The Toronto Waterfront Marathon elite field is lead by last year's winner Philemon Rono

Philemon Rono, will be aiming for third Toronto title. He made further history a year ago when he also ran the fastest marathon ever on Canadian soil. His time of 2:06:52 was also a personal best. “I’m very happy to come to Toronto again,” said the 27-year-old. “What comes to my mind is that it was a nice race (last year) because I set my personal best and it was a good chance for me. I took the lead between 32 and 35K and I said to myself ‘today is my day’ and I felt good,” Rono reminisced.   Under the guidance of coach Patrick Sang, the 1992 Olympic steeplechase silver medallist, Rono has thoroughly blossomed. Sang’s training team includes a large group of elite marathon runners represented by Netherlands-based Global Sports Communication, including world record holder Eliud Kipchoge. They are also members of the NN Running Team, a unique professional group sponsored by NN, an insurance and asset management company.  "I am really happy, training hard and looking forward to competing in this big race in Toronto,” said Kiprotich, who also won the marathon title at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, joining Ethiopia’s Gezehegne Abera as the only man to ever win both major competitions.  The elite field in Toronto is top notch including Galen Rupp, Mo Farah and Jake Robertson just to name three.

posted Tuesday September 18th