COVID took out a lot of things on an international level, and there’s no question that Australia was not an exception. Despite the country trying extremely hard to keep COVID out of it, the virus still had an impact. For two years, just like the rest of the world, Sydney was under clampdown, dealing with social restrictions and barred from enjoying normal life.
Traditionally, Sydney was home to a massive street run dubbed City2Surf. From a local perspective, the run is considered the world’s largest running party, even bigger than San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers. Running over 14 kilometers, every participant who completes the run makes their way from Hyde Park all the way to Bondi Beach. In standard terms, that’s almost 9 miles of pavement pounding. Thousands would participate every year to join in the fun.
However, during COVID, the City2Surf run was cancelled, just like every other big social event that involved some kind of public gathering. However, fast-forward to now, in 2022, COVID has waned but still makes people sick. It’s survivable and extremely annoying, like the flu, versus something deadly like the Black Plague. And that means the return of City2Surf.
As the event was announced, it was more than just another annual run. Instead, this time around, City2Surf has become a symbolic return to normality. And to show just how much people wanted that return, a whopping 60,000 participants showed up to make the 14 km run.
Of course, City2Surf wasn’t going to be a normal run. Lots of folks showed up in costumes and decorations. There were plenty of running dinosaurs, some were nutty enough to be in gorilla costumes, and stars were very popular as well. Ultimately, being a formal race, there were going to be serious competitors. Liam Adams was declared the winner, finishing the course in 8 seconds over 41 minutes. Leanne Pompeani won the women’s title, finishing in 45 minutes and 43 seconds.
The race running also meant the return of support for multiple charities that have enjoyed financial help from the race proceeds since 1971. While there was an attempt to operate a “virtual” event, it wasn’t the same the last two years. However, with the City2Surf return in 2022, everyone is pretty much in agreement. Sydney feels a bit more like home again. More importantly, people were able to enjoy a public event again in Australia after two years of isolation.
