Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon live broadcast team adds star power

The 2016 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon live web stream commentary team will feature a new face.Lanni Marchant, the Canadian women’s marathon record holder. joins the crew.

“I am excited, but I am a bit nervous as it’s a little outside the realm of what I have normally done before,” Marchant admits. “I am really excited to be part of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon weekend still. I switched roles with Krista (DuChene) because she is going to be running and she has been commentating the last couple of years

The event holds a special place in Marchant’s heart. In 2013 she beat the Canadian women’s record with 2:28:00 and then a year ago she qualified for the Rio Olympics on this course with 2:28:09.

One of the world’s most respected athletics commentators, Tim Hutchings, returns to Toronto to head up the broadcast of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Hutchings marking his fifth time commentating at this IAAF Gold Label race.

The British broadcaster worked for NBC at the Rio Olympics then called a fantastic Berlin Marathon and will be working the Chicago Marathon, before heading to Toronto. The New York City Marathon will close his autumn coverage, although he also heads to Delhi to call a half-marathon before the end of the year.

“Like being an athlete, a good performance is in the preparation and I try to hold to that every time, though it does mean a lot of late nights working on stats and trying to have something on every elite athlete.”

Hutchings himself was a world class runner in the 1980’s finishing 4th in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 5000m final and earning a pair of silver medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships (1984 and 1989). Having worked for some of the world’s biggest TV broadcasters Hutchings, nevertheless, believes live streaming is the future.

“Absolutely it is,” he declares. “The whole planet can key in to something on the internet, far more effectively than TV will ever be able to offer.”

He offers a glowing assessment of the 2016 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

“It’s great that Eric (Gillis) is committed to the race, though I’m a little surprised as it’ll be just eight weeks since his brilliant Rio run,” says Hutchings of the Canadian star. “Once you’ve nailed a top 10 finish in an August Olympic Marathon, I guess anything else you achieve that year is a bonus, so maybe Eric’s thinking he’s got nothing to lose.

Another constant in the live stream broadcast has been Matt Hortobagyi the Kitchener, Ont.-based producer who brings his trademark enthusiasm to the event.

“We will have 10 cameras, six motorcycles and this year we are going to fly a drone and broadcast from the drone as well,” Hortobagyi says proudly.

“I am working with Transport Canada to get permission to shoot (with the drone) downtown. We have a couple of site locations and one is right across from the finish area. The pilot rides with a motorcycle and he will get dropped off, get the drone up, get the shots then proceed to the next location.”

The broadcast will begin at 8:15 a.m ET. with a 30-minute pre-show before the elite athletes set off at 8:45 a.m. They will be on air until 3:00 p.m. covering the race at the front, the Canadian Championship medal battles as well as various human interest stories.

Michael Doyle, Editor of Canadian Running magazine, returns once again to offer his insight along side Hutchings for his fifth time broadcasting the event.

Find the live stream on race day at stwm.ca or athleticscanada.tv