Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2027 : the course km by km, race week and travel

Toronto puts its only hill first. The start on Yonge Street is already high ground, the road climbs 20.3 m in the first 1.4 km, and then it runs downhill for five kilometres to Lake Ontario. From km 6 to km 40 the course never leaves a band 12.2 m tall. A runner who holds back up Yonge Street and on the long descent of Bathurst Street has a lakeside marathon ahead that rewards even pacing, three turnarounds that show the leaders coming the other way, and one sting at the end: about 12 m of rise in the last 2 km, up to Bay Street.

The course is point to point on paper, but the start on Yonge Street and the finish on Bay Street, beside City Hall, are only about 800 m apart. In between, the organiser describes “a 42K course through the downtown core and along the waterfront of Toronto, heading through more than a dozen Toronto neighbourhoods.” The kilometres and heights below are measured along the organiser’s 2026 course, matched to the streets, on a bare-earth elevation model. The organiser has not published the 2027 course, so check its Event Info page before you plan your pacing.

Km 0 to 1.4: up Yonge Street

The start line is on Yonge Street, north of Gerrard Street, facing north, at 99.5 m. The course runs up Yonge and turns west onto Bloor Street West at about km 1.3, and at km 1.4 it reaches 119.9 m, the highest point of the race. That 20.3 m is the one climb of any size in the whole marathon, and it comes in the first minutes, in a crowded field. Losing a few seconds here costs nothing; chasing them costs a lot later.

Km 1.4 to 6.9: Bloor Street West and down Bathurst

Bloor Street West passes the Royal Ontario Museum at about km 2.0. The road holds between 113 and 116 m from km 2 to km 3.5, along Bloor and the top of Bathurst Street, then falls steadily down Bathurst, past Kensington Market, a few streets to the east, at about km 4.6. By km 6.0 it is at lake level, and the Bathurst Street bridge carries it past Fort York at about km 6.3. The road reads 78.9 m at km 6.5, and the course turns west onto Lake Shore Boulevard West at about km 6.9. The descent is a gentle grade, but it is where a first half gets run too fast.

Km 6.9 to 19.3: the western lake leg

This is the first of three out-and-back legs. Lake Shore Boulevard West runs west past the Princes’ Gates of Exhibition Place at about km 8.1 and the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion at about km 10.2, out to the turnaround at Ellis Avenue at km 12.4. A water station stood on Lake Shore Boulevard near Ellis Avenue at 12K in 2026. The course then comes back the same way, past Sunnyside again at about km 14.6 and the Princes’ Gates at about km 16.6, to km 19.3. The road here is flat: between 76 and 81 m for the whole 12 km.

Km 19.3 to 25.8: downtown, halfway and Bayview Avenue

From the lake the course turns up through downtown on Bay, Wellington and Church Streets, with the CN Tower in view along Bay Street at about km 19.3. Halfway, km 21.1, falls on Front Street East, and the Distillery District is close by at about km 22.2. The second out-and-back is short: north up Bayview Avenue from Front Street East to the turn at River Street at km 24.4, about 1.4 km each way.

Km 25.8 to 37.6: east to Woodbine Beach and back

The third leg is the long one. Eastern Avenue carries the course over a bridge at about km 26.6 to 27.0, then Carlaw Avenue leads down to Lake Shore Boulevard East, which runs east to Woodbine Avenue and Woodbine Beach at about km 31.1. The 2026 water station near Coxwell Avenue, at 31K, is on this stretch. The course turns up Woodbine Avenue to Queen Street East and runs along it to the turnaround at km 33.0, 1.2 km past the Woodbine corner. This is the only real rise since the start: from about 77 m at the Woodbine corner to about 86 m on Queen Street East, a rise of about 9 m spread over two kilometres. Back down Woodbine Avenue at about km 35.0, the course heads west on Lake Shore Boulevard East, and at km 37.1 it passes the lowest point of the race, 75.1 m.

Km 37.6 to the finish: Front Street and up Bay Street

The course leaves Lake Shore Boulevard East at km 37.6 and comes back along Eastern Avenue, over the same bridge at about km 39.1 to 39.5, and along Front Street East, passing the Distillery District again at about km 40.0. At km 40.5 it is at 79.4 m. From there the ground rises to 91.1 m at about km 41.5, where the course turns up Bay Street: about 12 m in the last 2 km, after 34 km of flat. It eases to the finish on Bay Street, just north of Queen Street, beside City Hall, at 89.1 m. That is 10.4 m lower than the start, but it does not feel like a downhill finish. Save something for the last kilometre and a half.

The race-week details for 2027 are not out yet. Only the date and the start time are published. This is how race week ran in 2026, from the organiser’s Race Weekend and Event Info pages. Check them again for 2027. In 2026 the marathon was capped at 9,500 runners and the half at 13,000, and every distance sold out.

The expo and your race kit

Race kits were handed out at the expo at the Better Living Centre, 195 Princes’ Blvd. It was open on the Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on the Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with last admission for kit pickup 30 minutes before closing. Marathon and half marathon kits were handed out on the Saturday only, and 5K kits on the Friday only, so a marathon runner must be in Toronto by Saturday afternoon. No race-morning pickup was mentioned.

Bring your race-week bib number email. A friend can collect your kit with that email and a written, text or email note from you, and one person can collect at most three kits, their own included.

Corrals and the start

The marathon and the half marathon start together on Yonge Street, in corrals by the finish time you expect; the colour is on your bib. The corrals do not all go at 8:00. In 2026 the elite wheelchairs started at 7:57 a.m., then:

• Red, 8:00 a.m.: marathon 2:05 to 3:39, half 1:02 to 1:44
• Yellow, 8:20 a.m.: marathon 3:40 to 3:59, half 1:45 to 2:00
• Blue, 8:40 a.m.: marathon 4:00 to 4:19, half 2:00 to 2:05
• Green, 9:00 a.m.: marathon 4:20 to 5:00, half 2:06 to 2:19
• Purple, 9:20 a.m.: marathon 5:01 to 6:00, half 2:20 to 3:30
• Orange (walking), 9:30 a.m.

Each corral had its own entry window and its own gate. Red entered on Yonge Street south of Elm Street, Yellow at Dundas Street, and Blue and later at the south corral gate on Yonge Street, south of Shuter Street. Red’s window closed at 7:45 a.m. and Yellow’s at 7:55. The south gate closed at 9:25 a.m. and the start line at 9:31, right after the walking corral.

Bag check

The marathon bag check was at Nathan Phillips Square, just north of Queen Street, from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; the half marathon’s was separate, on Queen Street just south of the square. Use your own bag, no larger than 45 by 32 by 17 cm, tagged with the tear-off sticker from your bib. No plastic bags are handed out, and you need your bib to collect the bag. Nathan Phillips Square is also Race Central, with the help desk, and it sits beside City Hall, like the finish.

Pacers, aid and the time limit

The Pace Team, powered by ASICS, ran marathon paces from 3:00 to 6:00 and half marathon paces from 1:30 to 3:00. Hydration and aid stations stood roughly every 3 km, and the organiser asked runners to carry a reusable bottle. The water stations at 12K and 31K, both on Lake Shore Boulevard, had lactation stations.

The marathon has six hours. In 2026 the course and the finish line closed at 3:30 p.m., six hours after the walking corral started, and bag check closed half an hour before that. The half marathon closed at 1:00 p.m., after 3 hours 30 minutes.