Mississauga Marathon

This marathon is back with a new sponsor and course changes after the pandemic hiatus. The course has been tweaked to include an out-and-back and a loop in the Mississauga City Centre development at the start and to remove one unpopular downhill / uphill section closer to the end. There's also small route changes in the middle, but the start and finish are still in the same spots and it's still a point-to-point net downhill course. It starts at the Mississauga City Centre with large residential towers and a massive shopping mall, runs through nicer suburban and parkland areas when not on major roads, and finishes at a lakeshore marina. There is still one dusty industrial stretch in Miles 17-19 which could use some improvement. There's plenty of rolling hills after a significant downhill early on, but there are also long flat stretches. The race is relatively well organized for a smaller suburban event. Water stations are spaced too widely, though they were better served this time by cheerful volunteers. There are multiple timing mats and checkpoints. Roads are not fully closed and at one point involve running in a very narrow coned-off lane next to traffic, but overall traffic management at intersections was good, with runners given priority. There's a fair amount of shared bike/pedestrian paths closer to the finish which could get crowded. No expo to speak of at the number pick-up, but plenty of food and liquids at the finish and a comfortable coach transportation back to the start where most runners park their vehicles. Spectators aren't numerous except at the start and finish, but there's a few loud official cheering stations, and overall it seemed like people were into it more than previous years (e.g. a few neighbourhoods have set up their informal water/cheer stations). I would recommend this as a spring race in the Greater Toronto area; it compares very favourably with the poorly organized springtime Toronto Marathon, but does require a trip to the suburbs.

Weather was good. Organization was excellent. The course was 70% scenic (posh neighborhoods and bike paths) and 30% busy streets, but overall I liked it. My only complaint is that the race t-shirt was cotton, not technical, and all it had on it was the marathon's website URL. No images, sponsors, not even the year of the race. Not attractive at all. The medal on the other hand was the largest I've ever seen.

I ran Mississauga in 2007 as my very first marathon, and managed to qualify for Boston there. In the intervening years, Boston has become my spring marathon. But this year I did Mississauga, and it was wonderful to return to the 'scene of the crime' so to speak. The weather was ideal, with a start-time temperature of 10 Celsius, and little wind. As the hours wore on, the temperature rose by a few degrees, and the wind increased a bit, but if anything the headwind was appreciated as a cooling factor. The first 5k are unremarkable, along Burnhamthorpe road, a typical commercial street, but closed completely to traffic, which is good, since the half marathon (around 1800 participants) and the marathon (around 800) all go out together. Then you turn south and the scenery is very pretty along Mississauga road. At 16k, the half marathoners head out toward the finish line and the full heads west. Kilometres 20 to 28 are in an industrial area and mentally can be the doldrums. It's an out and back, so you can see the runners ahead of you and behind you on the course as you cover this stretch. I saw the lead woman just exiting the small lakeside park, on her way back in, as I was still heading out. Gels are supplied at 17km and 32k-ish. Nice to have a couple. Water stations can be as much as 4km apart, but are well-organized and supported by enthusiastic and efficient volunteers. On a hot day, you might want to carry your own fluids. The last 14k dips several times between lakeshore road and the lake, and is very pleasant and scenic, with pretty residential areas, a (mostly paved) path right along the lakefront, and some minor hills before things flatten out completely at 38k. One thing that was a really pleasant surprise was the amount of spectator support, cheering stations and some musical entertainment. As well, this is the first and only marathon where I've seen the traffic-control police smiling and clapping and cheering as well. Marathoners be aware that you share the first 16k of the course with half-marathoners, plus there is a 5x8km relay for the marathon, so don't let yourself get sucked into racing those who are covering shorter distances. The finish line is at the end of a spit of land that curves out into Lake Ontario. The finishing chute was very efficient. Kudos to the organizers and the city of Mississauga for creating a really pleasant race experience.