One of the annual autumn fitness events in Toronto is the Oasis Zoo Run in 2012.
As part of the Canada Running Series, this trio of races attracts runners at different levels of ability. The charity partner for this particular event is the Metro Toronto Zoo itself.
Highlights for the 2012 Oasis Zoo Run
The 2012 Oasis Zoo Run has three events on Saturday Sept. 22, 2012:
The 10Km race begins at 8:15 am, well before the general public can enter.
The 5Km race begins at 10:00 am, so other visitors can watch the participants race through the zoo.
The “cub run” for youngsters begins at 11:30 am.
Note that the gates open at 9:30 am for general visitors, so you don’t have a lot of time to arrive and find a spot to watch the runners. Afterwards, you’ll have lots of time, since the current Toronto zoo hours are from 9:30 am to 6 pm on weekends, or 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays.
Naturally, you’ll want to stay off the paths and out of the way of the runners. Their focus will be on the race!
The event has sold out already, so if you want to participate, plan to train next summer and register sooner. If the rumours I heard are true, it’s better to book at least three months ahead.
Canada Running Series promotes the 5Km event as both “run and walk”. Most people, if they can walk at all and have no prior medical condition to the contrary, can build their stamina and endurance to cover 5Km or even 10Km. Doing so, whether on your own or within a program led by a personal trainer or a running group, can lead to increased endurance fitness and vitality as well as improving your quality of life.
Where is the Metro Toronto Zoo?
“Map to the Metro Toronto Zoo” image by Mike DeHaan from Google Maps
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Drive to Meadowvale Road, north of Highway 401; or take the 86A bus from the Kennedy subway station on the TTC’s Bloor-Danforth line.
Metro Toronto Zoo Admissions
One may pay for admission to the Metro Toronto Zoo through its web site. Online registration is rewarded with Toronto Zoo coupons, which are honoured for on-site shopping. Think of these discount coupons as a reward for the $1.50 surcharge for using the zoo’s online ticket system.
The highest individual admission price is $25 for adults, but children and seniors have discounted rates for the Toronto zoo.
(Added April 5, 2013): CityPASS offers discount tickets to Toronto attractions, including the Metro Toronto Zoo. You buy the voucher online, print it and take it to your first destination; let’s say it’s the zoo. They give you the coupon booklet but remove the zoo tickets. Visit the next four attractions, where helpful staff relieve your booklet of tickets but leave you with the rest of the information. You save over $40 by spending about $70. The voucher is good for almost two years, but you have to use all the discount admission tickets within nine days. This is terrific for tourists looking for multiple things to do in Toronto, or for a hometown stay-cation: use discount tickets to Casa Loma, the CN Tower, Metro Toronto Zoo, Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum in a nine day adventure.
Official Web Sites for Canada Running Oasis Zoo Run and for the Metro Toronto Zoo
The Canada Running Series “Oasis Zoo Run” has several pages about this event.
The home page of the Metro Toronto Zoo includes links to the online zoo admission page, directions, events and a wealth of other information about this Toronto landmark. It’s well worth visiting any time, although it’s closed on Christmas Day. They also offer an annual Toronto Zoo membership, including several varieties of family plans.
One of the new Toronto events this summer is the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Festival, mainly consisting of several triathlon races.
This article’s purpose is to guide spectators who want to see elite competitors and also recreational athletes pursuing this triple-discipline sport. The brief answer is “Get to Coronation Park for the start of the festivities at 9am, and find a spot near the finish line”.
Updated after the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Festival
(Updated July 25, 2012). A friend reported on his experience as a spectator for his wife who competed in the triathlon sprint event.
Spectators actually were permitted to watch the swim discipline from the mainland waterfront shore on the east, since the transition zone was protected by a fence. Therefore the athletes’ gear was still secure, while fans could watch from a good vantage point. As you can read below, this section gave me the most concern.
Spectators could see the competitors exit from the transition, both for the bike and run phases, because there was some room west of that area.
It was easy to watch the main portion of the run anywhere along its route on the Martin Goodman Trail west from Ontario Place.
In short, the organizers did a fine job laying out the routes for the triathlon competitors while also supporting the spectators. As well, the lengthy e-mail to the competitors included some information for their supporters about spectating.
Back to the Original Article
I assume that all the triathlon competitors have already trained, registered, reviewed the official site which is noted below, and received instructions on where they should go for their mandatory briefings on Saturday and to compete on Sunday. Thinking as a spectator, however, the official site seems to leave some questions.
