Race preview: Sporting Life 10K Toronto

The Sporting Life 10K gets underway on Mother’s Day, this Sunday May 13, where over 20,000 participants will wind their way down Yonge Street toward the finish line on Toronto’s waterfront in support of Camp Ooch. Here’s the skinny on one of Canada’s largest road races.

Runners to Watch:
Bonsa Gonfa of Toronto will return this year to defend his podium-topping finish from last year. Gonfa’s challengers should include Adam Hortian, who placed second among Canadians runners at the 2017 Chicago Marathon, and former Around The Bay race winner Terence Attema.

On the Women’s side, back-to-back champion Brittany Moran returns to defend her title, with last year’s third place finisher Lioudmila Kortchaguina challenging Moran for number one across the line.

The Route: (course map here)
Race time is this Sunday at 7:30 am, and starts just south of the Sporting Life store at Yonge Street and Roselawn Avenue in the heart of Toronto’s Midtown, with all 20,000+ runners partitioned in waves in a staggered race start. From here, participants weave their way downhill via Yonge Street for the majority of the race, giving the Sporting Life 10K its reputation as not only one of the biggest races in Canada, but one of the fastest as well.

At about the 7K mark, runners then turn right on Richmond Street in the heart of downtown TDot, then make their way to the finish line near historic Fort York and Lake Ontario at the bottom of the city, for treats, trinkets and war-story swapping.

However, don’t necessarily take Canada’s ‘fastest’ race as synonymous with ‘easiest.’ With your adrenaline flowing and a healthy crowd of supporters cheering you on, this race can feel like a breeze for the first 7 kilometres as you cruise downhill. Take heed–the final 3K are mostly flat, but can feel like an uphill slog if you forgot about that little thing called pacing in all the excitement to this point.

The Cause: And last but certainly not least: Not only does this big, fast 10K provide a great tour through the heart of Canada’s largest city, proceeds and extensive fundraising efforts go toward sending kids with cancer to Camp Ooch, where they can just be kids again, and experience challenging, fun experiences in the heart of Muskoka, Ontario. Here’s more information on Camp Ooch and how you can donate.