The last time I signed up to run a full marathon, I didn't make it to the starting line. It was 2022; the race was New York City and, as it turned out, I had a rather legitimate excuse: I was pregnant. My due date? The exact same day as the marathon, which also happens to be my birthday, November 6th.  Talk about timing.

Four years and one child later, I finally found myself back at the starting line of a full marathon, this time for the 33rd edition of the Marathon Beneva de Montréal. And while I've been running for most of my life, somewhere between becoming a mother and figuring out how to keep a human alive, my relationship with the sport had changed.

Running used to be something I could do whenever I wanted. Now, it's something I have to make time for, usually at 5 am. There are daycare drop-offs, work deadlines, family commitments and the general logistical circus of parenting. I've managed a few local half-marathons since having my daughter, but training for a full 42.2 kilometres? That's an entirely different beast.

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As luck would have it, my sister had just started training for her first full marathon, the Toronto Waterfront, a course I've run many times. Watching her commit to the training was giving me a little motivation (or FOMO) of my own. So when Tourisme Montreal reached out with an invitation to run the Marathon Beneva de Montreal, with just enough lead time to train for the full 42.2 kilometres, it felt like the universe was giving me a not-so-subtle nudge. Who was I to argue?

Montreal felt like a fitting place for my comeback. Growing up in Ottawa, I spent countless weekends and summer stretches in the city visiting friends. It's a place that holds plenty of memories from my younger years, although admittedly fewer of them involve sensible bedtimes and electrolyte tablets—and a lot more cigarettes.

The weekend kicked off with a shakeout run alongside Alex Ratthé, general manager of COURONS, the organization behind the marathon, and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, better known as CPT. A two-time Canadian Olympian, CPT has become something of a fixture in Montréal's running community, though he hails from Quebec City and now lives in France working at Salomon's HQ. Casual.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Decg1UrHyqU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&mdxt=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== We ran to the race expo to collect our bibs, where I caught up with Mariana Garcia, co-founder and creative director of Montreal-based running label Praiser Endurance, which was designing the marathon's official merchandise for the fourth consecutive year. And having gone to many running expos, I can confidently say this was some of the coolest race merch I've ever encountered. Forget the oversized technical tees destined for the back of your workout drawer. This was stuff you'd actually want to wear. Also worth noting, more than half the styles had already sold out by the time I got there. Garcia tells me that this year's graphics took inspiration from Montreal's iconic outdoor spiral staircases, an architectural signature of the city. "The idea is that through these stairs, you become a runner," Garcia explained, describing the familiar ritual of getting dressed, heading downstairs and hitting the pavement. It's a clever tribute to the city and its running culture, with a sense of style that extends well beyond race day. "We don't take ourselves too seriously," she said of the brand's approach. A fitting philosophy for a sport that, despite all the carbon-plated shoes and obsessive pace tracking, is supposed to be fun. I left with a longer sleeve with the graphic, Straight to Hell, and their best-selling mid-weight mesh shorts. That evening, we reconvened with fellow media at Impasto, a beloved Italian restaurant in Little Italy, for some strategic carb-loading. I had my eye on the gnocchi until CPT suggested pasta would be the smarter pre-race fuel. When a two-time Olympian offers nutritional advice, you listen. Race morning began at the Sofitel, where the hotel kindly arranged an early breakfast of oatmeal, berries, orange juice and coffee. I ate downstairs in the lobby to avoid waking my husband and daughter. By 6:30 a.m., I was on the Métro to Jean-Drapeau station, on the island that hosted Expo 67. The weather was perfect, my gels were packed, the energy electric and the pre-race nerves contagious. There was just one problem: I'd come down with a gnarly cold days earlier. A humbling reminder that you can hit every training milestone, log all those kilometres, avoid all injuries and still have your body throw you a curveball at the eleventh hour. Months of preparation, nearly derailed by a rogue virus? Rude. Thankfully, Montreal knows how to put on a show. The course wound through a city I've loved for decades, with its distinctive architecture, lively neighbourhoods and enthusiastic crowds providing welcome distractions. Despite warnings from fellow runners about the supposedly punishing hills, I found the elevation surprisingly manageable. Then came peak Montréal: running alongside @geoff.runs_and_raves and his crew, who tackled all 42.2 kilometres with a mobile DJ setup blasting electronic music and drum and bass. I started just behind them and somehow finished alongside them, too. Forget a carefully curated playlist. This was a travelling rave with a finish line. But my biggest boost came courtesy of my husband, Tom, and daughter, Tilda, who cheered me on at kilometres 20 and 41. By that second sighting, I was deep in the pain cave and questioning my life choices. I've run plenty of races, but rarely have my own cheering section, so seeing their faces gave me enough adrenaline for one final sprint. My gear helped, too. After logging most of my training kilometres in On's Cloudmonster 3 Hyper, I switched to Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 for some carbon-rod assistance. I also scored a tank from Hong Kong label Participation, because even marathon suffering deserves a cute outfit. I didn't set a personal best. And frankly, I didn't care—OK... maybe a bit. But running 42.2 kilometres is only part of the challenge. It's the months of early mornings, long runs in the thick of summer and relentless consistency that demand the real discipline. Throw parenting into the mix and it's practically an endurance sport before you even reach the starting line. But the real reward? Getting to experience a familiar city in an entirely new way. A new course, new faces and the unmistakable energy of Montreal, all wrapped up in one of Canada's biggest running events. It was a reminder that sometimes the best part of racing isn't chasing a faster time, but everything you experience along the way. Of course, a little post-race indulgence didn't hurt. I capped off race day with one of my favourite (and most visited) respites in the city, Bota Bota, Montreal's floating spa, for some much-needed thermal circuit recovery, followed by a serious carb replenishment at Dandy the next morning. A word of advice: Don't sleep on the ricotta pancakes. Consider it my kind of victory lap. Feeling inspired to go the distance? Registration for the 2027 Marathon Beneva de Montréal is already open, with something for every kind of runner, from the full 42.2-kilometre marathon and half-marathon to 10K, 5K, the Mile and even a 1K race for the littlest runners. No excuses!