be able to stick with a reasonable pace group and then hit 30k feeling I can respond to the people around me,” she says. I really don’t want to hit 30k in a massive deficit because I just think, for the first one, you don’t want to have a traumatizing experience. I think going out on the conservative side will probably be better.”

Anticipating the physical toll her first marathon might exact upon her Mawhinney has booked the day after the race off.

Other leading Canadian names are Rachel Hannah (2:32:09 pb) of Toronto, and Quebec’s Anne Marie Comeau. Hannah earned the 2015 Pan Am Games marathon bronze medal and was 3rd in the 2024 Ottawa Marathon while Comeau represented

Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing. Distance running had been a huge part of her cross-country ski training but she is now absorbed in distance running.

A year ago she finished 11th in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon (2:34:51) in what was her first serious marathon attempt. More recently she finished 3rd in the Canadian Half Marathon Championships in Winnipeg and also won the Montreal Half Marathon.

The men’s field is led by 31-year-old Tristan Woodfine whose personal best of 2:10:39, recorded in Houston earlier this year, makes him 7th fastest Canadian of all time – right behind his coach, Reid Coolsaet.

Woodfine is a quality runner who lives just outside Eganville, in Eastern Ontario. After graduating from the Ontario Health and Technology College, he has put his career as an emergency first responder on hold while pursuing his running objectives. A growing online coaching business helps pay the bills.

He has twice won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half marathon. “I talked to Reid about trying to qualify for Tokyo 2025,” he reveals. “I have had a few sit-downs (with him). I’d get a fair amount of points with another good performance with a strong time. A solid finish in Toronto would put me in a good position.”

While Woodfine has twice gone under 2 hours 11 minutes and has a wealth of experience, Vancouver’s Justin Kent appears poised to step into that territory. His personal best of 2:13:07 – which came while finishing 10th in the 2023 Prague Marathon – is certainly not indicative of his potential. That Prague result earned him a place on Canada’s 2023 World Championship team. He finished 29th in his first World Championships.

Of the upcoming TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Kent exudes quiet confidence. “I don’t necessarily want to get ahead of myself. I have definitely learned the hard way of being too ambitious,” Kent says. “But I know, definitely, I am the fittest I have ever been. It depends on the weather and the pacing.”

“There is a pace group (going for) 2:10 I’d like to be maybe a little bit quicker the first half and see what I can do that would set me up to run in the 2:10’s.”

The youngest of the medal contenders, both 25 years of age, Vancouver’s Thomas Broatch and Andrew Alexander of Toronto, will be the subject of intense interest. The former is the defending Canadian champion having won here a year ago in his marathon debut. In January 2024 he finished 7th in Houston recording a new personal best of 2:11:54.

“I know the Toronto Waterfront course is pretty quick, the organization is great and they give us a good chance to run a fast time,” Broatch says. “So, I definitely would like to improve my Houston time. I think going under 2:11 and getting into that 2:10 club would be a pretty good result. I would be quite happy with that.”

Meanwhile, Alexander, who is jointly coached by former Canadian 1,500m record holder, Dave Reid and current Canadian 3,000m steeplechase record holder, Matt

Hughes, is excited about making his debut at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. And he is also brimming with confidence.

“I want to be the first Canadian to cross the line,” Alexander declares boldly. “ I want to be at least one one-thousandth of a second ahead of the second Canadian. If the (fast) time comes with that I will be happy. But for the first marathon it’s just get this out and, if it goes well, focus on time-chasing after that.”

The winner of the Canadian Championship earns $8,000 and if he or she manages to get inside the top eight overall there is more prize money to be had. And of course, a fast time is amplified in terms of World Athletics points. The competition promises to be epic.

By Paul Gains

Racing the 42.2km marathon distance for the first time is sure to cause nerves. When Erin Mawhinney makes her debut at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 20th though she will do so with the confidence of having experienced at least part of the course.

A year ago the now 28-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon which covers the first half of the World Athletics Elite Label race. More recently, in June 2024, she won the Under Armour Toronto 10K for the second consecutive year. It too covers a stretch of the Toronto Waterfront marathon course.

She admits to being ‘excited’ by the upcoming task.

“I won (the half marathon) last year which was kind of a surprise for me. So I got a taste of the course there,” she recalls.

“It was windy and there’s a part of the course where the marathoners and half marathoners separate. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t think I could ever do the full thing’. Apparently it’s fine, so we will see.”

Mawhinney laughs at her statement. Since that day she has increased her weekly training volume up to 190km. That is with the help of her coach, two-time Canadian Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet. Considering she was still running the occasional 1,500m on the track last year she is grateful for his advice.

The choice of Toronto Waterfront for her debut was a natural one being so close to her home. Also coach Coolsaet ran the race six times in his career and finished an incredible 3rd place in 2011.

“I am really excited,” she continues. “I have seen some of Reid’s other athletes approach (the marathon) and the training they have had to do to prepare. So, I got a sneak peak of what it will be like. I am excited to try the full thing.”

Besides being a world-class race the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon will once again serve as the Canadian Marathon Championships. As Reid Coolsaet has had a hand in helping put the Canadian field together she is aware of the strong competition she faces. Nevertheless, she intends to run cautiously.

“Anytime I get to run a Canadian championship, at any distance, is a great opportunity,” Mawhinney says. “This year it just so happened that it works out for people’s schedules that basically all of Canada’s top marathoners have chosen to sign up for Toronto. It hasn’t been like that in previous years.

“I’d like to have a controlled race. I am hoping to be able to stick with a reasonable pace group and then hit 30k feeling I can respond to the people around me. I really don’t want to hit 30k in a massive deficit because I just think, for the first one, you don’t want to have a traumatizing experience. I think going out on the conservative side will probably be better.”

An apparent expert in time management Mawhinney graduated from McMaster University’s Master of Nursing program in 2023 while making a name for herself in Canadian road racing simultaneously. Working full time has helped keep her life balanced. She doesn’t sit around waiting for her next workout.

“Right now I am working for a home healthcare company. I have taken on an additional role as a medication and IV specialist,” she explains. “Occasionally, I will work an overnight job at the hospital but my full-time job is this medication and IV specialist at the home healthcare company. Most of our clients are palliative care clients.”

The emotional stress of caring for patients in the last weeks or months of their lives counters the physical exertion of running such high volumes. But she laughs when asked if she is prepared for the aftermath of competing at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

“Yes, I did anticipate having some problems walking the next day just based on how I felt after some 40k long runs,” she admits with a laugh. “I booked the morning off (after Toronto Waterfront) so I can hobble around painfully for that morning.”