Tips for City 2 Surf Fun Run Sydney to Bondi Beach

Entries for the 2010 City2Surf are open. This guide aims to give first time runners of the 14km City 2 Surf fun run from William St in Sydney to Bondi some basic tips which will help them be better prepared and enjoy the day more.

The City 2 Surf fun run was initially inspired by the San Francisco Bay to Breakers run in 1970.

Since the inaugural run in ‘71 which attracted 2000 runners the race has grown in popularity to be Australia’s largest fun run and is a yearly Sydney institution on the second Sunday in August. In 2006, for the first time in the event’s history the number of women entrants outnumbered men in the record capacity field of 63,451. It is truly a community event attracting entrants from all walks of life and all ages.

City 2 Surf Course (Road Map & GPS Tracked Map of My Running Route 2009)

View City 2 Surf Route in a larger map

City to Surf Fund Raising For Charity

In 2010 the City2Surf’s unique community spirit will, for the 4nd time be channeled into a giant charity fund-raising drive where entrants can fundraise for their favourite charity. Last year 75,000 entrants raised over $2.2 million for the City2Surf Charity Challenge.

Different Registration Groups

Runners register in 4 groups who start the race in order fastest to slowest with different starters pistols:

1. Red Bibs – #1-#8000 is restricted to professional athletes and those who ran in less than 75min in last years City 2 Surf
2. Green Bibs – those who ran in last years City2Surf between 75-100 min.
3. Blue Bibs – Semi-serious runners who’ll probably finish in less than 120 minutes and don’t want to be slowed down by the really slow runners and walkers in group 4.
4. Yellow Bibs – People who want to do the run for fun by themselves or in a family group with children etc, probably walking most of the way.

What You Get for the Entry Fee

• Timing Chip
• A chest bib
• A finishing medal
• A finishing certificate
• Clothing bag transport from start to finish line
• Free water and sports drink during the race
• Free Sun-Herald newspaper

City 2 Surf Timing Chip

For the 3rd time in 2010 everyone in the City2Surf will get a Timing Chip to tie into your shoe laces.

This means you’ll get an exact accurate finishing time from when your feet cross the start line sensors until they pass the finish line sensors at Bondi.

The chip will be posted to you with your chest bib or if you registered after June 9 you can pick it up at The City2Surf Expo, Hyde Park Barracks from 8.30am – 4pm August 2nd-7th. You will receive an E-ticket via email that you will need to print out and bring along with you to collect your race pack.

YOU CANNOT PICKUP YOUR BIB OR TIMING CHIP ON RACE DAY SUNDAY AUGUST 9TH

Event Preparation and Goals

The following tips were written by Michael Berry owner of Vivos Active, Personal Trainer and Marathon Runner.

The three most important things for your event preparation are:

1. Setting a goal
2. Entering the appropriate starting group
3. Being committed to training

In order to decide how to get ready for the event you need to know what your goal is and then based on that goal which group you should be in. Once you have set the goal train to achieve it.

When you are setting your goal it is important to understand what it will take in terms of training, nutrition, health support, equipment, (very importantly) time and what condition the race will leave you in. You may decide that you are setting a goal for this year and a better one for next year.

Time to get ready is often overlooked in event preparation, time for the body to lose weight, strengthen muscles, improve blood work, increase bone density, improve posture, and make time in your busy work / home life to do all the training to cause all these changes in the body so that you can run faster for longer.

Once you have a realistic goal you need to enter the group that aims to finish the race in the time that you want so that you don’t get held up by other participants.

Being in the appropriate group you are more likely to find people moving at your speed to motivate you to keep going or to chase and move faster. Remember that it is a long race, don’t get caught up in the hype at the start, ease into the race and build up to your cruise speed.

If you want the goal you have to train! So many people register, set a goal and then don’t do anything, train only a handful of times or worse hurt themselves by taking on too much too soon.

Train every week, with 24-48hrs rest in-between training sessions and slowly increase the duration, intensity, type of training and how often you are training, which ones depend on goals and fitness levels. See a trainer for more information

Tips For First Time Runners

I suggest that you arrive at the City2Surf starting area next to the Australian Museum opposite Hyde Park by 8AM at the latest.

My result as a first time entrant with a reasonable amount of preparation was 1 hr 57min 6 sec starting from the back of Group 4 (Back of the Pack start).

• Never do the City 2 Surf in completely new shoes otherwise you might injure your feet, get blisters etc. Always do a few serious runs in new shoes before race day
• Eat plenty of carbohydrate-filled foods the night before the City 2 Surf eg: rice or pasta. Make sure you have breakfast at least 2-3 hours in the morning on race day
• If you’re catching a bus to the City 2 Surf make sure it stops at Hyde Park. If you’re catching a train you can get off at St James station for the “Back of the Pack” or Museum station for the Blue bib start. Green/Red bib runners can get off at either station. Whichever group you’re starting in try and get to your start line one hour before the race starts (8 am).
• If you think you can do it in less than 2 hours register in Group 3 or turn up quite early and make sure you’re near the front line of Group 4 (Back of the Pack start) otherwise you’ll be doing an obstacle race to get around strollers, people dressed up in costumes, little kids etc before you can start jogging properly
• Drink lots of water the day before and night before the race. Don’t drink to much in the hour or two before the race starts because you’ll have to head for the toilets and you’ll lose your place near the front of the starters line like I did
• The toilets at Museum station have much smaller queues than the port-a-loos in Hyde Park
• If you haven’t trained properly for at least 1 month beforehand (preferably 2 months or more) or you’ve been ill in the fortnight prior to the race than take it easy and just walk/jog at a slow pace. If you push yourself too far you could easily injure yourself or get sick from over-exertion.

After the Race

• You can collect your medallion to prove you finished and your free copy of the Sun Herald newspaper.
• If you’re part of a corporate team, you can go to their Marquee next to Bondi Beach and get a message, lunch, drinks etc
• You can see where you were ranked in the city2surf at the finish line and watch video footage of yourself completing the race by entering your name or Bib number at the city2surf website a few days after the race
• Marathon photos are the official photographers of the City2Surf. You can purchase one of several photos of you during the City2Surf race at their website

Photo Gallery – Essence of City 2 Surf – Sydney to Bondi Fun Run

My “Essence of City 2 Surf” photo gallery will help you get a flavour for the event

For more information go to the official City 2 Surf website. Enjoy the day and remember it’s supposed to be a fun run

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