Online Registration is now open for all Canada Running Series ’09 events, including Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, at www.canadarunningseries.com . Registration for ’09 includes the popular COMBO PACKS, that offer runners major savings and the chance to build their own personal “pack” of major, “goal” races for next year, available only until February 28th. The Series is “a selection of Canada’s best runs” that provide international-class running “experiences” in 5 events in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver and one in Montreal.

The 8 runs are all unique in their own way. Favourites like Harry’s Spring Run Off 8K Toronto in High Park and the Vancouver version in Stanley Park are signature indicators of Spring for fitness enthusiasts in East and West, in two of Canada’s finest urban parks. Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal marks the same change of season in Quebec, and is Canada’s National Half Marathon Championships in beautiful Parc Jean Drapeau. The Toronto Ten Miler at The Distillery Historic District and the Oasis ZooRun 10K & 5K at Toronto Zoo also offer unique venues as well as different distances. The Sporting Life 10K allows more than 10,000 fitness folks to “run down Yonge Street without getting run down” on the first Sunday in May. Participants plunge down Canada’s most-famous street from above Eglinton to Roundhouse Park by the CN Tower to raise more than $500,000 for Camp Oochigeas, a summer camp for kids with cancer -- and give proof that Toronto is "a city for people, not just cars”. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half & 5K, a recipient of an IAAF Silver Label in ’08 [the Michelin 4-stars of running!], offers a truly world-class running experience from Nathan Phillips Square in the heart of the country’s #1 metropolis. All of the races include an elite component that brings excitement and some of the world’s best runners to Canada’s streets -- like World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Catherine Ndereba who was the women’s winner at the ’08 Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal in April, as part of her Beijing preparations.

2009 will mark the 20th anniversary for the Series, which began in 1990 as the “Coors Light Running Series” with a six-pack of runs in downtown Toronto. From the outset, the Series has always been about building excitement, about promoting running and healthy lifestyles, and about “giving back to the communities we run through”. In both 1990 and ’91, the Series Grand Finale, the Coors Light Toronto Half Marathon [the forerunner of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half], was won by legend Joan Benoit Samauelson. At the time, the girl-from-next door in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was still at the height of her career -- a career that saw her win the first-ever Olympic marathon for women in Los Angeles in 1984. The first season, the Series raised much needed funds for the YMCA Community Fund in Toronto. Twenty years later, the record number of Series ‘08 runners raised a record of $2.58 million for 75 local charities in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Expectations are that participation will hit 50,000 for ’09, with more than $3 million raised for charity.

“We’ve always strived hard to create a balance between ‘competers’ and completes’ in the runs since day-one, and to be an important part of the community,” says CRS Race Director Alan Brookes. “We want to offer 8 of the best, big-city, ‘big-experience’ running events anywhere in the world, whether you’re fleet of foot, a slower, weekend warrior or a power walker.” From the unique courses, world-class organization, great ‘swag’ in technical t-shirts, caps and medals, great photos of memories, post-run pancake breakfasts or brunches at The Distillery, Canada Running Series is all about “the running experience.”

In 2008, 5 of the events completely sold out in advance, and the other three almost reached their capacities. Fitness enthusiasts of all abilities from coast-to-coast are encouraged to check the new Canada Running Series ’09 Calendar today at http://www.canadarunningseries.com/crs/index.htm ; sign up for your own COMBO PACK, guarantee your spot in Canada’s favourite runs now, and enjoy major savings until February 28th.