Held on Sunday August 10, this year’s Sun-Herald City2Surf was as fun-filled and popular as ever! Over 67,000 people finished the scenic 14km run, jog or walk from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. To find out more about the City2Surf experience, the SSH interviewed local runners Matthew and Vanessa from the Ravens running group.
For Matthew, the highlight of the event was “seeing how many different causes people were supporting, and being inspired that behind each person, each cause, there was a story”. Matthew noted that many participants were fundraising for “causes that had touched them personally”, from critically ill children to refugees to the environment. And others, he observed, “just wanted to dress as a gorilla!”
Matthew chose to run for the GI Cancer Institute to support “a bunch of fun people and a good cause”. He has worked with GI as a researcher and knows about the devastating impacts of cancer, having lost a brother-in-law to oesophageal cancer.
Similarly, Vanessa chose to run for the Cancer Council, noting how “cancer affects so many people” and how “finding cures is a crucial concern worldwide”. This was Vanessa’s fifth City2Surf, and she advised that “the event becomes easier every time if you can keep up your training – not much of a problem for people like me who love running!”
Likewise, Matthew praised the “joy” of participating and knowing that thousands of other people were “sharing that joy”.
Vanessa commented that over half of the participants were women, and stated that “the great thing about this event is that it encourages everyone to have a go and improve their fitness”.
She and Matthew agreed that building up slowly is important, and that running with friends is a great strategy to have fun and stay motivated.
The SSH extends warm congratulations to all entrants from South Sydney who completed the 2014 City2Surf!
