2016 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on sunday october 16, 2016 – STWM 2016 Race Day Main Stories

The Scotiabank Charity ChallengeMake your Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon or 5k more meaningful by going the distance for one of our 2016 Official Charities! Simply choosing a charity and raising donations brings them closer to their goal!

Check out the great incentive programs unique to each charity to keep you motivated and reward you for your efforts! Incentives are listed on each charity page, and may include: Free entries, gear, prizes and great pre/post-run parties!

The Official Charity & Featured Charity Applications for the 2016 STWM Scotiabank Charity Challenge are now CLOSED! We are no longer accepting Official Charity applications for this year's event. We apologize for the inconvenience.

For more information about our 2016 event, please contact Rachel Williams, Charity Development & Event Coordinator.

Already have a 2016 fundraising account? LOGIN TO YOUR FUNDRAISING ACCOUNT HERE

ELITE ATHLETES

• Start List

Eric Gillis. On August 28th Eric placed 10th in the Rio Olympic marathon — the highest placing for a Canadian man since Jerome Drayton’s 6th in Montreal 1976, 40 years ago. Next challenge? Take out Drayton’s 41 year old Canadian Record of 2:10:09, and earn the $41,000 bonus from Scotiabank. His fellow Olympian and training partner, Reid Coolsaet will also help pace him. Together, they’re determined to take the record down before they retire. It doesn’t matter which of them. October 16th is Eric’s chance. Reid will likely chase it in a December marathon if it still needs breaking! It’s a story that personifies the camaraderie of sport, as well as the highest levels of competition. →Full story

Chasing Krista DuChene on the Road to London 2017 World Championships. STWM 2016 will see the best-ever Canadian women’s marathon field, with a new generation of five other women chasing Olympian Krista DuChene for the Athletics Canada National Championship title and one of 3 places in London next summer. Pan Am bronze medallist Rachel Hannah, the Toronto hometown girl; Dayna Pidhoresky (Vancouver, BC); Leslie Sexton (London, ON); Tarah Korir (St.Clements, ON); and Erin Burrett (Nanaimo, BC). →Full story

Rachel Hannah chasing fast time at STWM. →Full story

Tarah Korir running for her Kenyan Kids Foundation as well as a chance to represent Canada in London 2017. Together with her husband, Kenyan Olympian, Boston Marathon 2012 champion, and Kenyan MP, Wesley Korir, Tarah shows how elite athletes are making a great impact in helping their communities. Krista DuChene will also be running in support of Kenyan Kids Foundation. →Full story

Ed Whitlock, “The Master”. The indefatigable, ageless Canadian phenomenon will be attempting to claim yet another age group World Record, that of M85. Since turning 70 Ed has owned the world Masters scene, claiming no fewer than 36 world records on the roads and the track. He’s set 6 of them at STWM, including his 2:59 in 2003 and his astonishing 2:54 in 2004. He is still the only man on the planet over 70 years to go under the magic 3-hour mark. He set M70 and M80 marathon World Records at STWM. Can he best Australian Robert Horman’s current M85 mark of 4:34:55 set in Brisbane in 2004?

Julius Arile, The star of Gun Runners, a National Film Board film by Canadian Anjali Nayar that was a major success at the Hot Docs Festival and will open commercially in Toronto on October 7th at Scotiabank Theatre. Julius’ story dramatically brings to life the incredible journey of one East African athlete and underscores the power of sport, of the marathon, to change lives. Julius will be on the start line of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16th. →Full story

Shure Demise. Last year this 19 year-old Ethiopian sensation narrowly missed the STWM course and Canadian all-comers record of 2:22:43 by a scant 37 seconds in becoming the STWM 2015 Champion. Less than 1 second a kilometre. Now 20, she returns this year to not only defend her title but take another run at the record, her place in the history books, and a $30,000 Scotiabank bonus that rises to $50,000 if she can go under 2:20:00. →Full story

Ishhimael Chemtan and Gilbert Kirwa gave us one of the most exciting finishes ever at STWM as they battled right to the line on Bay Street north of Queen. Chemtan took it by a step. They both return to the streets of Toronto for the re-match! They’ll also have to hold off Ethiopians Ayelo Abshero and Seboka Dibaba in one of the strongest fields to start in the race. Will the 2:07:05 course record go down in the process? →Full story

Robert MacDonald and Team ‘I Will’. Robert MacDonald’s story is one of remarkable courage and determination against all odds that personifies the spirit of the “marathon”. Four years ago, the Toronto-area native lay broken in a hospital bed, unable to move (or even to feel) anything from the waist down after falling 30 feet from a hotel balcony in Los Cabos, dislocating his spine in two places, fracturing nine vertebrae, breaking eleven ribs and his scapula, and puncturing a lung. Doctors gave him a 5% chance of ever walking again. On October 16th, Robert will lead 150 runners as part of Team ‘I Will’ around the 42.195km STWM course and in the process raise some $150,000 for spinal cord research and treatment at Toronto Rehab Centre, as well as demonstrating the indomitable character of the human spirit and the importance of the marathon as a platform. →Full story

JP Bédard. Last year, JP Bedard @runJPrun astounded us by running a triple Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon to create awareness for survivors of sexual abuse. That’s 3 x 42.195km, back to back to back — with his final marathon run starting with the entire marathon field, including Premier Kathleen Wynne, in support of her #itsneverok campaign. What do you do for an encore? This year Jean-Paul will run four x STWM, or 168.78km, starting on Saturday, running the last 42km with everyone else including Ontario Minister of Sport Eleanor McMahon and JP’s Team who will be raising funds to support The Gatehouse and Little Warriors in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. →Full story

Pro Athlete Start Lists & Bios

2016 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Start List

Sunday October 16