As some of you may be aware, I ran in the City to Surf run in Sydney a couple of days back now. It was quite an experience. In amongst around 85.000 runners, the scene at the start was quite phenomenal. This is the largest running event I have participated in (not surprising as it is the largest in the world) and it did not disappoint.What will be some of the memories I will take from this event? The first will be simply the fact that I did it and that I ran all the way. Considering that I had not done any running for a few weeks, this in itself is quite an achievement.
Another thing is some of the scenery along the way. Sydney Harbour is known to be one of the best harbours in the world, and there were a number of spots along the way where the harbour could be seen, not least of which was at the top of the 2km slog of a hill known as Heartbreak Hill.
It was also good to see some of the locals getting involved along the way. There were people playing music or cheering from their balconies, others handing out sweets along the way. There was even one man out the front hosing the runners in the second ½ of the run to cool everyone down. All this added to the atmosphere.
Of course, there were also a phenomenal number of official volunteers that an event of this magnitude requires, from the St John Ambulance volunteers to those working on the drink stations. Here lies my most special memory from the race. As I was approaching a drink station I saw a young girl, maybe 7 or 8, trying to hand drinks to the runners amongst older, taller children. She seemed to be getting lost amongst the others and not able to hand out a drink. When I came up to where she was standing, I made sure I took a drink from her and the smile she gave me, well that was precious. Sometimes the little things in life leave lasting impressions.
That was some of the memories I will take from the race. I was glad to have run it. Perhaps I will do it again, who knows. Until next time, bye for now.
