Close to 25,000 people will run through the streets of Toronto Sunday as part of the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon.

Race Director Alan Brookes says they're coming from 50 countries, every Canadian province & 40 American states taking part in runs as short as 5 km & as long as a full marathon.

Brookes says runners who are trying to make healthy life choices make up about 2/3 of the field.  Another 6,000 runners will be lacing up to raise money for 1 of 167 charities.  Brookes says only about 5% of the pack is made up of die-hard marathoners.

The marathon gets going at 8:30am Sunday on University Ave, near the American Embassy.  Runners will wind their way the city to the Lake Shore & back.  Brookes says it's the equivalent of running from Nathan Phillips Square to the Ford Plant in Oakville.  The runners leading the pack will be going about 20 km/h the whole way.

Brookes thinks of the marathon as a massive street festival that just happens to be centered around a run.  He says the event brings in big money for Toronto hotels & restaurants & draw huge crowds out onto the street.

A huge portion of the city will be closed on Sunday for the road race. The full list of road closures is here.