The Toronto GoodLife Marathon is a fast, net downhill course from Mel Lastman Square to Ontario Place. It one of the fastest courses in Canada and is a very good course for PRs and Boston Qualifiers.
The course drops about 105m (350 feet) from the start to finish. However, there are some rolling hills in the first 7+ miles of the race. After the long descent from just past mile 7, the second half of the course is almost completely flat.
Don't forget your Pace Band for the
Toronto Marathon
Pace Bands are adjusted for the specific terrain of the course, your goal time and pacing strategies.
Only $9.99
How does the Toronto Marathon Rank?
The Toronto Marathon was the 5th largest marathon in Canada last year and was the 6th largest in 2022.
Last year 12.2% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 8.6% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.
This gives the Toronto Marathon the 15th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in Canada last year and the 26th highest percentage in 2022.
Its Course Score of 99.60 ranks it as the 6th fastest marathon course in Canada and the 1st fastest course in Ontario.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Toronto Marathon a PR Score of 99.60. This PR Score ranks it as the 5th fastest marathon in Canada and the 1st fastest in Ontario.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Toronto Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 597 feet (182m) Min Elevation: 246 feet (75m)
This was the first in person on this course in 3 years. The course is very favorable, with one small hill in mile 3, then downhill for the rest of the first half, and very flat for the second half. Great time of year in Toronto. The previous reviews had concerns about organization, but in my experience the water stations were well organized and supplied. Buses to the start line and expo worked out well. Not enough buses back. Race was responsive to feedback and I think it may be even better in 2023. I ran my PR there, and would return if looking for another PR because it's a great course.
Race Tips
Don't start too fast! 1st half is downhill, second half is flat, leave some energy for the end.
Race had buses from the Hilton Toronto Downtown to the start, and back to there. Cost $10, worth it.
AN's review of 2019 Toronto Marathon.
1 /
5 Stars
Review
I've run the half marathon before and had a great experience, however the marathon was a mess. First half of the marathon was great. Second half of the race had very few water stops (definitely fewer than advertised and poorly staffed). People who didn't carry their own water got screwed. The out and back section on a paved trail was OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. I'm talking cyclists (?!??!), people doing a Sunday stroll, etc. These people seemed oblivious to the fact that a marathon was going on and didn't move out of the way. I had high hopes for this marathon and was disappointed. Will not be returning.
Race Tips
Expect that there will not be enough water on the second half of the course. Expect cyclists and people on their Sunday stroll to be sharing the road with you during the second half of the race.
There were many issues with this race organization. The expo was more for packet pickup with only few small vendors so nothing special there. The first 10 miles of the course has rough cracked roared to contend with, a long 1000 meter steep hill at mile 3. The last half of the course is flat but runners were constantly faced with bikers, dogs, strollers, and walkers sharing the running paths. At the final finish the full marathoners had to dodge the half runners to the finish big time. The finish area after the race did not have proper fluids like Gatorade, etc. They said they ran out, but why since I ran close to 3 hours. Finally there was a runner in major major distress after the race and no race team crew came to his aid for nearly 20 minutes despite clearly seeing him from just feet away. Runners with trying their best. All said pass on this race unless you live in the area, and even then may be pass too
Skip the bus shuttle from the finish to the hotels. Wait times were from 60-120 minutes
MT's review of 2019 Toronto Marathon.
4 /
5 Stars
Review
The course is great but organization is poor so prepare !!!
The first half is great, lots of downhills. one big hill at approximately 6km followed by some rolling hills, one long decent at approximately 17km then flat for the rest. two tiny hills in the las km to get to the finish line, not big hills but when your legs are tired you'll feel it.
After km 16, there was a gap of about 8km with no water stations!! also no gels where advertised so ended up running for 14km with no gels, they ended up giving some cliff gummies at km24 instead of gels... gummies.... was choking for a bit.
So in summary, great course, good weather, but bring your own water and gels!!
Race Tips
Bring your own water and food/gels, don't rely on what they advertise. the website says water stations every 2.5km, in reality it was more like every 4.5km with an 8km gap of no stations at all.
I ran the Toronto Goodlife Marathon in 2018 and LOVED it - it was a great downhill course with excellent organization. I ran it again in 2019 and everything changed. There were barely any volunteers on the course, no water stations from 17-22km. Around 15.5km there was a water station with only 1 volunteer - she couldn't get water to everyone fast enough, so I figured I'd get water at the next station. Well, there were no water stations until 24km. Needless to say, I was very dehydrated and hit the wall around 32km. I heard that the volunteers were sent home because they couldn't access the fire hydrants to get water. Very poor organization, and very dangerous for the Marathoners. They also made some poor changes to the course and added in a bunch of uphills, including a giant hill around 41km! I reached out to the organizers the day after the marathon via email and heard nothing back. The organizers did apologize to some (5km and 10km?) runners only via a Facebook post the next day. I will not be running this race again. Run the Mississauga Marathon instead (it's on the same day).
3.4 Stars from 12 Reviews
