Toronto the crabby

I heard people were getting out of cars and actually booing participants of the Toronto marathon this past weekend.

Then, I read in the newspaper this morning that the City of Toronto is asking the organizers of the two marathons that are held within weeks of each other (one sponsored by Scotiabank and one by Goodlife) to decide which one would be prepared to change its date to the spring.

Last year when I walked the Flying Pig in Cincinnati, entire neighbourhood streets would shut down and set up party tents to cheer on participants. Cars would drive by and the people inside would honk to cheer us on. There was no booing on this course.

Come on Toronto, surely we can figure out how to be home to two marathons that raise so much money for local charities, support local businesses, and help people set and achieve outstanding fitness challenges. It’s win-win-win as far as I can see.

So, here is a scene I wish for the citizens of Toronto. Cars are being stopped by a police officer who is letting the very last participant through an intersection on University Avenue. It’s a cold and blustery day for the Toronto Marathon as a guy barely shuffles up Avenue Road. He is wringing out anything that’s left of him to make it to the finish line 2 kilometers away. People in the cars stopped at the intersection are clearly frustrated at the delay. Suddenly from one of the cars, a person jumps out and cheers on the lonely runner – or walker! He cheers as loudly as possible while his friend in the passenger seat starts honking the horn in encouragement. Before the marathoner has made it to the other side of the intersection, people in cars from all four sides of the intersection are cheering wildly for him - the last participant coming through the race course. It’s a story the guy will tell for years. A story about the encouragement he got from complete strangers in Toronto.

Love to hear your thoughts on Toronto’s reaction to the two marathons closing down streets within the space of a few weeks.

Long Beach Marathon with Team Prevention

Any race with palm trees lining the route, is a good race. In Long Beach last weekend with a team of readers from Prevention magazine. the weather ended up being perfect - slightly cool and overcast. Long Beach may not be the most scenic of California towns but the race organizers have brilliantly captured the best of the city. The route visits the highlights of Long Beach including the Queen Mary which is permanently docked in LB and at least 3 miles walking along a cycle path beside the ocean. The full marathon goes through the University of California at Long Beach where the students treat each participant like an elite athlete.

It's a huge treat for me to meet readers from the magazine after months of training on their own and getting to know them on the magazine’s online forum.

http://www.prevention.com/community/forums/index.jsp?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3aTeam+Prevention+Walk+It!Forum%3a8501091424Discussion%3a5481097795&plckCurrentPage=3

The day before the race, I got a chance to walk with several of the readers during a “welcome walk”. We walked out to the start area for a little orientation – a helpful thing since it is dark when we arrive before the race. On race morning I rode a bicycle through the course dispensing encouragement, food, and fuel to Team Prevention walkers dressed in highly visible pink shirts. This worked exceptionally well because the roads were closed entirely to traffic. At each traffic light there were always at least four police officers stopping traffic. This made it easy to ride and I’m sure it makes it an A+ course for participants as well. And it shows organizer commitment to making the race an enjoyable experience right down to the very last finisher (although we’d like to see them be prepared for all their participants with medals – they ran out toward the end for half marathoners).

And at the end of the day, all the Team Pink Prevention – many of who are first-time marathoners – finished with a smile, faded memories of any early morning nerves, and, hopefully, plans for their next race!

** In LB there is no walking division, there was an early start for walkers entered in the full marathon. These participants did receive a race chip time but the results were not considered “official” times for qualification purposes.

Hamstring stretch the RIGHT way

Click on the video below to see model Lyne (in her beautiful blue WoW Power Walking coat!) demonstrating (bad and) GOOD form for your hamstring stretching.