By Paul Gains
Two more Canadian distance‑running stalwarts will make their marathon debuts at the 2026 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The event takes place on October 18, and both athletes hail from the London area in southwestern Ontario.
The event doubles as a World Athletics Elite Label Race and the official Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championships.
Connor Black and Jeremy Coughler are former training partners. They are also both Canadian championship medallists over 10,000m and cross‑country. However, their paths have diverged in recent years following the retirement of their longtime coach, Dave Mills. They still occasionally meet for long runs as they prepare for their marathon debuts.
While Coughler continues to follow a program designed by Mills, a special exception granted by the retired coach. Black has spent the past two years working with two‑time Canadian Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet, who now operates a coaching business. Their approaches to the Toronto event could not be more different.
Black, who lives in London, “The Forest City,” sees the race as an important stepping stone toward a possible challenge for Canada’s 2028 Olympic team.
“I am 30 years old, and I am not making money in the sport, but I still have goals,” Black says. “My final goal would be to try and make an Olympic team, and I don’t think it’s feasible as an unsponsored track runner targeting the 5k or 10k.
“The marathon is a more even playing field. I can get into any marathon I want, within reason. There are 80 spots at the Olympics. So if I’m going to give it one last go, it has to be in the marathon.”
Black ran a personal best of 1:03:34 at the 2025 Project 13.1 Half Marathon in Congers, N.Y. It was his first race at the distance. Until then, he had focused primarily on the 5,000m and 10,000m. In 2022, he won the Canadian Cross Country Championships.
A secondary‑school teacher, Black remains a “long‑term occasional,” meaning he floats from school to school as openings arise.
“Last year I was at Strathroy District Collegiate Institute, which, funnily enough, is where Dave (Mills) taught for 10 or 15 years,” Black says. “I taught phys‑ed and math. I can teach English as a second language and biology. I am kind of a Swiss Army knife.”
As his training load increases ahead of Toronto Waterfront, most of it done alone, he admits he has reservations about returning to work.
“I am quite nervous to resume teaching,” he says. “Recently, my mileage has gone up. When you’re just starting your build, you’re tired. It has been nice having the summer off and being able to focus on training.
“I used to believe you can train like a professional and have a full‑time job. I think it’s possible, but if you want to run 200k a week, it’s definitely easier, and better for performance if you don’t have to.”
Meanwhile, Coughler and his wife, Emma, both chiropractors, are partners in Re‑Charge Health and Wellness in London’s East End. They are also parents to a young son, Otto, which means careful time management.
“My wife and I split the work schedule,” Coughler, 30, explains on a day off. “I’m at work Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so I try to do workouts on my off days, Mondays and Wednesdays. Then if I’m doing some stuff first thing at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., I run and then do a shakeout during the day between patients or after work. It’s not too bad.”
Running, while important, is now one of several priorities. He still logs up to 110 kilometres a week. This is similar to his workload when he finished third at the 2023 and 2024 Canadian 10K Championships in Ottawa. He also won the Beneva Spring Run Off 8K for four consecutive years between 2022 and 2025.
Earlier this year, he set a new half‑marathon personal best of 1:04:33 at Project 13.1 in New York State. He finished eighth in a strong field. His mindset has shifted.
“It’s a shift mentally because I have so much else going on. I’m trying to view running as something I do because I love it, rather than something that is my whole life,” he says.
“Previously, when I was at Indiana University, running was everything. When you run well, it’s great, but when you’re not running well, it starts eating you alive.”
With Mills’ support, Coughler has mapped out a plan aimed at a debut in the 2:14 to 2:16 range. The plan has more marathons to come.
“It’s nice knowing there will be a bunch of other Canadian guys who can run around the same time. And that will make it deeper,” he says. “At the far end, there are always some good Kenyans and Ethiopians running fast. Even if there are a bunch of guys running 2:12 to 2:20, it would be great.”
The proximity to his home in Thamesford, a 15‑minute drive from his practice and two hours from Toronto, means Emma, Otto and his parents will accompany him on race weekend. It’s one reason he chose Toronto Waterfront for his debut. He is also familiar with the front half of the course, having finished third in the half marathon there last year. Both races follow the same route until the 20‑kilometre mark.
Between now and race day, many miles remain. Subject to schedules and traffic, the London‑area runners will reunite for workouts. If all goes well, they will line up ready to join the long list of Canadians who have successfully stepped up to the classic distance.
