A reason to run

City2Surf fun run participants from the community share their stories with SHERYL DIXIT

It’s an event that Sydneysiders look forward to with pride, indeed inhabitants from all corners of NSW throng to the city to be a part of this ground-breaking show. The City2Surf 2011 was held on August 14, and saw a record number of 85,000 participants from all walks of life who ran together to raise money for a range of different charitable organisations.

City2Surf is the world’s largest fun run, spanning a 14km stretch, starting from the heart of the city’s CBD, winding its way through streets, to finally finish at the picturesque Bondi Beach. This year, the annual event attracted an enthusiastic and motivated crowd who joined fellow-participants in boosting up the spirit of the event, with some even sporting exciting, unusual or eccentric couture as a part of their ensemble. Participants had a choice of running, walking or both, and everyone joined in the fun, from the fitter athletic types, to septuagenarians, octogenarians, those in wheelchairs and even young children.

Several Indian-origin Australians participate in the City2Surf each year, but in 2011, the numbers seem to have certainly swelled. Some of the participants shared their experiences on the run with Indian Link.

Kilometres didn’t matter

Devna Luthra began the walk body-to-body with other participants at 9.30am. She was with a group of 5 other friends; they had travelled to Bondi by public transport from home. “But the crowds did not bother us at all – everyone looked happy and friendly. We pointed out the dress-ups to each other and laughed. There was a couple in chicken suits and a dog was barking away at them. The morph suit guys were so funny,” she recollected.

Devna and her friends hadn’t prepared for the walk at all, but it turned out easier than she thought. The kilometre markers came up quite quickly, perhaps because they were laughing, talking and singing all the way. There were people on the sides serving water and Gatorade every so often, and there was music on the sides constantly. “It was so much fun,” she said enthusiastically. “People who lived in the area were watching us over their champagne glasses, and probably laughing at us! The atmosphere was great!”

Amongst Devna’s group of friends were three Scottish exchange students from Edinburgh. “I thought it would be good to show them Sydney in a different light. They also got to see an interesting aspect of Australia – that we love to have a good time while helping someone in need. They loved every minute of it!” she said.

The exchange girls emailing their parents excitedly, after viewing their pictures on the event’s website. “After the run, as we sat on Bondi Beach massaging our sore feet, I was quite sure that I would be back again next year,” she concluded.

The City2Surf 2011 certainly proved to be an inspiring event, and as the above participants hope, let’s all make an attempt as a community to join in next year’s event to raise money, give our health a boost and have a great time!

More Indian participation

Avijit Sarkar decided to take the City2Surf challenge at his own pace. He mostly walked the 14kms, ending the race at a fair 21/2 hours. However, it was Avijit’s seventh year of participation in the event, and once again, he enjoyed it thoroughly. This time it was about absorbing the atmosphere, taking the event in his stride and simply making a good effort in completing the course. Avijit’s wife Palu also participated, supporting the Breast Cancer Institute and proving that her fitness regime rocks!

Avijit did see a fair amount of sub-continent participants, but feels that many more people of Indian origin could join in the event. “I sent out an email about the event, so that friends could join in. What would be great would be to see more Indian taking part and making an impact with their presence,” he said. “Especially youngsters; they should be able to prove their mettle and their fitness. I hope the Indian participation will increase next year,” he added.

Fit for the family

Sanjiv Dubey certainly took the race seriously, as his whole family joined in. Sanjiv made it to the finishing line in a mere 71.15 minutes, but insisted that he wasn’t quite happy with his time. “In 2010, my time was 67 minutes, and this year I aimed to make it in less than that. However, my training regime before the race was a bit erratic, and would have contributed to my loss of time,” he stated. Sanjiv’s wife Shalini ran too, albeit for the first time, like their 6-year-old son, Dave Sarang. Daughter Shubhika (13) did well, coming 29^th in her age group. As a fitness coach, Sanjiv firmly believes that training at least six to eight weeks in advance is the key to building and maintaining endurance for such an event. “It’s a feeling of great satisfaction to achieve a milestone you have set for yourself,” he said. “You feel the need to improve and set the bar higher for the next time.” Even young Dave was enthusiastic about his debut City2Surf experience, and made it the whole way, running with his dad over the last two kilometres.

