09/08/2020
CITY2SURF-URBIA: fun run goes ‘virtual’
by Matt Bungard
It’s the marquee event on Australia’s running calendar, but this year entrants in The Sun-Herald City2Surf will have to plan their own routes in their own neighbourhoods as the world’s largest fun run becomes a ‘‘virtual’’ race for the first time.
Entrants will download an official tracking app, mark their course and complete a 14 kilometre run in their suburbs between 6am and 6pm on October 18. Medals will be mailed out.
It’s a far cry from the 80,000+ people who would race from the city to Bondi Beach, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced organisers to rethink the race for this era of social distancing.
‘‘We still hang on to a glimmer of hope that we may get some sort of real event up – but we need to be realistic and recognise that by October we still may be facing restrictions on mass gatherings,’’ Ironman managing director Dave Beeche said.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the City2Surf and organisers were reluctant to cancel it. ‘‘We’ve debated that extensively, but ultimately we thought it was worth still celebrating,’’ Mr Beeche said.
‘‘We really want to try and celebrate all that is Sydney. People have been doing it tough for the last few months and so if we can provide a platform for people to get together with their mates and raise some money for charity ...’’
There will be no prize money or winners of the virtual race, and Mr Beeche said a closed event for elite runners, as happened with the Tokyo Marathon in March, was unlikely. ‘‘It’s all about celebration and getting out there with your mates,’’ he said.
Ironman has had a virtual racing platform active for three months and has studied other events. Last month, the Virtual Race Across America encouraged people around the world to ride more than 4500 kilometres on stationary bikes, and the Prince of Wales Hospital, which sends a team to the City2Surf, launched the POWer Up Challenge, urging people to run 30 kilometres in a week in September.
Enya Moore, of Paddington, has run the City2Surf each year since 2017, when she moved to Australia from Ireland. She has been training hard for this year’s race and is already mapping out her 14 kilometre route for race day.
‘
‘I think it’s really important that people still have something to look forward to,’’ Ms Moore said. ‘‘A lot of things have changed in the past few months and it’s hard to stay motivated.’’
In her first year, Ms Moore’s goal was to run the course; in her second, she shaved six minutes off her time. She said she hoped people would stay motivated and have a goal, even if the traditional race doesn’t go ahead.
She and other runners were grateful to have something to work towards, she said. ‘‘It’s the wise decision, it’s the safe decision, and I’m glad there’s still an option ... and we can still capture some of the atmosphere of the day.’’
Entries for the 2020 City2Surf Virtual Run open at 10am on Thursday and cost $39 for adults and $20 for children.
Shared from the 8/9/2020 Sydney Morning Herald eEdition
