Before the Race

I went to MEC to pick up my race kit - the store has underground paid parking if you're driving or you can take the King TTC and it'll drop you off right beside the store so it's quite accessible. Inside my envelope was my bib and a map to the start of the course. Plain and simple, no fuss no muss. Sure I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a Clif Bar inside my envelope like the first race but that’s okay (edit: apparently other people got a bar, mine was just an anomaly). With the race bib, you get 10% off in store purchase from the day of kit pick up the the Sunday.

Day of the Race

Parking was easy. The park that was picked has multiple entrances that all have parking spaces so if you couldn't get one right beside the start line, you could get one a bit further down or beside the shopping plaza up the little hill.

Picking up the race chip was also simple and well organized. I showed them my bib number and they gave me my chip. It took 2 minutes tops.

During the Race

The problem with picking a trail-ish area that isn't closed off to the public is that there will be other folks there! Bikers were pretty good at avoiding us and due to the narrow path, most of us ran single-filed. We ran a 2.5k loop so we weren't in anyone's way for long but that means you have to see the same thing over and over which I didn't mind. However, I did have to mind crossing the bridge more than once. The bridge is quite narrow and there was a bottle neck there as racers would have to stop and go one at a time on the bridge.

End of the Race

Huge thanks to MEC Toronto for making this race possible and I hope to continue to race these wonderful small races. Also, seeing all the under 12 year old kids sprinting through the 5k and 10k was super impressive. Thank you MEC for having a low key race where children can attend without it costing an arm and a leg to get the whole family involved. Also, thanks to the first aid tent for providing me with ice! The medics were super ice and patched up my chafing nicely.

At the finish line, due it to being a small race, there weren't a lot of fancy energy drinks but MEC did provide us with bananas, water, and KIND bars which is really all we need! ;)