Canada Running Series makes big changes to 2016 race scene

Runners planning their spring races already will notice that there have been a couple of significant changes for 2016. The Toronto Yonge Street 10K is evolving into The Toronto Waterfront 10K with the race running along the edge of the lake and the Spring Run-Off has a new sponsor: Race Roster.

The Yonge Street 10K

The Toronto Yonge Street 10K will move down to the water. The course is pending approval right now but should look similar to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. It will start at the same spot, move down university to the lake and run west past the Canadian National Exhibition and turn around to finish at Coronation Park on the water.

The course will not be the only thing to change: The date is being shifted from April to either June 25 or 26. The changes are being made by Canada Running Series both the spread out the race calendar and to acknowledge Toronto mayor John Tory’s concerns around downtown traffic. According to director Alan Brookes, these changes “sprung up through the mayor’s commission.”

Because there are three major downtown Toronto running events that happen within just a few weeks of each other in early spring, the city of Toronto wanted to spread the events out and shift courses away from the bottle-necked downtown core.

This year, the Yonge Street 10K ran on April 19 with the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon events happening on May 3. The Sporting Life 10K took place on May 10.

“What the commission did was they went to the three races and said ‘Who will help us sort out the calendar?'” says Brookes.

Brookes also says that these changes give them the chance to tie the 10K in with the fall marathon. He says that he plans on organizing crew challenges that link the spring 10K to the fall marathon.

“I think it’s really positive in the end,” he says. “It will be good for the running community to spread things out.”

Race Roster Spring Run-Off

After 10 years, Harry Rosen is ending their role as title sponsor of the Harry’s Spring Run-Off in Toronto with Race Roster taking their place.

The race was the first one hosted by Canada Running Series with an 8K and 5K loop running through the city’s High Park. Next year’s race is going to be its 38th running.

“They were marvelous, marvelous partners who brought us to the modern era,” says Brookes who also says that Harry Rosen is shifting towards golfing events now.

Over the years, the Spring Run-Off has had a few different sponsors, each bringing a new tradition to the early-spring race. In the early days, runners were awarded with bottles of maple syrup and pancake breakfasts to promote Archie McPhee’s local farm. That tradition still exists.

With Harry Rosen as sponsor, runners were challenged to a “Best Dressed” contest every single year. That contest has become a major part of the race’s identity and according to Brookes, it will still be happening in 2016.

With the Race Roster as sponsor, the 2016 event is going to see a new tradition. “Kill the hill,” a new race challenge, will give runners their time for the infamous hill on the course. At the end of the race, runners will be able to compare overall race times as well as their time running up the iconic hill.

The Race Roster Spring Run-Off is going to be held on April 9, 2016.