New director of Sporting Life 10k ready for massive event
Organizing the 27,000 runners a “dream come true” for veteran race manager Cory Freedman
BARBARA TURNBULL Long before the Sporting Life 10K race kicks off May 11, the pressure’s been on Cory Freedman.
The new head of the popular run — sold out again this year with 27,000 participants — knows last year’s event was marred by undermanned water stations throughout the route and a 20-minute bottleneck to cross the finish line.
“We feel confident that the challenges that happened last year will not repeat themselves this year,” she says in a phone interview. “We’ve made some changes so that everyone’s race is seamless this year.”
The event, kicking off at 8 a.m., May 11, will raise about $2 million for Camp Oochigaes, which provides getaways for kids impacted by cancer. It’s Toronto’s largest stand-alone running event.
Some 1,200 volunteers have been amassed to steer the thousands of runners down the route which starts at Yonge St. and Roselawn Ave. and ends at Fort York.
Freedman, 49, is not only a racing veteran — she’s finished four Ironman races and multiple marathons all over North America — she’s also an organizer. Six years ago, she created the popular Toronto Women’s Run Series and the three annual runs sold out from the start.
She has 25 years of experience creating and managing runs, including Team Diabetes Canada, the YMCA’s Corporate Team Challenge, the Goodlife Toronto Marathon and the CIBC Run for the Cure. Her event management company, MAX VO2 Management, specializes in endurance events and fundraising.
“I get the best of both worlds,” she says. “I get to mix my passion and my profession together.”
Longtime runner and blogger Michelle Clarke has participated in all of Freedman’s women’s races, plus Sporting Life events in the past, in her dozens of competitions.
Freedman’s events have all been wellorganized, she says.
“There is never an issue or question about where you need to go or what you need to do.”
The women’s runs, which all take place in Sunnybrook Park, are smaller in scale than Sporting Life.
The biggest of those events is 2,000 racers. There has been plenty to make the series specific for women, with chocolate stations and shirtless firefighters handing out water. They’ve been lauded for their perfect combination of support and competition.
Freedman has been a runner since her teenage years. She organized her first race as a YMCA part-time employee while getting her phys-ed degree at York University. The midtown resident says she regularly runs through Toronto’s park system, often along the Belt Line.
Plans for the Sporting Life 10k have been in the works for the last nine months.
Among the changes from last year is a longer gap between the six waves of runners at the start line.
Freedman also changed the configuration of the race’s final leg. The route follows Yonge St. to Richmond St., goes west to Blue Jays Way, south to Front St., west to Bathurst St., south to Fort York Blvd. and the finish line.
“We’ve added that detour at the end to increase the length of that finish line chute, to spread people out a bit more,” Freedman says.
As well, there will be more than 50 handlers at the end to make sure no one is held back. Last year there were only 15.
“We’ve really pumped it up and we’ve got some security personnel,” she says. “We’ve got a huge plan.”
“Sporting Life has a whole other level to (racing),” she says. “We’re running down Yonge St., in the middle of the city. Everyone’s into it and the cause is fantastic. Everything about that is what makes our city great.
“For me, as someone that has been in this business for 25 years . . . to have Sporting Life and my women’s series, it’s really the ultimate dream come true,” she says.