Toronto, ON – Professional and casual runners alike took over the Exhibition Place street circuit for the second edition of Rev & Run last Friday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. The 5k run saw over 600 participants complete nearly two laps of the track, with thousands of dollars raised for charity and podium celebrations capping off the night.
As 5k runners finished their warmups, the 1k kids run, presented by Inside Track, started the evening’s action. Participating kids and their families ran from the Honda bridge, along pit road and the frontstretch, where they circled around the GT4 Ford Mustang of defending FEL Sports Car Championship Canada champion Jack Polito, before returning to the run’s start/finish line.
Polito, USF Pro 2000 driver Mac Clark and Radical Cup Canada driver Alana Carter joined the kids in the 1k. Organizers said that the kids run was more competitive and structured this year, while noting that Canadian ultra marathon champion Paul Vanoostveen added some star power by acting as the pace bunny, a role that helps guide participants through a run.
Next up was the featured 5k event, presented by WeatherTech Canada and Salomon. The run saw participants start between turns one and two, completing the lap, crossing the IndyCar start/finish line and coming back around to finish on pit road, under the Honda bridge.
Cash prizes were awarded to podium finishers following the 5k. Andrew Alexander (14:24 chip elapsed time), Melika Ghali (14:51) and Alex Bernst (14:52) completed the men’s podium, while Rachel Hannah (16:33), Rachel Bowick (17:24) and Asia Dwyer (17:47) made up the women’s podium.
New for this year, a non-binary podium was recognized, with Zoey Kapusinski (20:35), Rachel Fender (22:56) and Tai Hollingbery (23:32) completing the podium.
All runners received an FEL Motorsports branded participation medal, featuring Polito’s No. 22 Mustang in front of the Princes’ Gates. Participants also received a swag bag, which included a runner’s hat presented by Ciele.
Additional prizes were awarded to the best dressed runners, presented by Park & Province, and the top fundraisers, presented by WeatherTech Canada. Salomon gave away shoes to every 100th finisher, while the last place finisher was also recognized on the podium.
Rev & Run is sanctioned by Athletics Ontario and officially timed by Enfield Timing, but it’s more than just a place for professionals to compete. The special prizes created an opportunity to engage participants throughout the field.
“We had a lot of fast racers on this course, but we don’t want this event to only be about speed because, at the end of the day, the Indy weekend is a family-friendly event,” said Heather Page, co-race director of Rev & Run. “We want folks to feel welcome to come out and experience that because there’s something really special and magical about stepping onto the track and not just seeing the straightaway, but seeing the entire course and all the passing zones, and what that looks like as you come uphill and you come around the corner.”
WeatherTech Canada’s Kevin Silva, who’s also a co-race director, says that community creates the event, but competition seals it, creating a memorable experience. Rev & Run provides an opportunity for locals to get excited about an event where road closures typically occupy the headlines.
“We take space back for the community and we’re able to realize what the Indy promoters have afforded us, which is a little bit of time on the track, to get out there with some local runners to raise money for the Parkdale Community Food Bank,” said Silva. “We take an inconvenience, that unfortunately some people regard, which is closed lanes, closed training facilities; we take an inconvenience and we make it an opportunity. An opportunity for the local community to raise some cash for something that is near and dear to everyone.”
More than $24,000 was raised for the Parkdale Community Food Bank by weekend’s end, through participant and corporate fundraising, along with a new display at this year’s races. A Rev & Run branded Radical race car was on display throughout the weekend, where fans could get their picture taken in exchange for a donation.
Organizers are hoping to continue to grow Rev & Run for next year, with the opportunity to bring in more participants and reach a larger sum of donations for the Parkdale Community Food Bank. The Indy Toronto is scheduled to take place on the same weekend next July.
For the second year in a row, I represented Inside Track in the 5k run. While I’m not an athletic person, I did the best I could, with a mix of running and walking leading to a time of 37:10, which was still 39 seconds better than I did last year.
It was really cool to see the track from a different angle and participate in such a unique race weekend event; Rev & Run was well organized and I had a great time!
