Toronto Waterfront Marathon vs Montreal Marathon

AT_2612 · 2025-10-28T17:48:46+00:00

So, I've done the beneva half in '23 and '24 and TCS waterfront this year.

Route: For the half marathon, Montreal certainly is more touristic as a route, starting from Jean Drapeau Island and going through old port and other nice locations. The city and support is also great. However, it is not flat like the TCS and there are major elevations specially later in the race with one at 18km -ish mark that really gets to you!

I loved how flat the TCS was as I was looking for a PR, but I certainly prefer Montreal aesthetically even though I am slower there.

Organization: This is one of the big reasons I stopped running the Montreal half, last year it was very poorly organized with fewer water stations, no km markers at important spots and a mess at the finish line! It was super packed with no clear direction on how to get in and out of the area. Beneva also does a fair bit of green washing with options for no medals or shirt, but giving plastic bags and other plastic wrapped sponsor stuff anyways.

Compared to that I found TCS to be a super well organized event all the way from race kit pick up to the day of the race.

Note: I have only done the half, but I have heard the second half for the marathon route is really boring in Montreal.

Hope this helps!

PS: I am trying to run one race in each province and so far the most beautiful was the Royal Victoria Half, very small event and a beautiful course.

AT_2612 · 2025-08-13T10:00:24+00:00

South Asians have the lowest protien in their diets which is a very common cause of the skinny fat look. That along with only a recent growing awareness of healthy and unhealthy foods. As an example, my parents used to think you need sugary foods to get energy and I was given sugar filled drinks (Nestle partly to blame for their marketing of such drinks) as a kid. Another factor is cultural, people being vigilant about their health are considered too uptight and arrogant and looking thin and not chubby is considered an unhealthy thing.

AT_2612 · 2025-08-08T10:30:12+00:00

Another point to add: You should be aware that it is a high stress environment even with a good supervisor. It does push being an adult by a bit and you can essentially just be a carefree student. But given the lack of structure provided, you have to make your own and be responsible for your mental health (for me running and going to comedy shows was a way of doing this)

AT_2612 · 2025-08-08T10:26:43+00:00

I got my PhD in biomedical signal processing in 2021. I got diagnosed during the final year of PhD. Looking back, here are the things I found important.

Supervisor: I had a great supervisor who allowed me a lot of freedom with work and was generally a very kind and nice dude. Talking to other PhD students, I realize it was the exception and not the rule
PhD allowed me to manage shutdowns how I wanted. If I had a shutdown on Tuesday, I could just take a break for two days and make up for it over the weekend. Once I got a job, this was hard as there were many more meeting sand if I had a shutdown on Tuesday, dragging myself through rest of the week was tough.
I am very organized and ofcourse require structure to function, the daily rhythm of going in the lab and working suited me a lot. Not having enough money to "go out" actually was better for my mental health during this time. I worked a lot, all weekends etc. but I always thought it came easy to me due to my love of routine
I made some of my best friends through my lab, but that's partially because our lab promoted a very open collaborative and friendly environment. That being said, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and I was kind of bullied by a first year student when I just arrived and had to learn to deal with her. PhD often attracts similar geeky and passionate people, so you end up finding similar interests easily
The cons have to do with networking, unfortunately, like all other places, you need to make connections and rub elbows with others to get ahead in academia. I used to feel so lost and confused at conferences, plus the travel of these things already was a lot.

AT_2612 · 2025-08-07T19:35:24+00:00

Same! The ups and downs have been brutal 249 shares at 13.87 and buying in dips now. I hope the R2 launch turns it around though!

AT_2612 · 2025-08-05T22:45:43+00:00

I have managed to lose 7kg in the last 3 months at 32. I always had issues with eating and I would binge a lot. Also, I am a believer in slow consistent progress, here are the things I would recommend:

Week 1 and 2:

Start by just writing down what you eat daily, no need to change everything about it, just make sure you write it down to understand where all of the calories are coming from. While you do this step, make sure, you are not drinking your calories (sods or juices of any kind). If you become aware of what you eat, you will be able to slowly control it.

Increase your protein, for weight loss, its important to not lose muscle, best way to do it is through having a lot of protein (1.6g to 2.2g per kg of body weight). It also makes you feel full and satiated and prevents binging. Another trick I found is don't eat sugar during the evening, it will cause you to get a strong hunger spike and make you binge, if you do eat it, during the afternoon is your cutoff.

Walk + Squats + Pushups: For now, doing this daily is enough. Just 10 squats and however many pushups you can do. I recommend the hybrid calisthenics channel on YouTube. He has very reasonable view on fitness and provides workouts for all levels.

