Men’s course record
2:05:00
Philemon Rono · 2019
- Average pace
- 2:58 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- −0.01 %
Toronto Waterfront Marathon
Toronto, Canada The third Sunday in October Founded 2000
Canada's biggest marathon spends most of the morning on the shore of Lake Ontario.
Overview
7,538 people finished Toronto in 2025, more than any marathon in Canada has had, and the 2026 race sold out at 9,500. It doubles as the national championship and has twice been the Olympic trial. Both of its course records are the fastest marathons ever run in the country.
The course starts on Yonge Street, runs up to Bloor and west past Yorkville, then drops to Lake Ontario. From there it's a waterfront race: out west along Lake Shore Boulevard to a turn near Humber Bay, back past the harbourfront, through Corktown and the Distillery District, and east to the Beach before coming home to finish on Bay Street by City Hall.
The hills are at the ends. The first 6.0 km climb to the course's high point on Bloor and then lose 34 m to the lake; the last 2.0 km climb back up Bay Street. In between, for 25 kilometres, the course never leaves a band about ten metres deep.
The course starts on Yonge Street, runs up to Bloor and west past Yorkville, then drops to Lake Ontario. From there it's a waterfront race: out west along Lake Shore Boulevard to a turn near Humber Bay, back past the harbourfront, through Corktown and the Distillery District, and east to the Beach before coming home to finish on Bay Street by City Hall.
The hills are at the ends. The first 6.0 km climb to the course's high point on Bloor and then lose 34 m to the lake; the last 2.0 km climb back up Bay Street. In between, for 25 kilometres, the course never leaves a band about ten metres deep.
- When
- The 2026 Toronto Waterfront Marathon is on Sunday, 18 October 2026, starting at 8:00am local time on Yonge Street near Elm Street.
- Course
- Toronto's course climbs 152 m in all, with its lowest point at 75 m and its highest at 114 m.
- Entry
- Entry to Toronto is first come, first served (sold out for 2026).
- Field
- The 2026 Toronto Waterfront Marathon has a marathon field of 9,500.
- Weather
- Across 26 years, Toronto's race-day temperature has a median of 10.2 °C.
- Records
- The Toronto Waterfront Marathon course records are 2:05:00 (Philemon Rono, 2019) and 2:20:44 (Waganesh Mekasha, 2024).
- Time limit
- Toronto's time limit is 6 hours.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Toronto Waterfront Marathon
Canada's biggest marathon spends most of the morning on the shore of Lake Ontario. Yonge Street → Bay Street at City Hall, Toronto, Canada.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
- Ascent
- 152 m
- Descent
- 165 m
- Net
- −13 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · a GPX of the 2025 course from the new Yonge Street start, which the organiser's 2026 map repeats · NRCan CDEM · smoothed 100 m 75–114 m
—
0.08.416.825.233.642.0
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
Nearly all of the shape is in the first six kilometres. From the start at 101 m the course climbs Yonge Street and runs west along Bloor to its high point, 114 m at 3.0 km. Then it turns south down Bathurst Street and falls to the lake. The steepest kilometre of the race loses 16 m from 4.8 km, and by 6.0 km the course has lost 34 m in all.
Then it flattens out. From 6.0 km to 31.0 km, out along Lake Shore Boulevard, back along the harbourfront and through Corktown, the course stays within about 10 m. It sits between 75 m and 86 m, with the low point at 30.2 km near Coxwell Avenue.
Two climbs remain. The steepest climbing kilometre, 10 m from 31.3 km, lifts the course from Lake Shore Boulevard into the Beach, to 89 m at the turn on Queen Street East. The finish is uphill. From 77 m at 40.2 km the course climbs 10 m up to Bay Street and City Hall, finishing 13 m below where it started. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and the course comes out about level with a flat 42.195 km.
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying NRCan CDEM elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
NRCan CDEM, a GPX of the 2025 course from the new Yonge Street start, which the organiser's 2026 map repeats, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/marathons/toronto/ · checked 2026-09-24
How to enter: dates and fees
Entry is first come, first served through the organiser's site, with no ballot and no waitlist. The marathon, half and 5K have all sold out for 2026, so the only way into the 2026 race now is a tour-operator package. For 2027, enter soon after registration opens. The fee appears only inside the registration form, which is why it isn't listed here.
Already have a 2026 place and can't run? You can transfer it once, for $10, to another runner or to another distance with room. The race's charity programme lets runners raise money for more than 165 charities, but it doesn't come with a place.
Already have a 2026 place and can't run? You can transfer it once, for $10, to another runner or to another distance with room. The race's charity programme lets runners raise money for more than 165 charities, but it doesn't come with a place.
History
Alan Brookes and the Canada Running Series built Toronto's marathon to give Canada a big-city race of its own, and in his words to make Toronto feel like Boston. It was first run in 2000, with about 600 finishers.
It grew into the country's elite race. It received the IAAF Gold Label in 2015, has hosted the Canadian Marathon Championships every year since, and was the Canadian Olympic trial in 2019 and 2023. Canada's men's and women's records have both been set here.
