toronto is a great running city. it is also, i have come to learn, a city where cyclists move like they are being chased by something. every route has a different flavour of near-death experience and i think it’s time i ranked them.

5. high park

lowest stakes on this list. the cyclists here are mostly families going 4 km/h and dads teaching their kid how to brake. worst case scenario is a toddler on a strider bike clips my ankle. i can live with that.

4. the beltline trail

mixed use path, everyone pretending to respect it. mostly fine except for the one guy on an e-bike doing what feels like 40 who appears out of absolutely nowhere every single time, no warning bell, nothing, just a blur and a light breeze.

3. cherry beach / lakeshore

beautiful. serene. also apparently the unofficial time trial course for every cyclist in the city on a saturday morning. i have been passed so closely i felt the draft. felt like i was in a peloton i did not sign up for.

2. martin goodman trail

this is where it gets real. tourists on bike share bikes weaving like they’ve never operated a vehicle before, actual cyclists trying to hit strava PRs, and me, in the middle of it, just trying to get my long run in without becoming a statistic. bell rings behind me and my whole nervous system leaves my body.

1. the waterfront trail downtown, specifically near the ferry docks

undisputed champion. tourists, cyclists, pedicabs, a guy on a unicycle one time, all funneled into a path that’s maybe eight feet wide. i’ve started treating every run through here like a video game level. dodge the family of five walking four abreast, dodge the cyclist going the wrong way, dodge the guy filming a tiktok in the middle of the path. if i make it through unscathed it’s basically a training win on its own.

which is a bit of a betrayal, honestly, since the waterfront is still my top recommended route for basically everything else. the cyclist chaos is just the toll you pay. and if you’re wondering why I’m out here in the thick of it during peak bike traffic, blame running in a Toronto summer for that scheduling problem too.

anyway. if you see a slightly frazzled guy in a boston 13s doing what looks like an obstacle course, that’s probably me, just trying to get my kilometres in.