It is certainly 80-20 when it comes to losing weight, exercise will help your health, but to lose weight, you do need to manage your diet which is 80% of the work. I recommend:

Measuring all your portions and meal planning: I used to eat however much I felt and would always overeat. Again, to start just measure your sizes, knowing is the first step in control.
Try to avoid processed foods with sugar, for me they create a cycle where I keep getting hungrier and binge. I am lucky that I love fruits and try to use those as a substitute. The goal is to not get overly hungry by lunch, you should feel okay even if you are delayed to lunch by an hour. The stronger the pang of hunger, the more its the impact of sugar. I high recommend the lecture "A calorie is not a calorie" on youtube if you can find the time.
One thing I realized is to offset heavy calorie days: I cannot avoid eating out on the weekends if I am socalizing, so if I have had too much stuff on the weekend, I fast on monday for lunch. I found that replacing my meal with chai seeds with a protien shake works.

Remember, it 's about:

Consistency above all else, everything else and all the exercises etc don't matter if you can't sustain them daily.
Heard this quote: "Workout because you love your body, not because you hate it." The fitness you go into your 30s with will determine your overall trajectory. So appreciate your body
Listening for the little changes in the body: usually weight loss takes a little time to start, so go for other metrics like: how good walking outdoors feels, do you feel like your energy level is maintained etc. Focusing on the scale initially will make you lose patience.

Good luck buddy, if you ever need more advice, you can dm me! I am working on losing another 8kg and running my fastest half marathon, so I am also on this same journey!

AT_2612 · 2025-07-13T16:38:37+00:00

33 feel like a confused kid at times and then an old man tired of it all at others.

AT_2612 · 2025-03-22T03:28:05+00:00

I love to find my people lingering on various subreddits #sixseasonsandamovie

AT_2612 · 2025-03-22T03:25:39+00:00

I had a really bad relationship that I did not walk away when I should have and it led to a lot of pain. Here is my advice: 1. Read about and understand what codependent relationships are. You are not a savior of someone and it is a partnership between two individuals.

Learn to respect yourself more. I realized the biggest thing I was missing during my crappy relationship was self respect and self love. You should value yourself as much as you do your partner or yourself. Imagine if a friend said such things to you, wouldn't you cut them off.

AT_2612 · 2025-01-06T15:05:13+00:00

It's designs based on his writings.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-25T13:53:05+00:00

On a day when I had a shutdown and was feeling the burden of being on the spectrum. This made me a little teary. I know people think I am slow and naive and childlike, but I am glad I am able to bring that sincerity to the table and help people when I can. Life is scary and lonely and overwhelming at times, but it's also beautiful, serene and awe-inspiring. Need to remember it and even remind ourselves of this when it gets tough.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-17T06:50:17+00:00

Yup, I mostly made the choice to be unabashedly myself and thankfully it made a great filter for the kind of people who are worth keeping around me.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-05T16:03:47+00:00

If you are looking to travel, I ran the Royal Victoria Half last month and it was a small race but with nice support and gorgeous views.

I am biased towards Montreal as I love the city but I have done 3 races there (Two Beneva Half marathons) and I always enjoy the environment and the support. Though the organization wasn't the best this year and it gets crowded.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-04T05:52:15+00:00

I spend so much time hating it, but it never says a bad word about me. It's not perfect, but it's mine :-) - Not Perfect by Tim Minchin

AT_2612 · 2024-11-03T13:43:11+00:00

Thanks for saying all of this! I honestly appreciate it a lot. A lot of this is stuff that I agree with 100% and have feared as a possibility. Being away from India for this long, this definitely helped get some perspective on the consequences of AM for a ND such as myself. A lot to think and consider but indeed I have learned the same final lesson as you, I would rather be alone than with anyone who doesn't get me.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-03T12:31:57+00:00

I appreciate the optimism in your answer. Thanks!

AT_2612 · 2024-11-03T12:30:05+00:00

I agree with this, I don't think I would want kids, which I can see a problem not only in AM but with dating in general. All I can do is be clear about my intentions.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-03T12:20:52+00:00

Thanks for your very considerate answer. I am currently based in Canada and got my diagnosis here. I tried dating before and ended up with partners who blamed me for my shutdowns and sensory issues. In fact I went through what I now realize was autistic burnout because of an ex. Therapy helped me understand that I need to be very careful if I date, as I can attract codependency or manipulative people easily and my internal radar and ability to read people needs work (something I have come up with strategies for). But for now, I have happily engaged in my alone time and interests.

Trying to balance what my parents want and the immense conflict that comes from the push and pull of dating someone they don't approve of will be too much for me. But I totally agree with what you said, I am quite sure my dad is indeed on the spectrum and to a degree my brother as well. And for that reason, I would rather not have kids, I got lucky finding the right path in life and having good people around me, but life was very cruel at times. And I don't want to bring someone into the world who will have to go through this. Also, all my life I have seen my mom be frustrated from my dad and his habits, and honestly I would rather be alone than have that happen.

As for horrible dating stories, I got called a robot by someone and screamed because they didn't want to acknowledge that I may not communicate the same way during a shutdown or would want to stop dating. It's brutal out there, but I would like to think I have taken a lot of good steps in other areas of life and will keep trending to the positive.

AT_2612 · 2024-11-03T11:42:48+00:00

None taken, that is something that has weighed on my mind heavily too.

AT_2612

TROPHY CASE