Ed Whitlock made age-group running a spectator sport here. He ran the first sub-three-hour marathon by anyone over seventy in 2003, and a sub-four at eighty-five in 2016. In 2025 the start moved from University Avenue to Yonge Street, for World Cup construction, and a record 7,538 finished.
It grew into the country's elite race. It received the IAAF Gold Label in 2015, has hosted the Canadian Marathon Championships every year since, and was the Canadian Olympic trial in 2019 and 2023. Canada's men's and women's records have both been set here.
Ed Whitlock made age-group running a spectator sport here. He ran the first sub-three-hour marathon by anyone over seventy in 2003, and a sub-four at eighty-five in 2016. In 2025 the start moved from University Avenue to Yonge Street, for World Cup construction, and a record 7,538 finished.
- 2000First edition — about 600 finishers, and a win for Kenya's Joseph Nderitu in 2:19:41
- 2003Ed Whitlock, 72, runs 2:59:10 — the first marathon under three hours by anyone over seventy
- 2006Whitlock, 75, sets the world best for his age group, 3:08:35
- 2008Kenneth Mungara begins a run of four straight wins, still the most by any man
- 2011Fauja Singh finishes at a claimed age of 100; without a birth certificate, the record is never ratified
- 2013Lanni Marchant runs 2:28:00 for a Canadian record, breaking a mark that had stood since 1985
- 2015The race receives the IAAF Gold Label and becomes the home of the Canadian Marathon Championships
- 2016Whitlock, 85, finishes in about 3:56 — the oldest person to run a marathon under four hours
- 2018On a near-freezing morning, Cam Levins breaks Jerome Drayton's 43-year-old Canadian record with 2:09:25 in his debut
- 2019Philemon Rono runs 2:05:00, the fastest marathon ever run in Canada, and the race doubles as the Olympic trial
- 2020No in-person race for the pandemic, and none again in 2021
- 2022The race returns with a new title sponsor, and Yihunilign Adane wins in 2:07:18
- 2023The Olympic trial again, in a wind that ends any hope of records; the women's race is decided by one second
- 2024Waganesh Mekasha runs 2:20:44, the fastest women's marathon ever run in Canada
- 2025The start moves to Yonge Street, and a record 7,538 finish
- 202618 October, sold out at 9,500
200020102020
Course records
Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.
Women’s course record
2:20:44
Waganesh Mekasha · 2024
- Average pace
- 3:20 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- −0.01 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 8:00am
- 3:30pm
- Time limit
- 6h
Since 2025 the start has been on Yonge Street near Elm Street, facing north; construction for the World Cup pushed it off University Avenue. The finish is a few blocks south-west, on Bay Street just north of Queen, beside Old City Hall. Everything else, from bag check to food and the help desk, is at Nathan Phillips Square, and bag check opens at 6:00am.
The subway doesn't open until 8:00am on Sundays, the moment the gun goes, and that catches visitors out. The organiser points runners to the Yonge and Bloor buses instead. Daylight time has two more weeks to run, so there's no clock change to worry about.
Aid stations sit about every three kilometres, with electrolyte drink and gels at marked stations. Pace groups run from 3:00 to 6:00. Streetcar tracks cross the course in several places, Bathurst, Queen and King among them, and the organiser lists them as hazards. So are the Spadina flyover and the Eastern Avenue bridge over the Don Valley Parkway, which the course crosses out and back.
The subway doesn't open until 8:00am on Sundays, the moment the gun goes, and that catches visitors out. The organiser points runners to the Yonge and Bloor buses instead. Daylight time has two more weeks to run, so there's no clock change to worry about.
Aid stations sit about every three kilometres, with electrolyte drink and gels at marked stations. Pace groups run from 3:00 to 6:00. Streetcar tracks cross the course in several places, Bathurst, Queen and King among them, and the organiser lists them as hazards. So are the Spadina flyover and the Eastern Avenue bridge over the Don Valley Parkway, which the course crosses out and back.
The morning, hour by hour
- 6:00am
- Bag check opens, Nathan Phillips Square
- 7:57am
- Elite wheelchairs
- 8:00am
- Red, elite and yellow corrals
- 8:20am
- Blue corral
- 8:45am
- Green corral
- 9:00am
- Purple corral 1
- 9:15am
- Purple corral 2
- 9:25am
- Orange corral · walkers
- 3:30pm
- Course closes
The organiser's 2026 event information. Toronto has no intermediate cut-offs. The limit is six hours; runners outside it are asked onto the sidewalk to finish as pedestrians, and they still get a medal at the finish.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 10.2 °C
- Warm years
- 4 of 26
- Wet years
- 4 of 26
Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Toronto course flat?
Flat in the middle, with its shape at the ends. The first six kilometres rise to 114 m on Bloor Street and then drop 34 m to the lake; the last two climb 10 m up Bay Street. In between, for 25 km along the waterfront and through Corktown, the course stays within a band about 10 m deep. Its many small rises, underpasses and bridges still add up, and the whole course climbs 152 m, about twice Berlin.
Natural Resources Canada CDEM, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed ratio 1.59.
