1971 - present

Sydney’s annual City2Surf race to Bondi has kept Sydneysiders fit since 1971. The first run, on 5 September that year, began at Sydney Town Hall and ended a gruelling 15.1km (9.4 miles) later at the beach.

That event attracted 2,025 starters, of whom 1,509 finished within the 100-minute limit. Since then, the race has transformed into the world's largest fun run, attracting more than 85,000 participants annually. Runner’s World puts the event on its ‘20 Races To Do Before You Die’ list.

The race was inspired by San Francisco’s Bay-to-Breakers run and was initially sponsored by The Sun newspaper. The Amateur Athletic Association of NSW and the NSW Women's Amateur Athletic Association organised the event and many of their runners competed. Twenty-four of them - now known as the City2Surf Legends - have run in every race held.

Since 1973, the event has been held on the second Sunday in August – except during the Olympic Games in 2001 and during the Covid 19 pandemic. When The Sun newspaper was closed in 1988, sponsorship passed to the new Sunday tabloid The Sun-Herald.

The race start moved to Pitt Street in 1973 to accommodate growing numbers. The following year it moved again to Elizabeth Street. In 1977, with 7,845 entrants, it moved to its current position on College Street.

Endurance athlete Robert de Castella won the event in 1981, breaking the race record with a time of 40.08. His record stood for 10 years, before fellow Australian athlete Steve Moneghetti finished in 40:03 minutes. His record still stands. The women's record of 45:08 was set by Australian Susie Power in 2001.

Between 1995 and 2007, foreign runners dominated the race, with winners including Kenyan athlete Laban Chege (1999-2000) and Tanzanians Patrick Nyangelo Lusato (2003-2005) and Dickson Marwa (2006-2007).

In a world first, the preferred runners' system was introduced in 1985 to categorise runners according to their pace. This ensured the fastest participants remained at the front. The oldest person yet to compete, aged 99, finished in 188 minutes in 2003. More women registered than men for the first time in 2006.

Courtesy City to Surf.