Course record broken and over $1 million raised for charity at Toronto's premier running event
TORONTO, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - Over 15,000 people raced along Toronto's
Lakeshore today for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. With over
$1 million dollars raised, a new course record set and a sold out event, 2008
marks the most successful year in the marathon's history.
"Scotiabank is proud to support this incredible event again this year,"
said John Doig, Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Scotiabank. "Not only
have we achieved some amazing results today, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront
Marathon has brought the world to our Waterfront. This event has united
runners, spectators and communities across the city in support of over
60 charities".
Despite strong headwinds and high humidity levels, the women's course
record was shattered by an incredible four minutes by Ethiopian Mulu Seboka in
2:29:05. This time eclipses the previous course record of 2:33:16, set by Asha
Gigi of Ethiopia who this year finished in third place with 2:33:24. Second
place went to Olena Shurkhno of the Ukraine with 2:30:12.
Kenneth Mungara fought a close battle, finishing just two seconds ahead
of fellow Kenyan Peter Kiprotich, to win in 2:11:00. Amersisa Ketema of
Ethiopia followed in third place at 2:11:51. Last year's winner and current
course and Canadian record holder, John Kelai finished in fifth place with a
time of 2:12:12.
Dylan Wykes finished as fastest Canadian and 11th place overall in
2:16:20. Remarkably this was only Dylan's second marathon in his first ever
year of marathon running. Fastest Canadian female was Suzanne Evans with
2:44:22, finishing overall in ninth place.
A full list of winners is available at www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com.
"With over 15,000 people running and new records set, this year has
certainly been the biggest and best year in our history. Marathon mania is
clearly on the rise in Toronto and we look forward to growing the event once
again in 2009," said Alan Brookes, Race Director.
Over 1,000 children from grades four to eight participated in the
Scotiabank MarathonKIDS program today. Scotiabank MarathonKIDS promotes an
active and healthy lifestyle from a young age and provides students with the
opportunity to increase their level of physical activity while focusing on
reaching a goal. Running in daily intervals since the start of the school
year, students completed the last five kilometres of a full marathon on race
day.
The Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge exceeded its $1 million target
with a final total of over $1.2 million. This is an improvement over last
year's total of $920,000 and is set to benefit 63 significant community
charities.
Along the marathon course, runners were supported by 11 Neighbourhood
Cheering and Entertainment stations. Little Chinatown won the Scotiabank
Neighbourhood Challenge and a charity bonus of $6,000 for having the most
people, most noise, best costumes and best entertainment.
The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
For the first time ever, this year's marathon was given Silver label
status by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) making
it one of only five internationally recognized marathons in North America,
putting Toronto on the map in the international athletic community. And while
the race is certainly gaining international profile - it has also gained
profile within the city. Earlier this year Toronto Mayor David Miller invited
the race - for the first time ever - to move its Start/Finish line to City
Hall at Nathan Phillips Square. The marathon attracts participants from over
thirty-five countries and aims to raise $1 million for over sixty small but
significant neighbourhood charities.
Visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com for further event information.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live
and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally
and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic
activities, in 2007 the Bank provided more than $43 million in sponsorships
and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas
of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture.
Visit us at www.scotiabank.com
Kenneth Mungara beat Peter Kiprotich in a close finish, winning by less than 2 seconds in 2:11:01
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Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia beat the previous course record by more than 4 minutes
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Photos by Steve Bower
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