Is the finish uphill?
Yes, gently. From 77 m near the lake at 40.2 km the course climbs 10 m over the last two kilometres to finish on Bay Street at City Hall. It isn't steep, but it comes when nothing else is left, and it's the stretch the organiser's own hazard list singles out.
This site's course line; the organiser lists the Bay Street incline as a course hazard.
Can I take the subway to the Yonge Street start?
Not if you want to be there on time. The subway opens at 8:00am on Sundays, the same minute the race starts. The organiser recommends the Yonge and Bloor buses. The start is on Yonge Street near Elm, and bag check is at Nathan Phillips Square, a short walk south-west, from 6:00am.
The organiser's 2026 event information.
Is there any way into the 2026 race now?
Only through a tour-operator package. Every distance is sold out and there's no waitlist. A runner who already holds a place can transfer it once, for $10. For 2027, plan to enter soon after registration opens.
The organiser's registration pages, checked September 2026.
Is it fast enough for a record?
The course records, 2:05:00 and 2:20:44, are the fastest marathons ever run in Canada, and Canada's men's and women's records have both been set here. It's record-eligible too: it loses 13 m net against a World Athletics limit of about 42 m, and its start and finish are 1,015 m apart.
Yonge Street to Bay Street on this site's course line, set against World Athletics Competition Rule 31.21.
What was special about Ed Whitlock?
He made Toronto the place where age-group records fall. In 2003, at 72, he ran 2:59:10 here, the first marathon under three hours by anyone over seventy. In 2016, at 85, he finished in about 3:56, the oldest person ever to break four hours.
Race history; Whitlock's 2016 time is reported variously to the second.
What is the weather like?
Changeable. Mid-October mornings by the lake are usually cool, but editions have ranged from near freezing to warm and humid, as in 2025. Cam Levins broke the Canadian record on a cold morning in 2018. Plan for wind off the lake on the long Lake Shore stretches.
ERA5 reanalysis, 1995–2025, and race reports.
How many people run it?
The 2026 marathon is capped at 9,500 and sold out. In 2025, 7,538 finished, more than any marathon in Canada had had before.
Organiser figures for the 2026 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 10.2 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 26 years, which have run from 3.8 °C to 20.2 °C. 4 of the 26 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
Can I use a time here to qualify for Boston?
Toronto is certified and loses 13 m net, so the B.A.A.'s downhill adjustment, which begins at 1,500 ft, never applies. Save something for the end: the last two kilometres climb 10 m up Bay Street.
Net drop −13 m from this site's course line; 2027 adjustment None. Certification elite label: World Athletics Elite Label; host of the Canadian Marathon Championships.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from NRCan CDEM, sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 1.59. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.
0 missing samples · 2 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 8
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | Third-party GPX for the 2025 edition, the first from the new Yonge Street start; the organiser's 2026 map shows the same route and kilometre markers. The file measures 42.158 km, 0.09 % short, from 927 points; our resampled line measures 42.006 km. Archived with its hash in data/raw/sources. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation | Natural Resources Canada's CDEM, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed gain ratio 1.59. Two spans the model read from underneath were straightened between their ends: the stretch under the Gardiner Expressway at 18 km, and Eastern Avenue at 26 km. The Eastern Avenue bridge over the Don Valley Parkway humps more than a straight line, so its climb is slightly under-counted here. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation, independent check | The organiser's 2025 course map gives an estimated cumulative rise of 138 m. We measure 152 m, about 10 % more, with the high point in the same place, on Bloor Street between 2 and 3 km. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, 1995–2025 at the Yonge Street start, 08:00–14:00 local, sampled on the third Sunday in October. That rule has matched every race since 2018, but earlier editions moved around — several before 2011 were run in late September — so samples before 2018 describe mid-October in Toronto rather than always the race itself. 2010, 2012 and 2017, when the race was on another known date, are excluded, with 2020 and 2021, when there was no race. | 2026-09-24 |
| Course records | Philemon Rono 2:05:00 (2019) and Waganesh Mekasha 2:20:44 (2024), both also the fastest marathons run in Canada. The 2025 winners, Leonard Langat 2:08:04 and Shure Demise 2:21:03, broke neither. | 2026-09-24 |
| Entry and field | First come, first served; every distance sold out for 2026, with a marathon cap of 9,500. 7,538 finished in 2025 and 6,268 in 2024, each then the most for a marathon in Canada. The entry fee is published only inside the registration form. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race day | The organiser's 2026 event information: wheelchairs 7:57am, corrals 8:00–9:25am, course closing 3:30pm, a six-hour limit, bag check at Nathan Phillips Square, aid about every 3 km. | 2026-09-24 |
| Record eligibility | World Athletics Competition Rules, Book C, Part III — Competition Rule 31.21: a record course may lose no more than 1 m per kilometre, and its start and finish may be no more than 21.098 km apart. Toronto loses 13.0 m overall — 0.31 m per kilometre — and its start and finish are 1,015 m apart. Inside both. | 2026-09-24 |
Until the Toronto Waterfront Marathon · 18 Oct 2026
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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