Florence Caron to debut marathon at Canadian

Florence Caron will make her marathon debut at the Athletics Canada National Marathon Championships on October 18. The event will be held as part of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Caron, from La Malbaie, Quebec, is the reigning Canadian 10,000m and 10K road champion. Her debut could significantly impact the elite women's field, which includes defending champion Rachel Hannah and 2019 Olympic trials winner Dayna Pidhoresky.

A season of road debuts

Florence Caron has led a wave of successful road debuts by Canadian women this season. She won the Canadian 10K Championships in Ottawa in May, finishing in 32:31 and winning by nearly 45 seconds. That was her first-ever road 10K race.

In August, she earned a silver medal at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton. It was her second consecutive silver at that event, having also finished second in her half-marathon debut in 2025.

Now, she steps up to the full marathon distance. "It's my first one, and it is not far from Québec," Caron said in a press release. She noted her husband, elite 800m runner Olivier Desmeules, will pace her, and family will be in attendance. "It's also the Canadian Championship, so other good Canadians should be there, and I get to see where I rank among them."

Veteran contenders target personal bests

Dayna Pidhoresky and Rachel Hannah bring extensive marathon experience to the starting line. Both veterans are targeting personal best times in Toronto.

Pidhoresky, from Vancouver, won the national Olympic trials at this course in 2019 to qualify for the Tokyo Games. She has also won the Vancouver Marathon in 2022, 2023, and 2025. Her personal best of 2:29:03 was set at those 2019 trials.

She recently ran 2:31:09 at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in New York in March, her fastest time since 2022. Pidhoresky attributes her current form to consistent training. "I have capped my mileage at 140 to 150 km per week, which has tended to keep me healthy," she stated. "Since then I haven't had any forced time off for injuries. My body has felt good."

The defending champion's course knowledge

Rachel Hannah, from Port Elgin, Ontario, returns as the defending national marathon champion. She won the title at the 2025 Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a time of 2:33:47, her fastest marathon since 2016. Her personal best of 2:32:09 was set at the 2015 Houston Marathon.

Hannah believes her familiarity with the Toronto course, which she has run five times, could be key to breaking that record. "I would love to PB," Hannah said. "Knowing the course really helps. There are a lot of spots where you can see your competitors and how they are doing, which is really helpful."

The following table compares the key contenders' recent performances and personal bests:

The national championship race will unfold on the streets of Toronto on October 18.