Malindi Elmore to race TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

The fastest Canadian female marathoner in history will be racing on Canadian soil this fall. Malindi Elmore has announced that she will be running the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 16. 

Enticed by the opportunity to lower her Canadian record, she is attracted to the fast and flat course on home soil. Elmore set the Canadian record with her 2:24:50 clocking at the 2020 Houston Marathon in what was only her second marathon.

“I definitely feel I haven’t had my best race yet,” Elmore said in a press release. “I think it’s going to line up with the perfect conditions to put together a fantastic build. That’s why I am excited to do Toronto.”

Although she lives and trains 5,000 kilometres away in Kelowna, Elmore knows that Toronto always attracts a high-calibre field. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon has earned the distinguished World Athletics Elite Label, which puts the race alongside some of the world’s top marathons.

Elmore will not only have her eyes on achieving a personal best but also the Canadian women’s all-comers record of 2:22:16, held by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai from the last time the marathon took place in 2019.

A year ago, Elmore finished ninth in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Only Canada’s Silvia Ruegger has finished higher in an Olympic marathon. (Ruegger was eighth at the boycotted 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, which was the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon, won by Joan Benoit.)

“It was really special to finish in the top 10 in the Olympics,” she said about her marathon achievement. She followed up her Olympic performance with an 11th place finish at the 2022 Boston Marathon in 2:27:58, the fastest time at Boston by a Canadian woman. 

“I do want to put together a really good buildup for Toronto,” said Elmore. “I would like to be able to get to the fitness level I had leading into Boston and Tokyo (Sapporo), and I hope that would put me below my Canadian record and PB.”

“Another goal, absolutely, I want to get on the podium. I would love to win a race. It’s fun to be the first person across the line.”

Beyond excited to race a marathon on Canadian soil with friends and family on course to give me extra motivation! Thanks so much @RunCRS for the opportunity!!! https://t.co/twtWBsgcv7

— Malindi Elmore (she/her) (@MalindiElmore) August 2, 2022

Elmore has currently been training at 150 kilometres a week alone, although Canadian Olympic triathlete Joanna Brown has jumped in for long runs. Another training partner of Elmore’s is the 2019 Canadian marathon champion and Tokyo Olympian Trevor Hofbauer, who lives two kilometres from Elmore, and who runs with her on easy days (and who will also be racing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October).

Since 2017, the Toronto Waterfront Marathon has served as the Athletics Canada Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities.