By: Paul Gains
After a three year pandemic interruption the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon returns to ‘in-
person’ racing Sunday, October 16th with one of the strongest fields ever assembled on
Canadian soil.
Indeed, the Canadian All Comers’ records held by Kenya’s Philemon Rono (2:05:00) and
Magdalyne Masai (2:22:16) are in jeopardy.
Once again the event will be live streamed on several platforms beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern
with the start set for 8:45 a.m. Eastern. The links following at the bottom of the page can be
accessed on race day.
Live streaming has become an extremely popular method of delivering race coverage to fans.
During the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, for example, more than 132,000 racing fans from
79 countries tuned in to watch the event.
Once again the production team from Astrodog Media will use eight live cameras with two Moto
cameras dedicated to covering the front runners in both the elite men’s and women’s races and
another two following the leading Canadians. The 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is
once again the Canadian championship. Drone cameras plus finish line positions will enhance
the viewers’ experience.
The commentary team includes 2016 Canadian Olympian, Krista Duchene, run crew community
leader Chris Dekoning and British sports commentator Geoff Wightman. The latter has been to
Toronto several times and has been impressed with the production setup.
“I have used the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon production set up as the gold standard
example for other events and production meetings in Europe and Asia where I have been
livestream commentator,” he reveals.
“Last time here, we had a bank of monitors in front of us in the studio that were showing lead
international and lead Canadian live pictures in both men and women and we could flag any one
of them to the director when we thought something crucial was happening or about to happen.
Not many events have the camera and live picture option to do that but it is fantastic. We can
pounce on any unfolding story as it happens and nothing major gets missed.”
As a stadium announcer during the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Wightman
had the unique and mind-blowing experience of calling his son Jake’s world championships 1,500m gold medal performance. He is also Jake’s coach. Three months later he is still asked
about the moment.
“It was a wonderful memory for our family but I have already set out an outline schedule for him
for next summer,” Wightman says. “It’s time to look ahead but he has certainly fitted a year’s
worth of socialising into his two to three week break!”
Wightman admits to being an enthusiastic Toronto visitor, saying he understands why the city
tops many polls as “most desirable places to live.” On past visits he has also managed to score
Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs tickets. But those pleasures pale in comparison to
the memories of the 2019 event when both the men’s and women’s all comers records were
broken and four men came home within 13 seconds, led by Philemon Rono’s 2:05:00.
“I think 2019 had a real ‘wow’ factor about it for those reasons,” Wightman agrees. “It also
served as the trial for the Tokyo Olympics. Trevor Hofbauer and Dayna Pidhoresky made that
so exciting. It cemented TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon’s status as a fast course and
followed up on Cam Levin’s national record run the previous year for viewers.
“Whenever I think one year’s edition can’t be topped for excitement the following year, I always
sense a “hold my beer” response from Alan. He plans it all out way in advance.”
Here is where running fans may access the live stream: TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon App (will be available to download race week).
Social Media
Facebook, CBC Sports YouTube.
Athletics Canada
AthleticsCanada.tv
About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon
One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront
Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series
(CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon
Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised
over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding
principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from
Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community
through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable
communities and the city-building process.
To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit: TorontoWaterfrontMarathon.com.
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