New adidas sponsorship helps bring fast runners to world-record course, September 26th.

Photo (left): Fauja Singh

TORONTO. 13th September 2004. Building on the success of last year's race, that saw two age-group world records, this year's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon continues its march to international-class status, buoyed by a 5-year "presenting" sponsorship deal with adidas. The partnership with adidas has brought the event a level of runners not seen in a marathon on Toronto's streets in a long while. On September 28th last year, Canadian Ed Whitlock and British Sikh, Fauja Singh, put Toronto on the map as they set new age-group world records for 70+ and 90+, on what Runner's World magazine labeled, "the marathon's greatest day". Broadcast around the world, the records created a reputation for the Toronto Waterfront as one of the world's flattest, fastest marathons.

Now the rush is on.

Photo (left): Ed Whitlock

Over 7,000 runners from 20+ countries, are expected on the scenic route along Lake Ontario shoreline on September 26th, with an almost 50% growth in the marathon, and a large increase in international participants.

With two weeks to race-day , the 5th Annual Waterfront Marathon today confirmed the participation of both Whitlock and Singh, plus Kenyans Joseph Kahugu, Joseph Ndiritu [last year's winner], and Paul Gaitha, South African, Maksohonke "Shonks" Fika, and Canada's top male and female marathoners, Bruce Deacon of Victoria, and Toronto's Lioudmila Kortchaguina. Danny Kassap of Toronto is also expected to contend. Kahugu, Fika, Gaitha and Kortchaguina all come from the adidas International Racing Team.

Kahugu is the strong favourite going into the race, with a 2:07:59 personal best, and consistent performances over the past 2 years in the 2:09/2:10 range, that include a course-record win in Dubai [2:09:33 in 2003], a 3rd at the San Diego Rock'n Roll [2:10:06 in 2003], and a 4th in Rotterdam in 2002 [2:10:48]. Fika ran his PR of 2:10:16 in Berlin last year, placing 9th in the same field that Paul Tergat ran his astounding world record of 2:04:55.

To provide some context, a 2:10 has not been run in Canada since 1992, when Welshman Steve Jones recorded a 2:10:06, paced to half- way in 1:04 by Dave Reid, a past Canadian 1500m, 5000m and 10000m champion who is now Technical Race Director for the Waterfront Marathon. The fastest-ever marathon on Canadian soil, a 2:09:55 was set almost 30 years ago by Waldemar Cierpinski at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Victoria's Bruce Deacon is also fit and ready to go. He also has something to prove after the COC defied adidas' advertising slogan of "Impossible is Nothing", and set selection standards so high that Deacon was denied his third Olympics, after competing in Atlanta and Sydney. This happened, despite Bruce running a lifetime PR of 2:13:18 in Sacramento in December 2002. His training partner in Victoria, Englishman Jon Brown, ran 2:13:39 at the London Marathon in April to earn a spot on the Great Britain team in Athens. Jon placed 4th in the Olympic marathon, while Bruce watched on TV.

Ndiritu has a PR of 2:14, and has been training all summer at altitude in Kenya, while fellow-countryman Paul Gaitha and Danny Kassap, a Congolese refugee living in Toronto for the past 3 years, will be making marathon debuts.

All 6 men are expected to be under 2:15.

At present, Kortchaguina is the class of the women's field with wins already in 2004 in Ottawa and Salt Lake City, and a PR of 2:29:53. More confirmations are expected, however, in the women's field over the next 2 weeks.

Information and online entry at www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com

For further media information contact Alan Brookes, Race Director, 416 464 7437; or Dave Reid, Technical Race Director at 416 543 4321.