On Sunday morning I got up at 7, put the old runners on, ate a banana, stuck a bus pass in my shoe, pinned on my race number, jogged over to my friend Naomi's, and we took the bus into the city to partake in City2Surf, the world's biggest fun run. 14k, 75,000 people, from Sydney's Central Business District through the Eastern coastal suburbs, finishing at Bondi Beach.
After every water station, there was this defeaning roar of plastic cups hitting the ground and getting stepped on. That's when you'd remember the vast amount of people involved. The best part was running through major city streets normally packed with traffic, and looking ahead and behind you to see this endless line of humans, all moving together. Some people take the race seriously, ie the winner, finishing in a mere 40 minutes, and some a bit lighter, ie the two superheroes above. The oldest race entrant was 98, the youngest was a day old, in a pram, running with her Mum.
While it is a fun run, I took it a bit more seriously as a guy I knew died very suddenly of cardiac arrest shortly after finishing the race last year. There is a 2k part of the course called -- very appropriately -- Heartbreak Hill, which winds upwards into some of the highest points of Sydney. What no one tells you is that there are a series of smaller hills over the next 6k that make you wonder why on earth it has been labeled a "fun" run, and if you will ever be able to walk, much less run, again after you make it across the finish line.
Nay and I accomplished all 3 of our goals: 1. survive, 2. run the whole thing, 3 finish in under 90 minutes. And now onto the Harbour Bridge Run in September....
look at that sea of white people running down the street!
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