Kelsey Hunter of Mile 2 Marathon training group passes under the Gardiner Expressway cheesing for the camera at the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Toronto, ON Canada on October 20, 2019.

2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Event // Photography
Toronto Waterfront Marathon

I have 41 hours in a city that hasn’t been that friendly to me historically. My task is to document Mile2Marathon athletes, before, during, and after the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, with a few side projects.

My task list is not short. My time is not long. This will be a grind like I haven’t had in a while. I land on Saturday at 5:00AM on the red eye from Edmonton. UP Express that shit downtown, food and some relaxation time to try and feel human again at Over Easy, and I am in the hotel lobby by 8:00AM getting gear ready for the M2M 9:15AM shakeout run.

Like riding a bike.

Short chats with Coach Rosario, Mr Canadian Debut Rory Linkletter, plus a few other “industry” friends I’ve made over the years, and M2M athletes slowly start filtering into the lobby.

Those cute moments of hesitation as two — clearly visible runners ready for a shakeout run — eyeball each other across the room. After minutes — that must feel like hours — of an inner dialogue arguing over how to accomplish the seemingly monstrous task of going for it and saying; “hello.” Knowing the whole time that they are there for the same thing but maybe not the same, same thing. It never gets old I smirk.

Nothing but 4%s everywhere you look. To go get coffee? Really? It’s definitely race weekend. You feel it. You see it.

I love it.

There have not been many race weekends for me this year, and my initial anxiety about a weekend bender of work in Toronto are washed away the second I see my first athlete in tights and a toque, trot down the main hotel staircase. It’s cold this morning, but 24 hours from now it will be cool and perfect.

My time on the ground in Toronto ends as my 100% capacity Airbus A319 lifts off just before 10:00PM Sunday night. Four hours to nap on the plane, then a 24 hour bender of processing, designing, writing, emailing, posting, commenting, reading, dm’ing — disseminating photos, begins. What you see below, is what happens in-between now and then.

Thank you Mile2Marathon for making this weekend happen. All the photos you see here and in my galleries of the day, are all thanks to M2M. Thank you Toronto for a delightful day and a half. It’s always great to reconnect with my always growing run family. Sorry I couldn’t see everyone, it’s just one of those weekends. See y’all soon in NYC.

Enjoy the photos, and don’t forget the rules.

Mile2Marathon: Shake it Out.

2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon: Expo.

2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon: Start Line Vibes.

2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon: LFG.

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