City2Surf | |
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Competitors in the 2007 event run through Kings Cross
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Date | 2nd Sunday in August |
Location | Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach |
Event type | Road race and fun run |
Distance | 13.917 kilometres (8.648 mi) |
Primary sponsor | |
Established | 5 September 1971 |
Course records |
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Official site | city2surf |
Participants | ca. 80,000 |
The City2Surf (or City to Surf) is a popular road running event held annually in Sydney, Australia covering a 13.917-kilometre (8.648 mi) course. The event is a "fun run" as well as a race, attracting both competitive runners and community participants who can choose to run or to walk. The event attracts more than 80,000 entrants who start in staggered groups based on previous running times and early entry.
The Sydney City2Surf has been held as an annual event since the first run on 5 September 1971, initially as a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) run that commenced in George Street, adjacent to Sydney Town Hall. It was conceived by the staff of The Sun and inspired by the Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco. The first event was jointly organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of NSW and the NSW Women's Amateur Athletic Association and attracted 1,576 starters, 1,509 of whom completed the event within the 100 minutes time limit. Many of the entrants were registered athletes belonging to the Registered Athletic Clubs that were part of these two bodies. To date, 33 of those entrants, now known as the City2Surf Legends, have run in every City2Surf.
Since 1973 it has been held on the second Sunday in August, except for the race held in 2000, moved to July due to the Sydney Olympics in August.
When The Sun ceased publication in 1988, the sponsorship of the event passed to the new Sunday tabloid The Sun-Herald.
In recent years, over 60,000 people have entered. In 2010, on the event's 40th anniversary, a record 80,000 participants ran, making it the largest run of its kind in the world. It is still primarily sponsored and organised by The Sun-Herald.
The course record is 40:03, set by Steve Moneghetti in 1991. The women's record is 45:08 minutes, set by Susie Power in 2001. Non-Australian athletes typically won the race from 1995 to 2007, including repeat winners Laban Chege (1999–2000), Patrick Nyangelo Lusato (2003–2005), and Dickson Marwa (2006–2007). In 2008, Martin Dent became the first Australian winner since Lee Troop in 1997. Marwa was competing in the 2008 Olympics.