Wrapping up an incredible pride & remembrance run 2025

Wrapping up an incredible pride & remembrance run 2025

Race day dawned warm and muggy but the air soon filled with a chorus of dedicated volunteers and enthusiastic runners. This 29th edition of the pride & remembrance on June 28 was one for the record books with our fundraisers smashing through our goal of raising $325,000 and likely to also surpass our extended goal of $360,000.

The support from our runners, run crews, community supporters and everyone else involved from volunteers to staff to cheer squads was top notch. This year’s beneficiaries — Sherbourne Health Centre, Sunshine Centres for Seniors, Women’s College Hospital Foundation, and the Pride and Remembrance Foundation — will greatly benefit from all the hard work put in to fundraising this year.

If you haven’t donated yet or are still busy fundraising, we’ll be collecting donations until July 19.

With the sun shining on the corner of Church & Wellesley, the run kicked off with an energetic warmup from our friends at GoodLife followed by some hype from Toronto’s own Mayor Olivia Chow.

Perennial favourite MC Carlotta Carlisle and newbie run host Deborah Primeau along with DJ Caleb Downs amped up the crowd as they started and finished the race. Who doesn’t love to hear their name called out as they cross the finish?

First to the blocks were a sporting group of kids proudly conquering the 500 m and 1K kids races. They were followed by some 2,000 or so runners and walkers who wound along Wellesley Street and then did a loop or two around historic Queen’s Park before heading back to the start/finish line. Lots of heart and sweat at the finish line — and even some high-fives from Mayor Chow.

The after party was, as usual, bananas!! Rainbows of thanks to our fantastic performers Carlotta and Mira Fantasy and Pride & Remembrance Association president Jonathan Iu for hosting. Bananas and yogurt refueled the runners for the event at Barbara Hall Park featuring activations from sponsors and recognition of our beneficiaries and winners. Prizes were given out to the top finishers and fundraisers (see below) and then we wrapped it up for another fabulous year.

A huge thanks to all of our sponsors, especially platinum sponsor BMO, who has been with the run since the beginning, for making the 2025 pride & remembrance run one to remember. Thanks also to our gold sponsors CGI, Clorox, HOKA, and eBay, who added to the festive atmosphere with their special guest, Canada’s Drag Race host Brooke Lynn Hytes.

Shout outs also go to sponsors Starbucks, Reliance, and Smartwool as well as supporters General Mills, Proctor and Gamble, Chipotle, Wake Water, and the YMCA, which hosted race kit pickup for the first time this year.

Check out some of our media coverage at CP24.

Race winners:

Male: