Cam Levins breaks 43 year old Canadian record in marathon debut at the 2018 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2018 /CNW/ - More than 25,000 people, from over 70 countries, took part in the 29th annual Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this weekend, raising an estimated $3.5 million for nearly 200 local charities, through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

Race highlights include:

• A Canadian national record set by Cam Levins in his marathon debut, with a time of 2:09:25
• A New course record set by female Bahrain marathoner Mimi Belete, with time of 2:22:29
• In her debut marathon, Canadian Kinsey Middleton finished in a time of 2:32:09, the first Canadian female to cross the line.
• Benson Kipruto of Kenya won the men's marathon in a time of  2:07:24

"Toronto welcomed the world to our city today," said Alan Brookes, Race Director of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  "So many unforgettable moments — Cam Levins' new national record was undoubtedly the highlight. Since its inception, we wanted to build a marathon that Toronto and Canada would be proud of. We have always aimed to have a balance between sport and community and I think we can all be proud of what was achieved today."

"We are thrilled with the turnout at this year's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and thank all the runners for joining us today," said Clinton Braganza, Senior Vice President Marketing at Scotiabank. "On top of the amazing athletic accomplishment of finishing a marathon, runners have also raised funds for a variety of important charities, through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, including organizations committed to helping young people in the community reach their infinite potential, a key priority for Scotiabank."

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is one of Scotiabank's six sponsored running events in Canada this year, with events taking place in Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. 

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple and effective way to support local causes that make a big difference in people's lives. Participating charities keep 100 per cent of the proceeds raised, as Scotiabank pays for all transaction and credit card fees. Participants who raised $2,500 as part of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge will receive 1000 SCENE^® Points. Learn how to take part in this offer.

2018 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Results

To see a list of charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, please visit http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/community-and-charity/scotiabank-charity-challenge/

For more highlights and complete race results, please visit: http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/the-weekend/results-and-photos/

Twitter Hashtag: #STWM, #InfinitePotential, #ScotiabankCharityChallenge and #runScotia

About the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
An IAAF Gold Label race, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada's premier, big-city running event, the Athletics Canada National Marathon Championships, the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championships and the Grand Finale of the 8-race Canada Running Series. In 2017 it attracted 25,000 participants from 74 countries, raised $3.5 million for nearly 200 charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, and contributed an estimated $35 million to the local economy. The livestream broadcast was watched by more than 164,000 viewers from 141 countries. http://STWM.ca

About Scotiabank
At Scotiabank, we aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people reach their infinite potential. Young people are our future leaders and Scotiabank's goal is to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and resources they need to support their success. Together with our employees, the Bank supports causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2017, Scotiabank contributed more than $80 million to help our communities around the world.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in the Americas. We are dedicated to helping our 25 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 96,000 employees and assets of $947 billion (as at July 31, 2018), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank