The Toronto Marathon, held annually on the first Sunday of May, is a race from Yonge and Sheppard, in the north end of Toronto, to Exhibition Place, via Humber Bay Park. The origins of the event trace back to 1977, and the race was initially called the Canadian International Marathon. In 2003, its name was changed to the Toronto Marathon. It was held previously on the third Sunday in October, the first Sunday after Canadian Thanksgiving, for 16 consecutive years. In 2011, the race was moved to May due to pressure from the government of Toronto over repeated road closures in October due to the Toronto Waterfront Marathon also held that month and from Scotiabank, the sponsor of the Waterfront Marathon. The Toronto Marathon was moved to the first Sunday of May in 2012. The event was temporarily held mid-May in 2011, due to other events in the city that year.
Ed Whitlock was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, and the first person over 70 years old to run a marathon in less than three hours, with a time of 2:59:10 in 2003.
The Ottawa Race Weekend is an annual weekend of road running events held the last weekend of May in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The two-day running event includes seven races, including the Ottawa Marathon, all of which start and end at Ottawa City Hall. The marathon was first held in 1975, and is categorized as an Elite Label Road Race by World Athletics. Over 40,000 participants take part in the races each year.
Jerome Drayton is a former long-distance runner who competed internationally for Canada. He was born as Peter Buniak in Germany, and came to Canada in the mid-1950s when his mother moved there after divorcing his father. He reportedly based his new name on two famous sprinters he admired: Canadian former world record holder Harry Jerome and American Paul Drayton, former world record holder in the 4 × 100 m as part of the American relay team. However, Drayton has denied this, stating that he chose Jerome because it was a name he had always liked, and Drayton because he thought the two names fit well together. A prominent runner in the 1970s, when he was for a time ranked as the top marathoner in the world, he won the Fukuoka Marathon in 1969, 1975, and 1976, as well as the Boston Marathon in 1977. His Canadian men's national record time in the marathon of 2:10:09, set in 1975 at the Fukuoka Marathon, stood for 43 years until broken by Cam Levins in October 2018 with a time of 2:09:25 in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Drayton had held the Canadian record since 1969, after breaking the then record of 2:18:55 set by Robert Moore a month earlier.
Koren Jelela, also known as Koren Jelila Yal, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Kenneth Mburu Mungara, also known as Kennedy Mburu, is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He holds the Master's 40–44 age group world record in the marathon.
World Athletics Label Road Races are races that World Athletics designates as the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of the IAAF Road Running Commission. The races are split into three categories: marathons, half marathons and other. Within the "other" category are traditional road race distances, over which World Athletics world records can be set, along with some "Classical races", which span unusual distances. The Labels are considered a prestigious award by race organisers, and include the seven World Marathon Majors. Platinium Label races have the strictest requirements, followed by Gold, then Elite, and general Label Races. All categories require what the World Athletics describes as an international elite field, that requires at least five nations for the highest labels to be represented by runners with times faster than the World Athletics's guidelines. Additionally, the race course must be closed to vehicular traffic, and measured to the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) standard, with full electronic timing used to generate the results.
Amane Gobena Gemeda[nb] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes primarily in road running events. She has a marathon best of 2:23:50 hours.
Daniel Rono is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. He began his marathon career in 2005 and has won marathons in Mumbai, Toronto and Madrid.
Georgina J. Rono is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. She was third at the 2012 Boston Marathon. Rono won the Hamburg Marathon in 2014.
Deressa Chimsa Edae is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. He represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best of 2:05:42 hours was set at the 2012 Dubai Marathon. He won the Daegu Marathon in 2010.
Cameron Levins is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new Canadian record. He is the North American record holder for the marathon and the Canadian record holder for the half marathon.
Fatuma Sado Dergo is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She has a personal best of 2:26:09 hours and has won marathons in Hamburg, Los Angeles and Xiamen.
Peter Kimeli Some is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including the marathon. Some has a marathon best of 2:05:38 hours and a half marathon best of 1:00:21 hours. He won the 2013 Paris Marathon and the 2012 Brighton Marathon. He is the son of former runner Some Muge and the brother of Matthew Kisorio.
Lanni Marchant is a Canadian long distance runner from London, Ontario. On October 20, 2013, Marchant set the Canadian women's marathon record at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, beating the 28-year-old national record by running it in exactly 2:28:00. This record held until March 10, 2019 when Rachel Cliff established the new marathon national record in 2:26:56. Marchant participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics both in the 10,000 metres and marathon events.
The Canadian Marathon Championships is the annual national championships for the marathon in Canada. The event is currently part of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The event was held in Ottawa beginning with its inception in 2000 before moving to Toronto in 2015.
Kate Van Buskirk is a Canadian Olympian, cross-country and track runner, with 18 years National Team experience. She won bronze for Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 1500 m. She was named as an Athlete Director of Athletics Canada, in August 2019. She continues in this role as of August 2020.
Rory Linkletter is a Canadian long-distance runner. He represented Canada in the marathon at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He holds a personal best of 2:08:01 set at the 2024 Seville Marathon making him the second fastest Canadian of all time over the distance. He formerly held the Canadian half marathon record from January to October 2022 set at the 2022 Houston Half Marathon.
Philemon Rono, nicknamed the "baby police", is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. He holds the Canadian all-comers' record in the marathon, having run the fastest marathon ever in Canada of 2:05:00 to win the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Rono is a three-time winner of this marathon, having won the race in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Philemon Rono 
Waganesh Mekasha 
