It was my home marathon but got there late. By the time I found the parking in the exchange tower, the race had already started. The good part about starting late was that the photographers took numerous shots of me! The race was up and down lakeshore avenue, the route I’ve already run during the half marathons a couple of times. However, after the 21K the course took a turn towards the spit which is a lonely causeway down the southern most part of Toronto. (The picture is taken from there, highlighting the entire Toronto skyline). The sun came out midway through the race and it got quite hot and boring. It took me over five and half hours to finish the race and I was happy to finish it my mind wasn't in it in the latter part. The medal was nice but couldn’t get a massage. The good thing was that I didn't have to drive far to go back home!
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This was the 2nd year in a row that I took part in this marathon. The best part about this year was that the finish was at the 1976 Olympic Stadium. I drove to the race in the morning from Kingston where we stayed the night. I took Yasser’s car with me as my rental car was not insured in Quebec. I got lost as I entered Montreal but found a metro station in the outskirts where I parked the car illegally and got onto the subway, I did reach the Olympic Island on time and had to make a dash to the starting line. The race start was as usual quite impressive with the wheelchair division getting a head start. The course went through the Formulae 1 race track. This time I stopped a bit to view the pit lane. It was a good feeling running on the same course where Schumacher won so many races. The remaining race didn’t have that many interesting things as I ran through the industrial parts of the town as well as some nicer areas as well. However, the end was great as I entered the Montreal Olympic Stadium and there were loads of people there. There was a live video of me on the giant screen as I jogged my way to the finish line. My name was announced on the PA system when I crossed the line and it was a great feeling. The medal was nice and I even got a post race massage. After the race, it took me about an hour to head back to the station where I parked my car. Luckily the car was fine and I drove back to Kingston. On the way I stopped over at KFC for a well deserved meal. I picked up Nadia on the way back and after some rest, we headed back to Toronto.
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AuthorZiyad Rahim is an adventure-runner from Pakistan. He currently holds 10 Guinness World Records in long-distance running, ranging from marathons to ultra-marathons. Race Reports
July 2018
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