….today was the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

There were 25 000 runners participating in today’s race. Not all of them ran the marathon. I would hazard a guess that most people signed up for the 5k or the half marathon, which is 21.3k. Our oldest daughter ran her first half marathon today.

My husband and I drove to the turn around point for the half marathon where friends and family could cheer on the runners. Lakeshore Blvd. was shut down for the race so we parked about 1k away from the viewing area and walked along the trails and over the bridge.

When we got to the turn around point there were already hundreds of people running around the bend in the road. Andrea told us that she thought it would take her approximately one hour to get there. We arrived exactly at the one hour mark. We waited and waited and were worried that we had actually missed her but shortly after 10:00 we saw her run by. She saw us before we saw her and she turned around to make sure we saw her. She had the biggest grin on her face and didn’t look any worse for wear.  It turns out she had good reason to be happy. Her goal was to finish the race in two hours and she did it in 1: 56.55.8. I guess she started further back in the field at the start line where all the runners were staggered.

So I guess next year you’ll be training for a full marathon. Am I right, Andrea?

https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=43502

Back in Hamilton, our daughter, Gaelan and our granddaughter , Winnie were both a bit under the weather with colds. In the morning they ventured out to the park and Gaelan got this great shot of Winnie. Despite a streaming head cold, little Winnie decided to show support for her aunt by running her own mini race. Look at those legs move! I think we may have another runner in the family.

….thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees

…..do birds count as critters?

Do you have any unusual or interesting photos of critters? If so why not join Roda over at Growing Yourself and take the challenge.

…the colour change has been slow to come this fall because of the unusually warm temperatures

Little by little the leaves are changing colours. Some trees changed colour weeks ago but many are just starting now and many still appear green.

….burdock sticks to everything…..clothes, dogs, etc.

….this week’s theme for WPC is glow

Everything around me seems to glow this time of year. The lake today sparkled under the warm October sun.

….well into October it is getting more and more difficult to find flowers to photograph

….kite surfing in mid-October

Last Sunday as I was walking the dog I noticed this large kite hanging in the sky.

As I got closer I noticed a group of men and women inflating and preparing their kites to take out onto the water with their surf boards. Despite the overcast skies and drizzly weather, these brave souls took to the choppy waters and put on quite a show.

We’ve been experiencing very mild temperatures for October this year. Sunday was no exception but there was one difference; it was very windy. Perfect conditions for kite surfing.