This festival is like so many of Toronto’s street festivals, such as the recent “Festival of South Asian Culture in Toronto in 2012“, only in having road closures. However, don’t expect to eat your way along an avenue, buying food from restaurants along the way! It’s more like “The 2012 Becel Ride for Heart in Toronto” in being an athletic event on major roads.
The Toronto Triathlon Festival Races Start at 7 and 9:30 AM
“Old School Vintage Road Bicycle” image by Ha-Wee (Howie Le)
Race time is 7am on July 24 for the Olympic distance, or “Ironman 5150” triathlon event. The Duathlon also starts at that incredibly early hour: seven in the morning.
The sprint discipline races begin at 9:30 am.
The competitors benefit by avoiding the hot hours later in the day.
If you plan to watch at the finish line in Coronation Park, the entertainment and activities begin at 9am. Awards ceremonies are scheduled for 11am and noon.
Where are the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Festival Races?
The Toronto Triathlon Festival’s 2012 start area is at Ontario Place; the competitors will swim in the channel just south of the mainland. It’s not clear whether any spectators will be allowed on Ontario Place grounds, or how near along the Martin Goodman Trail to the west.
The bike portion of the Toronto Triathlon Festival 2012 will roll from Ontario Place, north to the Gardiner Expressway, east to the Don Valley Parkway and back to the transition zone at Ontario Place.
The 10Km run will follow the Martin Goodman Trail west from the transition area to about the intersection of Lake Shore Blvd. West and the South Kingsway, then back east, beyond Ontario Place to Coronation Park.
Where to Watch the Swim Discipline of the Toronto 2012 Triathlon Festival
At press time, there is no clear advice for spectators to watch the opening swim. (Updated: Read the “Updated…” section above!).
The competitors will use Parking Lot 1 south of Lake Shore Blvd. West and just east of Ontario Drive (which is only found north of Lake Shore) as the transition zone. Spectators will not be allowed to enter that area.
The waterfront to the east of the transition zone might be available to spectators, but it’s pretty far from the swim.
If it were permitted, perhaps the best place to watch the swim would be on the wharf west of the entrance area. The longest swim extends about half-way, or less, of the length of Ontario Place’s west island. This would be an interesting place to watch the start and end of the bicycle stages, as it is near the transition zone. Again, at press time, there’s no word on where spectators might be allowed to watch the swim. The aim of the APM is to increase financial support: female viagra pill Active surveillance, which is used for monitoring patients, is cheaper than intervention processes like radiation, surgeries, and hormonal therapy. In the past, many people believed that Erective dysfunction and male impotence is one and only viagra online generic squatting position. Presently, sildenafil (trade name Revatio) is authorized in numerous globe regions as a thrice-each day remedy for pulmonary arterial viagra buying online hypertension. Keep track of your blood pressure on a regular basis and listening to your body buy cialis online can save your life.
The swim is only the first discipline in a triathlon race. The bike section is the longest.
Where to Watch the Bicycling Discipline of the Toronto Triathlon 2012
The bike discipline provides the most opportunities for casual spectators. Go to any pedestrian crossing over the Gardiner Expressway or Don Valley Parkway (DVP) to see the cyclists in action at their top speeds.
If you don’t care about the finish line, my recommendation is to stand on the bridge over the DVP between Riverdale Park on the east and the fields on the west (near the Riverdale Zoo). It’s wide, only for pedestrians, and low enough to get a good view of the competitors below.
The cyclists turn when they get north of Eglinton Ave., so Eglinton, Millwood, the Prince Edward Viaduct connecting Bloor with Danforth, Gerrard, Dundas and Queen are also possibilities. The Viaduct is so high above the valley, that it would be my least favourite choice. Does Spanbridge have a sidewalk? I know I wouldn’t risk standing on Don Mills Road.
Since the Gardiner Expressway is elevated, I’m not sure that there are any good vantage points for pedestrian spectators along most of the downtown route. The competitors will, however, bicycle onto the Gardiner via Jameson, which has a very limited sidewalk capacity but boasts some grassy verges. Spectators would have a good view of the riders on Jameson and a decent glimpse as they enter the Gardiner Expressway.
Where to Watch the Run Discipline of the Toronto 2012 Triathlon Festival
The cycling stage will end where it began, in the transition zone parking lot at Ontario Place. Then the competitors become runners. They head west before doing an about face and finishing in Coronation Park.
