So, there I was, in the Novotel Toronto centre. Had fallen asleep with the TV on, and woke up silly early because jet lag and because I tend never to sleep more than about 5 hours anyway. I also tend not to dream much - well, to not remember dreams, and when I do they are almost always boringly realistic and mundane.
What I dreamt on that Friday night in Toronto was this: I was in a hotel, and walking through a room usually used for corporate events or wedding receptions. You know the sort, a big rectangular room with a bunch of tables and chairs in it. In the room were two members of Take That - Gary Barlow and, I dunno, the short one. Mark Owen? Anyway, they were having a big chat and laughing loads. Very entertaining conversation. There was a fan meet ‘n greet coming up and the door to the room shouldn’t have been open, but they didn’t mind me hanging around and joining in the chat.
At some point, in a way which didn’t seem bizarre in the dream, they turned into ex-Wimbledon FC players Stewart Castledine and Gareth Ainsworth. So I was just about to start talking to them when a family arrived, a mother and 4 kids, to meet Take That. Gary Barlow had reappeared and started giving a QAnon lecture, all cabal this and MAGA that. The kids complained that it was the same spiel Barlow had given them last time they met. I whispered to Gareth Ainsworth: seriously, are we watching Gary Barlow talk QAnon to some kids right now? and we pissed ourselves laughing. Then I revealed that I am a longstanding Wimbledon fan and I loved that time he scored late goals away at Newcastle to earn a 3-3 draw, and that I’d chatted to him about it at the kit sponsors lunch in 1999. And then I woke up.
Moving on.
Flicked through TV channels and watched about 120 minutes of adverts for pharmaceuticals periodically interspersed with A Bronx Tale. Can’t remember what I watched next but I got fidgety and bored. Put my running kit on very early and took a selfie, feigning motivation.
Meh.
Left the hotel at about 0715, weather decent. The subway station I needed to get to is up beyond the flatiron building, behind which is a little park that despite my state on Thursday, I had remembered Mike recommending I visit. Enigmatically he’d said “no spoilers”, turns out the park has this really cool dog fountain. Like, a big fountain and a load of statues of dogs. Sadly the water wasn’t running, but you get the idea.
The sun was out, giving me a glimpse of that big pointy building with blue sky behind it. Nice.
Descended the stairs into King subway station. Not many people around on the platform, but there were two folk in running kit. “Are you guys doing Parkrun?” I asked and, yep, they were. Two English folk who’d been in the city for most of the week, for work, and were heading home that night. The bloke has done tons of them before, the lass had only done like 5 or so. Turns out they were even staying in the same hotel as me.
I told them I was terrifically jet lagged, they told me they were viciously hungover. Been out ‘til almost 2am at CRAFT Beer Market, apparently. Don’t worry, it was already on my list.
Spent the whole journey having a nice chat with them. Got off the train at Downsview Park station, about 40 minutes north of downtown. The station exit deposits you in a kind of industrial wasteland and none of us were sure which way to actually go. Eventually Google Maps played ball and we went the right direction, picking up a few other first-timers en route who were similarly lost.
Had a really long chat with Anson, a Canadian first timer (at any Parkrun). Explained to him how it all worked, damn that lad was so friendly and enthusiastic. If only having a warm personality was actually useful at providing warmth, because the weather was bloody horrible now. No rain, but overcast and a bitingly cold wind. I was wearing a thick running hoodie over my 250 shirt, having intended to leave it at the start and put it back on at the finish, to cover up the stench ready for the tube ride back. But it was so bloody cold I just kept the thing on.
Briefing was given, the route was explained, and a “we will take photos and videos. If you don’t want to be in them, tell us afterwards and we’ll delete them” privacy policy type thing also was read out. The start line was about half way round a lap of the course from where the briefing was given. There were black squirrels in this park!
Oof, that was a tough run. Really happy with my time, because conditions were totally not in my favour. The wind never calmed down, and was a headwind at its worst during the downhill sections. The uphills were long nasty slogs, not steep. I think I might have preferred steep. So yeah, getting 25:27 was a great effort. Go me!
I hung around briefly at the end, just to say hi and well done to the people I’d spoken to beforehand, and then I buggered off on my own, running back to the subway.
Pretty much dead on 10am when I got there, I was thankful that mobile signal worked most of the way as it meant I could listen to Tranmere vs AFC Wimbledon. I mean, I was thankful until we played like shit and lost. I had thought about paying the tenner to watch the second half when I got back to my room but the score line put me off, as did my friend Chris who was watching and not liking it.
