Former World Cross Country bronze medallist Magdalyne Masai will defend her title during the 21st edition of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada on October 16.

Masai who holds the race course record of 2:22.16 which is also the Canadian All Comers record is happy to go back and race on the streets of Toronto where she hopes to perform better as this was the last race that she ran before the pandemic hit the world.

“I am really excited to be going back to Toronto as this was the last race that I did and now am focused on my training as I prepare to defend my title,” said Masai.

She comes from the Masai family that also has former world 10,000m bronze medalist Moses, former world 10,000m champion Linet, former World junior champion Dennis and Alex, who runs for Hofstra University in the USA.

In the 2019 edition, Masai ran a course record of 2:22.16.

Similar to runners across the globe, Magz, as she is fondly referred to by her running peers, was severely impacted by the Covid pandemic. For instance, the postponement of the 2020 Boston Marathon,  dealt her a significant blow.

Major marathon

She said: “I was supposed to be in Boston. I had an opportunity of doing well in a major marathon. But things did happen that were out of our control so we just lived with it.”

Masai will be challenged by one of Ethiopia’s most accomplished athlete, Gelete Burka,

A three-time Olympian for her country, Gelete was also the 2008 World Indoor 1,500m champion and 2006 World Cross Country champion.

 But when she won the 2017 Ethiopian World Championships 10,000m trials and was not selected for London, she turned to the marathon.

Her results in the classic distance have been sublime. 

Her curriculum vitae includes a personal best time of 2:20:45 (2018 Dubai Marathon) and a splendid third-place finish in the 2019 Chicago marathon (2:20:55).

Dipping under two hours 20 minutes remains a tangible objective.

This will be only the second time the 36-year-old star has raced in Canada.

On her previous occasion in 2018, she set a Canadian All Comers’ Marathon record of 2:22:17 in Ottawa, despite running with stomach cramps and completely alone for much of the race. 

That record was beaten by one second at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion Magdalyne Masai in 2019.

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon has earned a World Athletics Elite label, making it only the second race in Canada with the title.

It is the final event in the CRS calendar for 2022. The race has served as both the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and the Canadian Olympic marathon trials since 2017.