The Toronto Marathon, held annually in October, is a race from Mel Lastman Square, in the north end of Toronto, to Queen's Park. The race was initially called the Canadian International Marathon, and was first held in 1995 under its current organizer.
This live feed is in Toronto for the marathon:
Toronto marathon live
Event Information:
The origins of the event trace back to 1977. In 2003, its name was changed to the Toronto Marathon. In 2008, it was again renamed for a new primary sponsor, GoodLife Fitness. It is held on the third Sunday in October, the first Sunday after Canadian Thanksgiving. Because of concerns that the Toronto Waterfront Marathon being held three weeks prior leads to too many road closures, the Toronto Marathon will be run in May, beginning in 2011.
In addition to a full marathon, the event also includes a half marathon, a 5-K run, and an eight-person relay across the marathon course. The marathon meets international standards and is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens.
The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are contested throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants
The Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May. The name reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero (adjacent to San Francisco Bay) and runs west through the city to finish at the Great Highway.
This live feed is in San Francisco for the Bay to Breakers:
Bay to Breakers Live
Event information:
The Bay to Breakers is organized by the Philip Anschutz-owned Anschutz Entertainment Group. Anschutz also owns The San Francisco Examiner who assumed sponsorship of the race in 1966. From 2003 to 2005, Albertsons was the event's main sponsor. The ING Group was the primary sponsor for the Bay to Breakers from 2006 to 2010. On May 26, 2010, spokesmen for the Bay to Breakers and ING confirmed that ING chose not to renew their sponsorship for the 100th edition of the race in 2011.
On March 18, 2011, race organizers announced Zazzle, a Bay Area-based ecommerce company manufacturing custom user-generated products, as the title sponsor for the event's 2011 centennial running, as well as for the 101st running in 2012. The Bay to Breakers is held on a USA Track & Field certified point-to-point course. USATF notes that the course is "wind dependent", therefore, not a "record eligible" course.
The initial course started at the Ferry Building along Market Street to Golden Gate Avenue before turning onto Divisadero Street. In 1968, the start was moved from Market Street to Howard Street and the ascension to Divisadero moved to Hayes Street. In 1983, the course was shortened from 7.51 miles to an official 12K (7.46 miles). The current course turns west along Hayes Street and up Hayes Street Hill near Alamo Square. This is the only major incline in the race. After the hill, the race runs along the panhandle and then west through Golden Gate Park, past the Conservatory of Flowers, all the way to Great Highway and Ocean Beach.
