Unique Toronto Events for the Travelling Runner

There’s no greater way to check out a city you’re travelling in than to get out of the car and go for a run. Walking is great but if you’re on a tight time budget, you don’t cover much ground. Bus tours or travelling around by car get you around fast but sometimes so fast you don’t take it all in.

Going for a run is just perfect – if that’s your thing and you’re in somewhat decent shape. You’re at a speed that doesn’t compromise discovery and your awareness is high from all the oxygen pumping through your veins! Plus, you’re less vulnerable to random crimes or scams because you’re moving too fast and you better blend in with the locals.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a great place to discover with a good run, if it’s not the winter months. When it comes to organized runs, or races, Toronto is just like any other city and you can find anything from a 5k race to a full marathon on most weekends during the spring, summer and fall.

What Toronto also offers for the runner are four unique events that a visitor may not be able to find in any other city.

Enbridge CN Tower Climb for the United Way

The CN Tower climb takes place in mid to late October. In 2013, events run from Thursday, October 17 to Sunday, October 20. The public climb is on Saturday and anyone is eligible to enter as long as they raise a minimum of $75 to go the United Way. When you consider that the normal fee just to ride the elevator to the first observation deck is around $30, $75 is not a huge burden.

So, why not just take the elevator? Unlike the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you can’t just opt to take the stairs at the CN Tower at any old time. This is the only time during the year it is open to the public. Sure, it can be quite a physical task to climb up Canada’s tallest free standing structure but I can tell you from personal experience it’s quite like nothing else you’ve done before.

The CN Tower is essentially hollow and the staircase runs up the middle of this giant shaft. It is dark and since the staircase is meant for emergency only, it is a simple grated steel, see-through structure. As you get higher, the shaft narrows, the darkness below thickens and the air seems to thin. Finally, you reach the top and plunge back out into the light of day.

From 1976 to 2010, the CN Tower was the world’s tallest free standing structure, standing at 553 metres or 1,815 feet above the ground. However, over the past three years, the Toronto tower has dropped to fourth in the world. The Burj Khalifia in Dubai was completed in 2010 and stands at 829 metres or 2,722 feet. The Toyko Skytree was completed in 2012 and stands 634 metres or 2,080 feet high. The Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China is the third highest structure at 600 metres or 2,000 feet and was completed in 2010.

Toronto Pearson Runway Run

Who would have thought that in the post 9/11 world, one of the busiest airports on the planet would close down a major runway one Sunday in June each year and allow the general public to run around? Toronto Pearson International Airport has done just that since 2008.

Runway 06R-24L is closed down for several hours during light traffic hours on Sunday morning so that nearly 3,000 people can either run 5km or walk 2km. Large commerical aircraft are used as markers along the out and back course to mark the starting line and the east end turnaround. Literally a stone’s throw away, the parallel runway remains active and it is an amazing sight to see planes taking off beside you as you run.

Time and space are understandably limited on this run. The cut-off is less than 3,000 people and obviously the runway must be vacated a short time after the run is completed. However, there is some time to linger, to take pictures, explore one of the parked planes or simply marvel at the planes landing and taking off.

For disaster buffs, this is the same runway where an Air France A340 crashed in August, 2005. Flight 358 slid off the end of runway 06R-24L, destroying the plane. Miraculously, there were no fatalities.

Toronto ZooRun

I’m sure they do this in other major cities but it’s unique, nevertheless. On a Saturday in mid to late September each year, the Toronto Zoo hosts a running event featuring a 10km and 5km race. The course ambles throughout the zoo grounds, past some pretty impressive animals.

This race is limited to 3,000 for the 10km and 1,500 for the 5km. The bonus is you can stay and enjoy the zoo. However, this year’s event wasn’t so enjoyable with heavy rain. I believe this event first ran in 2000.

A Midsummer Night’s Run

Every year, the organizer’s of this event seem to have to battle with the City of Toronto to secure a permit and course. Held on a Saturday in mid August, the highlight of the Midsummer Night’s Run is a 30km race that starts at 5:30 in the afternoon. The time of day and the time of year and the fact that there’s a beer tent afterwards make this a very social running event.

Normally, this race is run in and around the Portlands area of Toronto, including Cherry Beach, Tommy Thompson Park (aka the Leslie Street Spit) and the Toronto Beaches area. This area is being revitalized and due to mass construction, the 2013 race was moved to an equally unique location, Toronto Island. The course covered most of the islands and culminated on Olympic Island. Fans of the inaugural Amazing Race Canada will know the location as the ending point for the first season of that reality show.

One of the features of the run is that there is a Midsummer Night’s Dream theme and many runners dress up in fairy costumes. Money raised from this event goes to the SickKids Foundation.