For those in Ontario/Quebec....

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Christine_Runs
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For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Christine_Runs » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:57 pm

Hi Everyone,

Just curious what are your favourite races in Ontario and/or Quebec. I've been pondering this because I notice a lot of deconstructing courses and organization on this site and often we collectively point out the flaws in events a great deal. Every time I hear about a cool race I hear someone else indicating how poorly organized it is or how bad the course is or something. This is perfectly reasonable as we spend a great deal of money on these events and want high quality events. However, as a cash strapped 30 something going to the US to a corporate race such as the Rock N' Roll or Disney races or a huge event such as NYC just isn't an option for me. This year I raced in races close to home and/or that fit my schedule and budget. So pondering next year I'd love to hear from everyone, what races are your favs? What ones have, in your view good courses and organization?

Cheers :D

pts
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby pts » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:59 pm

Egg Nog Jog- hands down my favorite race. Cold, snowy, hilly and a whole lot of fun!
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Christine_Runs
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Christine_Runs » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:02 pm

Hi Pts,

Where is the Egg Nog Jog?

Miss*Smiles
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Miss*Smiles » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:05 pm

Army Run in September in Ottawa
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pts
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby pts » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:06 pm

Christine_Runs wrote:Hi Pts,

Where is the Egg Nog Jog?


In Caledon, ON- http://www.eggnogjog.ca/

It is only 10.8k, but it is soo much fun! :) If you look on here you will see it is a favorite of many people.
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pts
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby pts » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:06 pm

Christine_Runs wrote:Hi Pts,

Where is the Egg Nog Jog?


In Caledon, ON- http://www.eggnogjog.ca/

It is only 10.8k, but it is soo much fun! :) If you look on here you will see it is a favorite of many people.
Lady of the Order of the Velour Track Suit

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La
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby La » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:07 pm

Christine_Runs wrote:Hi Pts,

Where is the Egg Nog Jog?

In Terra Cotta, just outside Toronto. It's in mid-December.
"Maybe I will be my own inspiration." - UltraMonk (Laura)
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have enough time." - Steven Wright

pts
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby pts » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:07 pm

Oh, and Around the Bay also makes my 'top local' list (at #2).
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bruyere
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby bruyere » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:13 pm

I love the Montreal Scotiabank 5k/21K.

I second the Army Run. Also NCM.

Run for the Toad (trail, but not technical or too hilly, and there's a 25k distance).
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Robbie-T
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Robbie-T » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:25 pm

pts wrote:Oh, and Around the Bay also makes my 'top local' list (at #2).


Agreed
#1 Egg Nog Jog
#2 Around the Bay
Mississauga Marathon - 2:52
Around the Bay - 1:58
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby canalrunner » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:25 pm

I will throw out a couple:

Prince Edward County Marathon/Half: small town race with great organization and a free beer at the end; nice B and B's in the county
Glen Tay Block Race, Perth: 14.7k race guarantees a PB first time out, race that does it old school, quirky Thursday night date
Hintonburg 5K: a neighbourhood run--and not a metre of it on the canal
Xerox 10K: if it is 3 laps in Arboretum, it is a great tester
Army Run: as patriotic as you get in Canada without Canada Day or the drop of a hockey puck
Canada Day 5K: cancelled this year, O Canada looking at Parliament Hill, two bridges, great start to the day
Diefenbooker Classic, Carp: you get to run through the blast tunnel to the nuclear shelter, how cool is that!!
Ottawa Race Weekend: the vibe is amazing, the races keep getting bigger, and the crowds are great. Makes you want to run again.

Bias Disclaimer: I volunteer at Army Run and Race Weekend.
Last edited by canalrunner on Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dgrant
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby dgrant » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:28 pm

+1 on the Egg Nog Jog... really tough, unique race with a fun vibe
+1 on the Prince Edward County Races... pretty fast courses, beautiful scenery, smooth organization

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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby bigguy » Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:12 pm

Boxing Day 10 miler in Hamilton Ontario.
1,000 runners and walkers, and what is more Canadian than a winter 10 miler, this will be the 91st.
I may be a bit biased as I am the race director

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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby abirdd » Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:14 pm

+1 Army Run
+1 Ottawa Race Weekend

Perth Kilt Run - Perth, Ontario
5mile/8K. A Guiness World Record race, thanks to the mandatory regulation kilt requirement. Beautiful town, plenty of history - and a nice course. The organization still has some kinks, but the Stewarts and their team are working REALLY hard to make 2012 (3rd time) the charm.

Where's Franktown? - Franktown, Ontario
Offers 5K, 10K, 15K routes. Well organized, Tim Horton's coffee/timbits/donuts at kit pick up, rural setting (mix of gravel roads and ashphalt), babysitting, finish line towel/medal/homemade fudge, phenominal BBQ put on by Harvey's and parents, an opportunity to run with Paralympians (my 5 year old started running thanks to Leah Robinson), and free photo downloads from InMySights.