Sanjiv averred that in addition to raising funds for charity, the event would help raise awareness of the importance of physical fitness. And although he did see a fair number of Indian-origin people in the throng, Sanjiv felt that there could have been more. “The Indian community media should take on the responsibility of publicising such an event,” he said. “If people know more about the run, they will be happy to participate. And if they try the run just once, they will want to keep coming back. It’s an experience of a lifetime and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And so will they!” he added.

The whole family suffered hardly any ill-effects from their participation, apart from sore calves and hamstrings, but they didn’t take long to bounce back to normal. Sanjiv is convinced that the whole family will be participating in future runs. “For us it will be one of our annual family events which we do together,” he said. “And I’m sure we’ll enjoy the future ones as much as we enjoyed this year’s event!”

Walk with a view

For Ranjini Thirumalai, completing the City2Surf course in 129 minutes gave her a tremendous feeling of achievement. It was her first time to participate in the event, and the time she clocked was better than Ranjini had anticipated. “I have rediscovered the pleasure of walking,” she said. “My colleagues at work and myself walk whenever we can, during lunchtime and after work, and we keep a note of the amount of steps we take via a pedometer. This was my pre-event training regime,” she added.

For Ranjini, the 14km walk was a chance to savour not just the uplifting mood of the people around her, but also the wonderful views that were on offer along the way. “I did the route up Heartbreak Hill with no visible effort, and the views along Bondi were just incredible. It was an unforgettable experience,” she said enthusiastically. But in addition to these spectacular sights were others that made her feel motivated, like the 10 year old jogging steadily besides his father, asking just once if the finishing line was in sight!

Ranjini feels that the event will be much more popular if it is sponsored by companies, who can encourage their employees to participate. “A lot of companies do this, and it creates better awareness. I know that some of the Indian communities also promote the event and people get together to train and eventually participate as a team, but it is not done on a major scale. One needs the commitment to join this event not just for a good cause, but also to promote a healthy lifestyle especially among those reaching middle age,” she claimed.

Although the walk would have been considered gruelling by others, Ranjini didn’t find it particularly intense. Perhaps its because she has walked through Himalayan passes in recent trips to India. Whatever the case may be, Ranjini’s stamina was well up to meeting the needs of the run. She chose to support the Asthma Foundation to help support people suffering from this common ailment here in Australia.

Ranjini has a lot of catching up to do when compared to her husband Jayanta who has been participating in the City2Surf since the past 15 years. A staggering number, but now that she’s got her trainers on, Ranjini’s ready to take on the challenge again next year.

A relaxed run

Shankar Ramanathan has participated in the City2Surf run about 4-5 times in the past, but this was the first year in which he was joined by his son, Gokul (21). Running in support of Autism Spectrum (Aspect), Shankar was enthusiastic about the atmosphere at the event. “It was wonderful to be a part of such a motivated, happy crowd,” he said with evident pleasure. “There was something wonderful about running alongside the old, young, male, female, disabled…everyone who contributed to the festive atmosphere!”
Shankar has participated in the City2Surf event before, and because he enjoys running for relaxation as well, being a part of the jogging crowd was an enjoyable experience. A good long-distance runner in his youth, Shankar ran on his own, taking his time and making it to the finishing line in under 100 minutes. Gokul mostly walked the distance, in an experience which was a personal triumph for him.

“Apart from the festive atmosphere, I think the run was good in spreading the message of physical fitness awareness,” says Shankar. “We tend to take our health for granted, and its good to see so many fit people on the streets, some even 80+ years! I feel young people should participate as they have the energy and the enthusiasm to do the whole route, and can be an inspiration to us.”

Shankar and Gokul had sore calves the next day, but the pain wore off soon enough, motivating them into the decision to make the City2Surf run an annual one.