So, I showered, listened to the end of the game, charged my phone back to 100% and then set out to do some proper Toronto tourism. The sun had briefly shone, but within about 5 minutes of me setting out it started to hail. And I mean really hail, like a hailstorm the likes of which I can’t recall being caught in before. Vicious it was.
I guess you could call it invigorating, but mostly it was just really horribly unpleasant. I was walking west, towards the distillery district. A black squirrel did pop its head up. I like these black squirrels.
The distillery district is, well, it’s where there used to be a distillery. I mean there still is one, but it historically was a really big fuck-off distillery.
What it’s got now is a load of shops and bars and restaurants. I mean you know the sort of place, they exist all over these days - a neglected industrial bit of town gets some polish and gentrification and becomes a place to visit. I sound cynical but I’m not, I really enjoyed it. But I did not enjoy the second hailstorm. I hadn’t intended to go in any of the watering holes here, but I really wanted to escape the weather plus I was a little hungry - so, Mill Street brewery, hello. I’ll have brunch and a tasting flight please. Why does your fry-up have melon in it?
Felt better after that, and the weather had cleared up a bit, so I decided to head down to the coast - I mean, I call it a coast, because this here lake is a legitimate body of water - but it’s a lake, not a sea - anyway - I decided to head to the coast as there was a nearby viewing point which some of the best views of the city skyline around.
Google maps walking directions were terrible, I discovered later. They turned what should’ve been a 15 minute walk into more like a 40 minute one. And what an unpleasant walk it is, too. This is the port district and mostly it’s just aggregates and wasteland. I think maybe they’re planning to do something nice here, but those plans are yet to bear fruit. The wind was even stronger than it had been during Parkrun, making this whole experience significantly high on the schadenforeman scale.
The reward was totally worth it. I love me a good cityscape and, while I would have preferred sunny weather, the clouds sure did make for a dramatic backdrop.
Back to the distillery district for more respite, in the form of a loo visit, some water and a freshly baked cookie. When the hail eventually stopped I wandered back towards downtown Toronto. Google maps told me that there was a mural or art installation or something on that flatiron firkin pub, and so it proved. Not sure how I missed it in the morning, given it looms over the dog fountain.
A few blocks north, with some excellent city views, and then I made my way into CRAFT beer market. This was one of the must-visit destinations I’d identified when planning the trip, being as it is a pub with 160 beers. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY.
I’d been intrigued as to the logistics of even ordering in such a place. I mean crikey, how can the staff know where the right tap is? But man, they had service down to a tee … when it eventually started. I was seated right at the bar, in front of a till no less, but it was shift change o’clock and everyone was trying to get their customers to pay (and tip) before handing over to newcomers and it took me literally 15 minutes to get served.
I went, predictably enough, for a tasting flight. You can’t pick your own choices, they have two pre-chosen flights: one local beers, one worldwide. The worldwide selection sounded nasty to my tastebuds so I opted for local. Extremely surprised by how delicious I found the sour.
Had some parmesan fries and then the only imperial stout on the menu, which was of course delicious. By now the bar was starting to fill up, as more and more Toronto Maple Leafs (ice hockey) fans showed up. The Stanley Cup playoffs are a big deal in hockey, and this night was the first match - Maple Leafs at the Boston Bruins. So the city was, I imagine, going to properly fill up with fans watching the match. I wanted no part of it, and besides it had been another exhausting day and I’d been awake since like 3am or something, so I figured it was time to go back.
Popped back into Goose Island, fully intending to use their bottle shop for one or two takeouts for my room. Bizarrely, for takeout they only had one type of beer - and not even the stalwart IPA, but the fairly ordinary stout I’d had first on Friday. So, stupidly, I sat at the bar and had 3 beers I was yet to try, and a slice of cheesecake. Same barman as the day before, with various off duty members of staff sat at the end of the bar and … no-one else around. They were showing the hockey, but where was everyone? It was emptier at 8pm on a Saturday than it had been at 4pm on a Friday. Seemed weird to me.
Anyway. I didn’t need those beers, but I did need soft drinks from reception. Decided to watch the hockey in my room. The Leafs let in a goal pretty early, and I wasn’t in the mood to have two teams lose on the same day - I figured I was a Leafs fan for the duration of my time here - so I gave up and went to bed. For the first time in 4 days, I neither wanted or needed to be up at 6am.