Louis2
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Louis2 » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:19 am

Ottawa Marathon (The people the crowds wow!)
Army Run (Volunteer Saturday) (Run Sunday)
Gatineau Triathlon
I hear the 9 run run is pretty good also

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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Louis2 » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:23 am

[quote="canalrunner"]I will throw out a couple:


Hintonburg 5K: a neighbourhood run--and not a metre of it on the canal

That's funny :lol:

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LadyVo2
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby LadyVo2 » Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:38 am

On the south shore of Montreal (Longueuil, Brossard, St-Hubert):

La Coupe dix30 - http://www.fournier-es.com/coupedix30/
really cool, super organized, very festive - certified course for the "serious" runner plus medals (Bronze, silver and gold) for each age group...
but to have a very complete calendar of all the races in La Belle Province, check out http://www.courir.org

All the races I have been to have been well organized - I don't quite know what people mean when they say a race is not well organized - if the course is certified, if I get water and get my bib on time, I am good to go! :mrgreen:
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My first race sine April 2012: Defi Gerard Coté - May 2013 - 5K - 25:41
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Jogger Barbie » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:16 pm

+ 1 on Around the Bay, Ottawa Race Weekend, the Prince Edward County marathon (and half marathon), and the Egg Nog Jog.

And I loved the Niagara Ultra Series event in mid-June. Several distances, nice course, well-organized, great post-race food, great vibe.

The Wolfe Island Classic. If we lived close to Kingston I'd do this every year.
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Dr. S » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:31 pm

Around the Bay for sure!

I really enjoyed the Tour du Lac Brome when I did it and the Montreal half-marathon is fun too. It's just sad that it won't finish in the Olympic stadium anymore, you felt like a real rock star!!
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby La » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:48 pm

January 1, Hair of the Dog (~9K) at the Balmy Beach Club (east end Toronto). It's $20 to register and you get a great post-run lunch (chili, salad, bun, patries) and full cash bar. Lots of space/tables indoors pre and post race, washrooms to change clothes, etc. The course is flat (out and back along the boardwalk & Martin-Goodman Trail) and they have schnapps at the turnaround! It's not a certified course/distance and it's not chip timed.They do have age group prizes, though. And lots of draw prizes, too.

And the truly brave (stupid?) go for a little polar bear dip in Lake Ontario after the race!
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby La » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:57 pm

LadyVo2 wrote:All the races I have been to have been well organized - I don't quite know what people mean when they say a race is not well organized - if the course is certified, if I get water and get my bib on time, I am good to go! :mrgreen:

I think this might be individual and people define it differently. For me:
1. They deliver what they promise, be it the post-race food, medal, T-shirt, etc. or the course itself (measured accurately if they claim it's certified). For example, don't ask me what T-shirt size I want and then not have any of that size when I get there. Bonus: post on your site whether the shirts are unisex/gender-specific, and whether the sizing runs big or small - that will ensure people get the right size shirt.
2. For big races (especially with multiple distances) they've considered the logistics of start/finish, as well as clear course markings so that people don't go off course (or follow the signs for the wrong event).
3. Don't over-charge, just because they can.
4. Have proper course marshaling so that runners aren't in danger as a result of cars on the road.
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runlolarun
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby runlolarun » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:40 pm

+ on Montreal 1/2
+ on Ottawa Army Run (emotional favourite)
* on Ottawa NCM.
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Sir Crashalot
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby Sir Crashalot » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:47 pm

Montreal Half
NCM Half
Army Run 5km
Tour de Lac Brome
Asics X-Trails Sutton
Ultimate XC
Spartan Race
Grande Virée des Sentiers du Mont St.Bruno
The list can go on & on. If I manage to drag my sorry ass to the start line, I enjoyed them all.
THE Quebec running calender: http://courir.org/calendrier_2011.html
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby getfit » Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:21 pm

I usually find something in every race that I enjoy.

My top 5 would be:

Moon in June - Burlington
Jingle Bell Run - Burlington
Waterfront Trail Race - Burlington
Mississauga 1/2 Marathon
Niagara 1/2 Marathon
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scrumhalfgirl
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Re: For those in Ontario/Quebec....

Postby scrumhalfgirl » Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:36 am

As an Ottawa resident, I love love love Race Weekend - the vibe in the city that weekend is great! In terms of smaller local events, one that hasn't been mentioned here is Rattle Me Bones - a 5 and 10k in October. It raises money for the hospital, has chip timing, and chili and cookies post race.

Other races I consider worth the drive are Around the Bay and the Montreal 1/2M - both fabulous races!
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