Close to 9,000 runners faced the rainy spring weather to run the 132th Around the Bay road race this weekend.

The annual race took place this Sunday through the 30 km, 15 km, 10 km and five km routes that ended at Pier 8 in Hamilton.

Sahar Monzavi-Bacon ran the 10 km race for the first time this weekend.

“I’ve got a sore knee, a sore hip and a sore ankle, but my spirits are very high right now,” she told CBC Hamilton after crossing the finish line.

Monzavi-Bacon, 38, did the 10 km race this year as part of a list of “40 things to do before turning 40,” but she’s been running Around the Bay since 2014 to support his father, who was on St. Joseph’s Healthcare — the official charity partner of the race — board of governors. But after being hit by a car in 2017, her motivation shifted a little.

She broke her ribs, pelvis, tore her labrum and later developed blood clots that led to multiple cardiac arrests after hip surgery. She said if it wasn’t for the quick actions of her husband, Ryan Bacon, paramedics and the staff at St. Joe’s, her story would have gone a lot differently.

“I’m extremely fortunate to be here today,” said Monzavi-Bacon after running with her sister, Shabi Monzavi and Bacon.

She said she raised around $6,000 in donations for St. Joe’s. The Around the Bay race raised over $430,000, according to a media release from Around the Bay Road Race and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

Inclusivity in running

Just a few blocks away from the finish line, members of the the Everybody Crew were cheering on their group members as they took on the challenge of Around the Bay.

“Running can be such an exclusive sport based on what you look like and how you can move through the world,” said Emma Coss, who was cheering and holding sings as runners passed by on Sunday morning.

“I think it’s just really important to show up for each other.”

Everybody Crew is an inclusive running group out of Gage Park that encourages a “diet culture-free,” environment said Josh Tenn-Yuk.

“When we think of running, we think of a certain type of body, and when we’re here in every colour, in every body shape, every mobility, running at whatever pace is good for us … [we] encourage other people that anyone can do it, too,” he said.

Tenn-Yuk was also at James Street N. and Burlington Street with the rest of the crew to support his partner, Riley Wignall, a runner in the race who lost her dad, Doug Wignall, on New Years Eve.

“He was always extremely supportive, so she’s going to be thinking of him every step of the way and probably crying a bit, and I’m going to probably be crying with her as she finishes up,” he told CBC Hamilton.

Tenn-Yuk said wearing a red sweater was a staple in Wignall’s wardrobe, so he decided to wear one as well in his honour.

Runners got to race closer to the waterfront

The fastest male and female runners in the 30 km race were Phil Parrot-Migas from London, Ont., with a time of 1:39:34 and Asia Dwyer from Toronto with a time of 1:54:55.

Parrot-Migas was also the quickest male runner in 2024 and 2025.

The race broke a decades-old tradition this year by taking place in April instead of the usual last week of March, a change made because of the Junos’ visit to the city last month. It also had new start and end locations, taking runners close to the waterfront.

“It really was a race around the bay in the truest sense this year and we heard that the runners really enjoyed the route,” said race director Anna Lewis in a news release.