You could go to Marilyn Bell Park, west of Ontario Place, or one of the other parks along the Martin Goodman Trail. Have a picnic brunch in Sir Casimir Gzowski Park or Sunnyside Park.
The finish line is the best place to watch the athletes finish their races, of course. Head for Coronation Park, which is just east of Ontario Place. The closing ceremonies for the Toronto Triathlon Festival 2012 will be held there.
Coronation Park for the Finish Line of the Toronto Triathlon Festival 2012
Entertainment is scheduled to start at 9am in Coronation Park, including children’s activities in partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors professional sports franchises. If you haven’t already donated, consider supporting their official charities. They have three listed as of press time. One charity partner is MLSE Team Up’s Foundation (“Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment…”), whose vision is “to change lives through the spirit and power of sport”. The second is Right to Play; the third is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
You might get a cookie from the Redpath “Acts of Sweetness” truck. The drinking fountain and washroom facilities of Coronation Park should be available, too.
The official site is mum about food vendors, so you may want to pack a picnic lunch. Another option is to head east along Queen’s Quay for several blocks to find a restaurant in downtown Toronto’s harbourfront district. (Follow the Martin Goodman Trail east; it curves south and then east again to meet Queen’s Quay at Stadium Road).
Getting to the Toronto Triathlon Festival 2012 despite Road Closures
My usual advice is for spectators to take the TTC, or ride your bicycle, to reach Ontario Place or Coronation Park. The 511 Bathurst Streetcar connects from the Bloor subway line and reaches the CNE grounds; but the subway won’t be running early enough on Sunday morning to help you arrive before the races start. The 310 Bathurst Bus also covers this ground; there is indeed a Blue Line route too. Or take the 29 Dufferin bus south to the CNE.
The Toronto Triathlon Festival suggests that competitors can park at Ontario Place’s Parking Lot #2 for $20. I have no idea whether there would be room for spectators’ cars to arrive via Lake Shore Blvd.
Car parking is extremely limited right at Coronation Park.
Road Closures for the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Festival
The east-bound Gardiner and north-bound DVP will be closed to automobile traffic. I strongly suspect part of Jameson Ave., plus some or all of the CNE grounds, will also prohibit cars.
The Official Site of the Toronto Triathlon Festival is Geared to the Competitors
The Toronto Triathlon Festival‘s official site has a huge amount of information, and is especially geared to informing the competitors of all the details they need for the full weekend festival. Unfortunately, it says little for spectators.
Yet Another Triathlon is Coming to Toronto in August
Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu for other fascinating, free or frugal annual events in Toronto.
“Mayor Rob Ford Outdoors at David Pecaut Square, Toronto” by West Annex News
Mayor Ford started his “Cut the Waist” diet challenge in January 2012. After a remarkably strong first week, successes were hard won and infrequent.
On a weekly basis, I’d actually updated a separate account in “Weight Loss Risks for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford“. Luckily, Rob Ford avoided any of the risks that I had envisioned at the outset of his journey of weight loss.
He has indicated that he still is interested in pursuing further weight loss. I would be glad to write about his future successes. When we age, the joint bones of the lowest prices for sildenafil spine or other problems that need to be swallowed, gulped or need to be placed under the tongue to dissolve, and are easily absorbed by the body. But the most generic vs viagra common cause is later found to be the clogged arteries in the manhood. For example, smoking, drinking and drug use can all lead to impotence issue in man Chronic kidney and liver disease: Such issues affect blood vessels, nerves, and hormone levels Rarely causes of ED include scarring and curving of the penile Penile erection http://valsonindia.com/about-us/eco-friendly-manufacturing/ levitra buy online failure is common in adult men. Erections take place in man due to a complex system of hormones, emotions, vascular and neurological systems. viagra generika in österreich
(Added 2013-03-20): It’s not clear whether Mayor Ford gleaned any weight loss tips from diet coaches. If memory serves, he spoke of reducing his carbohydrate intake, and news reports suggested he drank water rather than soda pop. It’s almost certain he didn’t register in any weight loss programs. His early success with quick weight loss at the start did not go the distance.
Publicity for my Cut the Waist Article
In my Blog of Writing, “Food for Thought from Cut the Waist” offers a writing tip based on my experience writing about our Toronto mayor’s “Cut the Waist” challenge.
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